Drive Shaft CV boots

[biffobear]

Ive had a look on wiki But nothing much on this subject and got totally confused on a post here. So I'm looking for and outer drive shaft CV boot and from what A can gather the part number is A100R6004S (A lotus part number) and an Item still available. Can anyone give details of where to order from. Thanks

[Fredjohn]

I expect most Lotus parts specialists will stock it.
A quick google search for example shows http://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and-a ... R6004S.htm have it as available.

[biffobear]

I expect most Lotus parts specialists will stock it.
.

Thanks, found one at PNM

[flynn23]

Picking up on this thread, I'm about to embark on a restoration of my M100. One of the issues I know needs to be addressed is that the CV boots are split on both axles, more for the insides than outsides, but nonetheless. Grease doesn't appear to be in much supply from what I can see although I'm not hearing any noise and no indication of binding or rough travel. Car has been sitting for more than 10 years and probably did not have a lot of driving with the boots open/grease gone.

Question for the experts: should I just replace the boots and lube appropriately or should I replace the axles and CV's completely just to be safe? I'm used to 4x4 axles, which typically require nuclear detonation to cause any kind of severe wear. But these seem somewhat fragile and I wouldn't want them flying apart while doing some spirited acceleration.

Thanks in advance.

[dapinky]

There are many schools of thought on this, and all of them are 'right' for certain circumstances.

First, although you say there is little evidence of grease leaking, it is important to know that any cut or split will empty the boot over time, as the grease is actually oil when assembled at the factory.... thick oil (or maybe it is thin grease???) admittedly, but certainly runny enough to escape over a period of inactivity and leave the internals protected at stand-still, but not good for driving.

As such, only you can decide if there is likely to be any damage to the internals..... and I suspect that the only way to tell is to remove them for inspection.

The good news is that it is quite possible to do the inner boots without removing the shaft from the gearbox (although it will be easier if you do - and if you send them away for reconditioning, they'll have to come out anyway) - I have just got the boots to do mine, and it is scheduled for this afternoon. By removing the big metal securing band on the boot, the whole outer shaft assembly will slide out of the 'tulip' (obviously, you need to remove the outer shaft from the hub first!).

The inner bit of the joint is a simple tripoid mechanism, which is an 'off the shelf' part with the part number GKN MS3H002 (it has a 1" diameter with 30 splines) and is held to the shaft with a single circlip. This is the part which will be worn (if anything is worn) and is a simple remove circlip, slide unit off shaft, remove old boot, put on new boot, fit new tripoid, replace circlip add grease, refit driveshaft to car, slide boot into correct place, add new clips...... and it probably took longer for you to read that than it takes to do the job!

However, if there is a possibility that the tulip is rusted/worn/damaged then I would suggest sending it away to be inspected/machined/repaired and then get the whole lot balanced.

As with anything, early repair is quite simple, but if it gets left until it is far worse, then it may need a specialist (and we all tend to leave stuff until it is too late, it's just the way things are!).

[flynn23]

Thanks so much for the thorough and quick reply! More to come. Cheers!

[dapinky]

Just as a quick addition, I changed one of mine this week (some clumsy twat decided to fit the raft bolt past the boot assuming it would go in without damaging the boot ) and used a 'universal' one from J&R driveshafts.

They don't list one for an Elan, but if you look for a boot for an Elise it is the part you need (you also need to replace the hub nut when you refit it) - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130807587073 is what I used. The thin end of the boot is fine as it is, the fat end needs trimming down 1 level, and then it all fits fine.