A4 B7 - Inner CV Boot Replacement

[RAudiB7A4]

I'm in the middle of an axle replacement, to avoid having to rebuild the inner CV joint and I have the stock axle out.

Here's my issue; I bought a replacement axle from ECS Tuning, I know, I know, should have gone with Raxle's. But Raxle's is in FL and I'm in MN, so shipping was absurd. So I went to NAPA and they told me that their lifetime warranty axle was $82.47.... But that they couldn't get me one. WTF?! Right? Doesn't matter how good the price is if they can't get me one. Anyways, I ordered a replacement axle from ECS because it was the cheapest. I never go with the cheapest, but I just had a kid 5 months ago, and I'm in the process of buying a house, so this time I went the cheapest route, and I already regret it!

This is the Factory Axle vs's the ECS replacement one. Stock on bottom, ECS replacement axle on top.
Untitled by RAudiB7A4, on Flickr

You may not be able to tell in that picture but here's another one that show's my issue very clearly. Stock on the left, ECS replacement axle on the right.
by RAudiB7A4, on Flickr

The first thing you might notice just as I did is that it has a lot less metal where the axle is connected to the transmission and that it does not inspire much confidence when compared to the stock unit.

The next thing that is pretty clearly noticeable is that the shaft of the factory unit is considerably thicker than the shaft of the ECS replacement piece. Again, this is not confidence inspiring.

So I was planning on throwing in the ECS Tuning replacement Axle and forgetting about it. Now, I'm deciding that I'm going to rebuild the OEM piece and put that back in. I have no first hand with RAxles, but everyone around here swears by them so I would say this; Either rebuilt the OEM unit or go with RAxles.

[fly300kts]

Raxles.com !!!

Phil

[eyesolution]

What boot kit did you order and from where Phil? The one I ordered from Europa sent me a smal outer clamp. The first square on the clamp will not reach the secure tab on the other end of the clamp

[Sharkfin]

Phil, can you link the one you bought? A price or part number?

No online part system here: http://www.raxles.com/products.aspx

ECS kits: http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B7_A4-...earch/Cv_Boot/

[fly300kts]

They are so cheap, I bought it from the Dealer at that time

Phil

[J.Owen]

Digging this up rather than starting a new thread.

Anyone know the size of the outer clamp (larger one)? Installed a new boot kit and the outer clamp was not as secure as I had hoped. Ended up popping off after about 100 miles and now i'm in need of a new clamp.

Thanks in advance.

[derrek]

Digging this up rather than starting a new thread.

Anyone know the size of the outer clamp (larger one)? Installed a new boot kit and the outer clamp was not as secure as I had hoped. Ended up popping off after about 100 miles and now i'm in need of a new clamp.

Thanks in advance.

you can get a universal clam from autozone or a store like it if you cant find the right clamp. I've used them in a pinch before.

[marlboro]

I'm trying to do outer CV joint repair right now but I'm stuck with a huge problem. How do I remove the whole wheel assembly from the drive shaft? It doesn't seem like coming out at all. Is there a trick for that? The DIY doesn't really explain. Any tips appreciated.

[derrek]

Put the 17mm allen bolt about halfway in and lightly hit it with a hammer, should come right out. I think we're talking about the same thing but if you can picture that would help a lot.


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[marlboro]

Put the 17mm allen bolt about halfway in and lightly hit it with a hammer, should come right out. I think we're talking about the same thing but if you can picture that would help a lot.


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I was talking about, taking the wheel assembly out of the CV joint. Couldn't figure out how to take it out at first. After quite a bit hammering from behind with plastic hammer, then just put a socket with extension in the hole where the 17mm bolt came out from and by just tapping it few times, the wheel came off.

Just found out my outer boot on the passenger side is torn..thinking of doing the repair this weekend. Do I need to remove the axle or can I just loosen it and move it to one side?

Nope,
you need to remove the complete axle

phil

I'm doing the outer CV right now. You definitely don't need to remove the axle and I didn't even have to disconnect the direction control arm. Once the wheel is disconnected from the CV joint, put back the old 17mm allen bolt into the axle and keep on tightening it. The CV came out very easy for me using this method.

[B72011]

Going to attempt this on both sides ...inner and outer....why not right? I watched a video on boot removal from a guy on YouTube named exovcds on an A6...anyway he switched the cage and bearings from right to left side. Anyone ever done this? Worth the time.....doesn't seem like but a few minutes after its all disassembled. I guess it would be to promote a different wear pattern and thus increase the longevity of the joint?
I used FCP Euro and got either inner or outer for $9.95 each side and Europa for like $24 for the other end. They came with grease , rings, bolts, all of it. Cheap.

[Sanjman]

Thanks for the DIY! I have to admit, I have to multiply your time by 3 for me thanks to my car going through chicago weather and lack of experience.

[MacFady]

Just confirming that on a B6, to remove the passenger axle I only turned the wheel to lock towards the drivers side, took off the shield and 6 flange bolts as well as the axle bolt and was able to pull the axle out without touching anything else ie: left the suspension alone.

Push the inside up towards the CAT and pull the outside down and back. It doesn't seem like it will work going in or out but just line everything up and it can be done. A helper is almost a necessity though I think. I inserted a ? 24mm socket into the hole where the axel bolt was and tapped it with a hammer to push the outside spline portion out of the bearing/hub. When putting it back I pulled down on the outer axel and pushed up on the spline portion to line it up with the hole while someone tried to start the bolt from the outside to pull the axel back into the hub which worked great.

Also, was able to torque the new bolt to 150lbs. + 180 degrees with a 4ft. pipe over a power handle.

[vdubs97]

Are the 6 bolts that holt the axle to the transmission stretch bolts? do they need to be replaced. I know the big 17mm bolt is a stretch bolt and should be replaced but I'm unsure about the 6 smaller bolts.

[VRvento]

Heres my experience with passenger right axle on B7 2.0T Fwd. No need to mess with upper a-arms. I turned steering wheel to lock turning right, no luck. Turned it fully left and bingo came right out. Also I purchased an EMPI fully aftermarket drive axle unit and it cannot be installed.
The 'tripod' housing is too thick to leave any clearance for the 6 bolt heads to go in straight. Maybe not all EMPI shafts are this way but mine was. Order an OEM or OEM reman unit to make sure you are using an OEM 'tripod' housing.

[allstock]

No mention of the the torque specs on the axle flange bolts, anyone know?

[fly300kts]

No mention of the the torque specs on the axle flange bolts, anyone know?

Added

Phil

[allstock]

Thanks Phil those values look right.

[tshon2]

how did you get the screw out of pic number 5 from the top?

[tshon2]

Man just tried that couldn't get it out. Did you have any problems with abs?

[fly300kts]

Man just tried that couldn't get it out. Did you have any problems with abs?

What screw?
Why? You do not touch the ABS. If you have a problem with ABS after this operation, it means that the sensor does no longer read the trak on the axle = wrong axle

Phil

[Kingzilla17]

Any suggestions on how to remove the triple square bolts. Two of the six are stripped. Not sure what to try at this point.
Passenger axel

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[Denio24]

drill it, then get a tap & threaded stud & nut. Tap the hole, thread the stud in, and tighten the nut to the head of the stripped bolt. Has to be left hand thread. That, or just use an extractor bit.

I recommend the stud method as those bolts i believe are torqued at 50 ft lbs.

[Platinumdub-18t]

not to be a negative nelly... but you folks who are removing upper control arms to pull an axle are rediculously overcomplicating this...


YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REMOVE PINCH BOLTS TO PULL AXLES FOLKS.... SIMPLY JACK UP THE UPRIGHT BY PLACING JACK UNDER THE LOWER REAR BALLJOINT... JACK UNTIL THE CAR JUST BARELY BEGINS TO LIFT (RIDE HEIGHT). NOW, TURN THE STEERING WHEEL ALL THE WAY TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CAR (EX: PASSENGER/RIGHT SIDE... TURN WHEEL FULLY TO DRIVER/LEFT SIDE). ENSURE STEERING WHEEL STAYS AT FULL LOCK (CAN HOLD THERE WITH ROPE OUT THE WINDOW OR A LONG BAR TO SEAT. NOW, MINDS WILL BE BLOWN AT HOW MUCH SPACE YOU HAVE TO EASILY DROP AXLE IN/OUT. IT WILL GO IN/OUT FROM BEHIND THE UPRIGHT CLOSEST TO FRONT DOOR, PUT INNER FLANGE AS FAR FORWARD AS POSSIBLE.

I am plum out of all-caps now. I hope this saves some of you massive amounts of time and avoidance of dealing with the pinch bolts when you do not need to. I have a 6-speed, but I am told there is even plenty of room for this to work on the autos as well (but honestly... shame on you for buying an auto S4...).

Its strange that this works, but it just does. You don't even have to force the axles to bend into place --- about 2" of clearance past splines to upright. It also used to work on my last b6 1.8t 6-speed. can change an axle in 10 minutes or less lying in the dirt driveway.

2nd little gem to make your life much easier... when tightening axle bolt... simply insert an 8mm allen key down through the rotor vanes and nudge it up against your caliper, then tighten the axle bolt (can do same for the 6x small inner bolts). This will not damage anything and is by far the easiest method.

[B7a43.2]

additional tips on b7( 2006-08) audi a4 cv joints. so i tackled this job this weekend on my b7 Audi a4 3.2L auto and man should I tell u on a lowered car not as easy as u guys made it seem. was a pain in the butt to get to the 6 triple square bolts on driver side as it's far and if the bit is too big then causes another issue. anyways for those who are in Canada and don't get the exact tool bit theres a triple square u can buy that fits a 13mm socket or 1/2" wrench on it at auto parts. driver side use the wrench on the bit and double it up with another to loosen them from under the car.

on the passenger side socket wrench with a extension work great. driver side it's just too far to use a socket set on. but there's enough opening to use the bit and put the 1/2" wrench on it.

also, I only removed only the tierod bolt to turn the wheel assembly to the opposite side to get the axles in and out. passenger side is a b**ch to get back in but get it in place and hammer it in slightly to clear the wheel bearing housing and it's in in no time.

another note if u get other axles that are in ur car that aren't stock the housing looks different from stock because nothing is direct fitment from stock to aftermarket axles which means can't swap out the tripod bearings or the housing... stock their smaller and splines don't quite match up. the aftermackets are slightly bigger in every way. sucked for buying oem spare parts to swap out and not able to cause at some point someone swapped the entire axle assembly on my car.

hope this helps some ppl



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[pilotguy]

sweet post man, on a side note are you still rebuilding headlight ballasts, I need some help with mine? If you have a minute could you email or text me ?
thanks in advance
Tim 732-768-7805
[email protected]

[K1196A]

Thanks for the DIY... as per usual... it doesn't go as easily for me, but it did get done!

[JHignight]

👍 to this thread so I knew what I was getting into this afternoon. Thanks for the write-up!

Side note, I did NOT disconnect any suspension parts. Just jacked up the car onto stands, then used the jack to bring the suspension up to ride height and turned the wheel in the opposite direction of the side I was working on. Plenty of room to get the axles out and back in. And used my usual screwdriver in the brake rotor method of holding the axle still while removing the flange bolts.

[fly300kts]

👍 to this thread so I knew what I was getting into this afternoon. Thanks for the write-up!

Side note, I did NOT disconnect any suspension parts. Just jacked up the car onto stands, then used the jack to bring the suspension up to ride height and turned the wheel in the opposite direction of the side I was working on. Plenty of room to get the axles out and back in. And used my usual screwdriver in the brake rotor method of holding the axle still while removing the flange bolts.

Welcome, this DIY was meant to help and I am glad it does

Phil

[mudd1011]

Someone posted a question in this thread about if you need to replace the six flange bolts but there was no answer. I'm planning on replacing a torn cv boot soon and was wondering the same thing. my cv boot kit came with a replacement axle bolt but I wasn't sure if I need to replace the six flange bolts as well. Anyone know if I need to?

Thanks

[fly300kts]

Someone posted a question in this thread about if you need to replace the six flange bolts but there was no answer. I'm planning on replacing a torn cv boot soon and was wondering the same thing. my cv boot kit came with a replacement axle bolt but I wasn't sure if I need to replace the six flange bolts as well. Anyone know if I need to?

Thanks

You can reuse them

Phil

[Ringsby4]

Great DIY Phil ,I'm sure its had a lot of hits for A/ziners doing this job.I'm just at half time having just got my RH axle out and now doing a much funner job-lunch spit roast for my son's return home !
I've some solutions that I discovered to aspects of the job ( eg how to get that biach of a high torque axle bolt out if its beeending my massive breaker bar ! ) ,I'll post here shortly with pics.Tomoz CV boot replacement- cheers

[Jet08]

Good on ya Ringsby, I have to replace my CV's soon so any tips will be appreciated.

[Ringsby4]

Finally had a chance to post some things I discovered doing this job,here in no particular order :

1.Aftermarket boot kits are okay but on advice from others probably only use GKN,the OEM supplier.These are sold by the likes of Europaparts,JHM and so on.Warning the clamps that come with the INNER boot kit ( box on the left ) are absolute shite-large one is too small and the quality compared to the OEM Oetiker is deplorable.Weirdly the OUTER kit comes with the good OEM clamps.So,to not use these lousy clamps,I bought genuine large clamps from the dealership-thats the bag in the front with its part # and re-used the old small clamps after carefully removing them ( those were only available ex Germany ).



2.Undoing the recessed hex axle bolt is a trip.Its done up to a crazy torque figure.I discovered also that the OEM bolt has a smaller hex than the supplied bolt (which must be replaced ).So you will need two hex tools.I made one up for the OEM that only had to be removed and also made a massive breaker bar which was on the point of exploding to undo it-well maybe not but it was bloody tight.Only the crankshaft bolt ever gave me as much trouble.I manged to get 90 degrees of stretch doing them up after the initial torque that is called for,I was just too scared to go any further as the specs call for 180 deg.
WARNING-DO NOT even consider using a rattle ( impact ) gun to try undo the axle hex,transaxle damage can ensue !





3.Axle removal is piece of cake on (your) drivers side and a bit tricky on the other side because of the exhaust,I have a dp and this made it even harder because of its bracket but I undid the lower coilover mount,jacked up the suspension and wiggled it out.



4.Removing the outer CV joint is accomplished by driving the NEW hex bolt in with a rattle gun which then releases the housing over the snap ring.I say new as the old one will have slightly deformed threads from its previous installation.Re-installation is by hitting the spline with a rubber mallet after CAREFULLY engaging the internal spline and making dead sure everything is lined up straight.It will just pop over...try pulling outwards to be sure of positive engagement.
Also worth noting that with Wolfies 200,000km ( (120,000 miles ),no boots have ever been replaced.Only the rubber inners were torn-one only just getting through to the inside ie no leaks on that side -yet.The synthetic rubber ( stiffer ) outers were both okay.So much for ppl saying that the softer boots are superior.This doesn't of course take into account that the inners may by subject to a greater arc of movement.

Hope the above helps,in a rush now but if I think of anything else I'll post a bit later,cheers

[BSieben]

Open the hood and go from the inside of the bay, On driver side for the 6 tripple squares.

[BSieben]

Was this ever solved? I have the same exact issue. The replacement has that weird bracket for the 6 bolts. It seems an inch short to reach the mounting holes. But supposedly it is the exact part number my car requests. 2006 to 2008 - a4 quattro 2.0T manual 6 speed.
Did you end up going with oem? Or is it the wrong axel?