Discovered the other day that not only was my right outer CV boot gone, which I knew about and was about to get a full shaft replacement for, but also my left inner boot was gone, meaning I'm up for two shafts! :(

Anyway, there seems to be a lot of oil coming from the inner boot? Shouldn't there only be grease in there? Or is this oil leaking out from elsewhere through the drivetrain? Will simply replacing the shaft do the trick, or is there something deeper that needs to be looked at?

I don't seem to be losing much oil as such, but there has definitely been some dripage of late...

check ur seals where the drive shaft goes into the gearbox u might need to replace both of them. 1 each side

rogue if the "oil" inside the c.v boot was black what you are seeing is the remains of the factory graphite based grease that was installed originally. its very common for this grease to breakdown to a oily substance.

Didn't get too close a look, but it appeared to be brownish. Maybe.

Discovered the other day that not only was my right outer CV boot gone, which I knew about and was about to get a full shaft replacement for, but also my left inner boot was gone, meaning I'm up for two shafts! :(

Anyway, there seems to be a lot of oil coming from the inner boot? Shouldn't there only be grease in there? Or is this oil leaking out from elsewhere through the drivetrain? Will simply replacing the shaft do the trick, or is there something deeper that needs to be looked at?

I don't seem to be losing much oil as such, but there has definitely been some dripage of late...

"which I knew about and was about to get a full shaft replacement" just because the boot is gone? replace the boot...its not that hard to do..(i just did mine) no point replacing CV unless it is worn and knocking..


"Anyway, there seems to be a lot of oil coming from the inner boot?" this will be not your CV boot but it will actually be your halfshaft seal, they get hard after a long time and start leaking oil. CV boot has grease not oil.. I just replaced my Gearbox halfshaft Seals, Both CV joint boots and machined the flywheel :)

"which I knew about and was about to get a full shaft replacement" just because the boot is gone? replace the boot...its not that hard to do..(i just did mine) no point replacing CV unless it is worn and knocking..It is knocking slightly, has been gone for quite some time. At the very least the CV would need to be dismantled and thoroughly cleaned, but for the price of a fully installed replacement shaft, I think I'm much better off going that way. Replaced a CV boot last year on the left side, or more accuractely my father did most of it, and for the amount of time and effort it took, the full replacement seems the best value for money. I simply don't have access to any workspace or garage to do it myself, let alone the tools (believe me, dad had a hell of a time, and he's been doing this stuff for 40+ years).(PS. My parents live 500km away, hence the not using dad's stuff).
Or maybe I just had an extremely stubborn CV.


it will actually be your halfshaft sealIs this easily accessible when the driveshaft is out? Any clue as to whether a CV place (Driveline et al) would do these cheaply?

It is knocking slightly, has been gone for quite some time. At the very least the CV would need to be dismantled and thoroughly cleaned, but for the price of a fully installed replacement shaft, I think I'm much better off going that way. Replaced a CV boot last year on the left side, or more accuractely my father did most of it, and for the amount of time and effort it took, the full replacement seems the best value for money. I simply don't have access to any workspace or garage to do it myself, let alone the tools (believe me, dad had a hell of a time, and he's been doing this stuff for 40+ years).(PS. My parents live 500km away, hence the not using dad's stuff).
Or maybe I just had an extremely stubborn CV.

Is this easily accessible when the driveshaft is out? Any clue as to whether a CV place (Driveline et al) would do these cheaply?

oh ok just wasn't sure if it was knocking.. (btw does it knock in 1st gear? or when you turning...? cause u may have a different prob)
anyway yes the halfshat seal is...
the "driveshaft" as you would say is the halfshaft..
now where the halfshaft goes into the gearbox, there is a seal with a spring inside that the half shaft goes thru.. it should fit nice and tight.. but over time it hardens up and leaks.. they are about $24 for both and they are easy replace if u have the right tool (garage would be the best place for this..
the other thing to check on ur halfshaft.. is if it maybe has slipped out.. (happened to me)
check for the shiny steel where ur CV's enter the gearbox.. u will see oil dripping out..
anywayz hope some of this helps..
btw i know what u mean about "dads" helping out..mine helps me to :) thank goodness

oh 1 more thing..
the brownish yellow grease in the CV means that water has got into it. :P

...then again, if anyone in the Brissy area has the knowledge and equipment to help, I'm more than willing to throw a slab at them...:D

If the boots gone it will have grit inside the mechanism. I have replaced boots before and if it has a slight knock when turning..it is time to replace them!! The job is easy if you have the gear to do it but in the long run it is so easy to just drop it off at the shaft joint and pick it up later all done. For around $300 all up both sides fitted it's cheap.
Then again if you can handle the knocking for another 50000k or so it won't hurt anything it's just annoying!!
Moz!:cool:

That's what I was going to do, but now that it looks like maybe the half-seal is gone, I'm not sure on what course of action to take.
The outer right I could live with, but I'm thinking it's not good to drive with the inner left the way it is. It was all milky when I looked yesterday, which I think is the combination of the [leaking oil from half-seal?] and my leaking water pump. Water pump has slowly leaked from the beginning, was thinking of replacing it when I get around to getting the timing belt done, which I should do soonish (currently 195K, replaced around 100K).

As I said, if there's anyone in the Brissy area willing to help out...

Yeah, best price I've found in my local(ish) area so far is CV Joint Reclaimers in Slacks Creek, $165 each side. Will have to ask them if they do half-seals at all...

OK, just tried to have a closer look, but don't have any way to get under the car, so stuck the camera in and hoped for the best!
Is the green thingy the inner tripod CV? You can see in one shot how the boot is well and truly split. So the grease/oil appears to be from here, or possibly (but not looking likely) the bearing it goes through?
Replacement shaft = sweet?

PS. As this is where the drive shaft meets the transfer shaft, not at the gearbox, looks like the half-seals are OK. Can't say I've noticed any oil from where the shafts enter the gearbox.

oh thats the passenger side.. :P (btw before replacing CV joint, check that its not the carrier bearing thats gone) if you don't know what that is, its the arm you can see on the left side of the second picture.. there is a bearing in there which can sometimes go causing the CV to knock slightly.. only very slightly thou..

yeh i see the split.. yeh thats definate boot replacement..
what about the driver's side? is that ok?
i would help you but im in sydney so...