Axle boot problem

jeffreygebhart · 5 April 2017

Hi Everyone,

I just talked with the guys servicing my car and learned of a problem: one of the axle boots (cv boots?) is leaking grease and needs to be replaced. The boot is old, brittle and deteriorating. The problem is that the mechanic has said that he cannot get either end of the driveshaft off, necessary to replace the boot, and that both ends of the shaft have "seized" to the parts to which they are connected and that he is concerned that if he applies the amount of force necessary to break the parts apart that he may either damage the parts on which he is working or even a surrounding part. So the dilemma is to take a chance and give him the green light to force it so that the boot can be replaced, or try to cut off the old boot and install a new boot, which would have been similarly cut, and try to epoxy it or somehow stitch it together. Seems like two lousy options to me. :frown: If any of you guys could give me your thoughts I would be very grateful! Thanks.

Larry Bastanza · 5 April 2017

I am assuming we are talking passenger side inner boot throwing grease. Really common, but please confirm. The inner CV has a circlip, so you will need to pop it out using a pair of pry bars 180 degrees apart to get it loose. The outer CV joint is probably "living" in its spot since it has never been disassembled. Once you get the inner one out, the driveshaft will be clear to move inward, although it will not. I usually put the nut back on the axle shaft to protect the threads, and many times have had to use a large hammer(sledge) to get it to move at all. You can blast the splines with PBBlaster and let it sit overnight, this will help. This can be a major first time challange, and you also may need to reinstall the lower a-arm to be able to get enough force on the splined shaft.

HTH,
LarryB

jeffreygebhart · 5 April 2017

Larry Bastanza said:
I am assuming we are talking passenger side inner boot throwing grease. Really common, but please confirm. The inner CV has a circlip, so you will need to pop it out using a pair of pry bars 180 degrees apart to get it loose. The outer CV joint is probably "living" in its spot since it has never been disassembled. Once you get the inner one out, the driveshaft will be clear to move inward, although it will not. I usually put the nut back on the axle shaft to protect the threads, and many times have had to use a large hammer(sledge) to get it to move at all. You can blast the splines with PBBlaster and let it sit overnight, this will help. This can be a major first time challange, and you also may need to reinstall the lower a-arm to be able to get enough force on the splined shaft.

HTH,
LarryB

It is the passenger side inner boot that's posing the problem. I just returned from the dealership where the work is being performed. The mechanic gave me a thorough briefing of the problem as we were standing under the car. Larry, he did everything that you suggested up to the point of blasting PBBlaster on the splines, and did not reinstall the lower a-arm. He said that he tried an air hammer as well as a sledge to try to free the parts, both with no luck. The pry bars were moving the metal fitting inside of the circlip, but not the component that he was trying to free, and he was really reluctant to start whaling on it. This guy has turned wrenches on cars for a long time and is no stranger to the NSX. When I finally asked the mechanic what he would do were it his car, without hesitation he responded that he would simply leave it alone. The leak is very minor, and we're just going to "watch" it (kindof sounds like a terminally ill octogenarian, doesn't it?!). If the leak progresses to the point where "watching" is no longer an option, I'll take it to the next step. It's nevertheless disappointing because it serves as one more reason to leave the car in the garage and admire it, but what I want to do is drive it more, and I'm a little more reluctant to do that now. The car has yet to reach 44,000 miles.

unc0808 · 6 April 2017

Hey Jeff, sorry to hear about the issue. Let's get ours out of the garage soon.

I don't have any advice however Paul told me where you took your car and I am currently working with Devon also on an issue with mine. He's been under/over NSX's 20 years so whatever you decide to do, you're in good hands.

JohnWayne · 6 April 2017

jeffreygebhart said:
It is the passenger side inner boot that's posing the problem. I just returned from the dealership where the work is being performed. The mechanic gave me a thorough briefing of the problem as we were standing under the car. Larry, he did everything that you suggested up to the point of blasting PBBlaster on the splines, and did not reinstall the lower a-arm. He said that he tried an air hammer as well as a sledge to try to free the parts, both with no luck. The pry bars were moving the metal fitting inside of the circlip, but not the component that he was trying to free, and he was really reluctant to start whaling on it. This guy has turned wrenches on cars for a long time and is no stranger to the NSX. When I finally asked the mechanic what he would do were it his car, without hesitation he responded that he would simply leave it alone. The leak is very minor, and we're just going to "watch" it (kindof sounds like a terminally ill octogenarian, doesn't it?!). If the leak progresses to the point where "watching" is no longer an option, I'll take it to the next step. It's nevertheless disappointing because it serves as one more reason to leave the car in the garage and admire it, but what I want to do is drive it more, and I'm a little more reluctant to do that now. The car has yet to reach 44,000 miles.

Is the work being performed at an Acura Dealership? If you truly are going to leave it you may consider a zip tie around the boot in addition.
I believe the Mechanic but I find it sad that if this is Acura they are letting you leave without fixing the problem. He needs to pull the whole arm off with axle still connected and use an press to push it out. I have had multiple axles freeze in NSX hubs. Kaz on the UK board documents this as well.

jeffreygebhart · 7 April 2017

unc0808 said:
Hey Jeff, sorry to hear about the issue. Let's get ours out of the garage soon.
I don't have any advice however Paul told me where you took your car and I am currently working with Devon also on an issue with mine. He's been under/over NSX's 20 years so whatever you decide to do, you're in good hands.

Jim, you're right...we do need to all get together soon! I think Devon (Devin?) is knowlegable, did a good job and I'm sure that I will take my car back to him for maintenance in the future. I may, however, eventually take it up to John Vasos for this axle boot issue. It wouldn't hurt to have a second pair of eyes look it over, it's not going to go away, and I'd like to have it repaired once-and-for-all. Do you think
anyone would give me too much grief if I arrived at an NSX event in an S2000?

jeffreygebhart · 7 April 2017

JohnWayne said:
Is the work being performed at an Acura Dealership? If you truly are going to leave it you may consider a zip tie around the boot in addition.
I believe the Mechanic but I find it sad that if this is Acura they are letting you leave without fixing the problem. He needs to pull the whole arm off with axle still connected and use an press to push it out. I have had multiple axles freeze in NSX hubs. Kaz on the UK board documents this as well.

Sent you 2 PM's, the second thinking that my first PM wasn't sent. Work done at an Acura dealership. Where is Kaz's UK board?

dragoon · 8 April 2017

jeffreygebhart said:
Where is Kaz's UK board?

http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/forum.php

Scrapdog2grand · 12 April 2017

I am a former Acura tech and this should not be a problem for a seasoned tech. A decent hub puller will push that axle right out with a little work.
Both my axles were stuck in my 91 and in about 15 minutes both were free. Let me know if you need some pics but a google search should do the trick.

jeffreygebhart · 12 April 2017

Scrapdog2grand said:
I am a former Acura tech and this should not be a problem for a seasoned tech. A decent hub puller will push that axle right out with a little work.
Both my axles were stuck in my 91 and in about 15 minutes both were free. Let me know if you need some pics but a google search should do the trick.

Thanks for the response! I was pretty bummed when I left the dealership because I was under the impression that I essentially had two options with this: to let it go and hope for the best or to try to force it apart knowing that there was a real possibility of sustaining significant damage. I'm now hopeful that this may be able to be resolved correctly, which is great! I may tackle this issue later this summer, taking it to the "local" NSX guru for the area (didn't take it to him initially because he's 2 hours away) once my finances recover from the bruising they've received.

Axle boot problem

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