CV gaiter

[Stef]

Blipi's MOT brought this up as a caution.

No idea what it is or where to get a new one!

Any help please?

Cheers!

[muley]

Here's a good start point

http://www.lotuselancentral.com/repair/splitboot.htm

Last pic gives a general view of where it lives and what it should look like...

[rip]

The CV joint connects the driveshaft to the wheel & allows it to transfer rotational movement to the wheel.
If you take the wheel off, you will find the boot is the bellowed rubber cover behind the disc.

I am surprised this was an advisery. I thought that if they were at all split it would be a fail.

The CV joint itself is packed with grease. You do not want this washed away or any dirt getting in.

[Stef]

Thanks.

From next year it will be an MOT fail apparently.

It's only slightly split currently so should be ok for some time, just warning me in advance.

Am I dumb, but does that mean there are 2 cv joints then? Are they specific to each side? SJ Sportscars have 'early / newer' Elan versions so I'm also guessing they changed.

[Rambo]

I am surprised this was an advisery. I thought that if they were at all split it would be a fail.

I think you're correct Ripster. A split CV boot/gaitor is an MOT fail - you wouldn't want to lose all that grease and you certainly wouldn't want it on the road.

[Rambo]

I am surprised this was an advisery. I thought that if they were at all split it would be a fail.

I think you're correct Ripster. A split CV boot/gaitor is an MOT fail - you wouldn't want to lose all that grease and you certainly wouldn't want it on the road.

[Rambo]

I'm sure my van failed on a split CV boot/gaitor a couple of MOT's ago and needed replacing before passing the test. I'll check my records.

[ESM]

Front suspension.jpg

There are inners and outers i.e. two CV joints on each side one inboard and one outboard. Gaiters won't be side specific but they can depend on whether the CV joint concerned is inboard or outboard.

This thread mentions a cheap outer gaiter thread and it's covered here as well

It says

The Renault numbers i`ve confirmed so far are (they are fitted to my car). -

86 71 002 726 - out CV gaiter kit (universal but fits M100 exactly) £8 ish
....

and this thread mentions the SJS parts.

You need to establish whether the problem is with the inboard or the outboard boots. As above I'm surprised it wasn't failed on a damaged CV gaiter. I've seen cautions on the shock absorber gaiters but certainly not CV joints because all the grease gets out (it is spinning after all) and it won't be long after that that the CV joint is stuffed.

[Stef]

Thanks again.

Will enquire tomorrow and understand better. Don't want to leave it too long if further damage can be sustained.

[dapinky]

Perhaps I can shed some light on the 'failure point, or not?" question.....

The MOT test (at the moment) includes outer CV boots, but not inner ones (theory being that if/when they split, you risk getting oil/grease on the brakes and a fairly immediate possibility of catastrophe.)

The test is being 'extended' to include inner CV boots, ALL rubber ball-joint boots and a few other things - theory being that with the sort of mileages the modern motorist may well cover between tests (and in total before scrapping a vehicle), that a split inner boot or ball joint boot could still cause a problem before it would get noticed/replaced as a matter of course.

I'm not going to open a can of worms by arguing whether the theory is actually borne out with statistics or not, but just pass on the information.....



As such, I can only assume that the tester is referring to the inner boots, but without looking at it, can't be positive

This information was given to me by my friendly local tester who was griping (quite rightly) that the test is getting more stringent, and the time allowed to perform the test is staying the same - so corners may get cut by the unscrupilous garages and the roads will become less safe instead of more safe.

[Rambo]

Thanks for the clarification Dave - I hadn't realised that.

Even if its categorised as an advisory its worth doing asap IMO. For peace of mind, if nothing else !

[Specky]

Just caught this thread,

If your boots are perished or split change them now, pound to a pinch of s**t running on a split boot will knacker the CV joint, if you think it's hard to find a boot, wait till you have to find a CV joint ( and there's the expense).

A boot is only a few quid, it's a no brainer.

TTFN

[esprit888]

Hi all,
Looking for any new numbers for the gaiters/boots. I need a number for the inner boot ASAP, someone posted Ford escort but which year ? Any new numbers out there?