cv boot or cv joint

in my experience, that's pretty lucky, particularly for vehicles that
have been anywhere near the rust belt. the only 100% reliable way to
seperate the ball joint without damaging anything is to use a tool like
this:

http://www.etoolcart.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=6556

this design is like the honda factory recommended tool and /completely/
reliable. the price of the tool is small compared to the cost of
sweating & swearing, then resorting to "methods" that cause damage and
still may not work.

 

the axle failure rarely causes the bearing to go bad, but it's not
uncommon for bearings to be ruined by the axle guy pounding on the axle
stub - brinells the bearing races.

if you can, find someone that knows what they're doing & you should have
no problems. grease leakage does /not/ effect the bearing.

 

Wonderful link!! It's such an easy addition that I've already put it into
the FAQ.
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html#balljoints

As far as I'm concerned, the price of $48 US is peanuts for something that
makes a super-ugly job an easy one.

Thanks.


And just in case anyone ends up searching this in Google Groups, the tool
information is:
Ball Joint Separator OTC6297
about $48US

Owatonna Tool Co.
655 Eisenhower Drive
Owatonna, MN 55060
800-533-6127 | 507-455-7000
International Sales: 507-455-7223
Fax: 507-455-7451
www.otctools.com

 

Oh, yeah! $48 sounds like a lot for a special-purpose tool... until you are
trying to separate the durned thing without it! Then it starts sounding real
cheap.

Mike

 

In my experience, people who charge relatively little for a job like this
are simply experienced or skilled enough to make it look easy. I think this
one will go well.

Mike

 

Thanks a million for the link! I ordered one tonight so I won't suffer as
much the next time (I think my Volvo is next... something is loose in the
right front). One thing I like about it is that even if the leverage can't
quite convince the taper pin to let go, I can leave it in place and holding
pressure while I rap on the side of the receptacle with the air hammer to
upset the fit. It also has a relieved area for the boot, eliminating the
worry about tearing the boot.

I completely agree about the worry of causing damage and still failing - the
twin terrors of auto repair.

Mike

 

Well here is the outcome,they suspected the axles that were supposed to be
only 2 years were never changed,i needed new bearings,new rotors,2
axles,the final cost with oil change and oil plug and washer was 1100.00
and he only charged me 250 for labor,he is a great guy he looks out for
me,and also he showed me everything that was wrong before he ordered
everything,he has helped me out in the past before for hardly anything,but
at least i have everything new.

 

Glad to hear of the good outcome, sad to hear the axles weren't changed to
start with. Grr!

You are ahead of the game now (even $1100 poorer - you'll recover from that
long before you have to go through that again). I know the rotors and
bearings are fairly expensive, but getting those done while everything is
apart saves paying for labor a second time.

Mike

 

hmm, i guess you can say it's good that they'll not have to do this
again, but at the risk of sounding like a whiner, honestly, how many
hondas do you know that genuinely need /two/ new bearings plus rotors at
only 120k? this is not a ford. $1100? bearings are $60 each, less if
you go to the bearing store. rotors about $50 each. decent quality
driveshafts are about $120 each. plus $250 labor, i still only make
that a $710 job, and i think about $220 of that is unnecessary.

 

i guess you havent read my previous posts lately,they did not replace the
axles in the first place when they were torn before we bought the car,my
rotors were bad i looked at them,just because i am a girl doesnt mean i
dont know shit about cars,plus part prices are different everywhere in the
u.s. depending were you live!!!!! it's done and over with now.....,and to
let you know also is labor is 75/hour in md.,but for now i still dont have
the car back its still there the parts people kept bringing the wrong
axle,and then the axle shaft was too short,too much drama for 2 days

 

I had one go out at around 100K and the other around 130K. Its easy
to see it, just look under the car and look at the drive mechanism
that goes to the wheels. The rubber boot will be split.

A symptom is hearing a clicking noise when you go through a tight
turn.

As I recall I paid either $200 or $300 per boot. You replace it with
a rebuilt one.

Supposedly you can just replace the rubber but that requires more
labor to take it all apart - so rebuilt ones seem like a logical
approach.

 

please don't flame - i made no such assertion.

agreed, but with respect, shopping around saves money. if you can buy
the parts online for the prices i quoted, genuine honda parts from a
honda dealer, it helps you negotiate a better price. take printouts of
majestic honda's prices with you next time you need work done & see how
it affects the prices you get quoted. /this is a suggestion, not a
criticism./ works wonders for me.

if the car's ever had a front end collision and has not been repaired
well, it's common for the engine to sit slightly askew and for a shaft
to appear "too short". investigate this & check into getting a cheap &
dirty "reallignment" of the engine in the bay. doesn't need to look
pretty, just make sure the engine sits better. this should have been
checked before the work was commenced.

 

sorry. no the car has never been in an accident.i got her back last
night,so far so good ,but i do have a question about abs brakes i think
thats what i have,to me the brakes feel soft ,i dont remember them feeling
this way,maybe cause i havent driven it in 2 days,but do brakes feel funny
after new rotors? i dont want to spend anymore money

 

No - they should feel about the way they did before. Time for a trip back to
the mechanic. A good mechanic welcomes the chance to take another look at
the work he's done if there might be a problem, and looking at the calipers
he had to move out of the way is easy for him. The last time this happened
to me was because I took the caliper off and the pads out to deglaze them,
then reassembled without relubricating the slide pins. (That's probably what
your mechanic did, since it would be a reasonable place to draw the line as
to how much to check - the brakes are easy to get to and touching them any
more than he had to risked stirring up the evil spirits.) One slide pin was
rusted solid and when I reassembled the brakes that side never grabbed - the
pedal was soft and I could turn that wheel by hand when the brakes were all
the way down!

If you use your best conciliatory manner you may get this as a freebie even
though it probably wasn't strictly speaking his fault. It sounds like he's
been working with you to keep the labor down so far.

Best of luck!

Mike

Mike

 

i went back this morning he readjusted the rear brakes beacuse the front
was fine ,and the guy who usually works on the car said they were fine,i
think its because i forgot how they felt cause i havent driven in 2 days

 

how much are brakes usually? and how about a master cylinder if i ever need
one?

 

Roughly, new "linings" (the friction parts that wear out, pads for disk
brakes and shoes for drum brakes) are about $100 parts and labor for each
axle; that is, that much for the front and that much for the back. The front
wears faster than the rear because it does more of the work in stopping the
car (the weight shifts forward when braking). Figure about the same for the
master cylinder. The master cylinder usually is left alone until it starts
acting up - usually the pedal gets soft or sinks when you are stopped.

Most brake shops will do free brake inspections in hopes of getting the job
if something is bad, and that can be a good way of making sure the brake
linings don't wear out completely. When they do, you get metal to metal
contact and the rotors or (in the rear axle) drums are damaged. Drums
screech when the shoes wear out that far, while disk brakes make an
unmistakable grinding sound when you step on the pedal. Now that you have
new rotors (disks) in the front, you definitely don't want to wait for the
last minute to replace the linings (like you'd want to otherwise... not!).
When the friction material gets down to about 1/8 inch it's time to get new
ones. 1/16th inch is really pressing your luck.

The mechanic who did the front axles can give you an estimate of how soon
you should have the brakes rechecked for wear. I'm sure it won't be soon or
he would have recommended new pads while he had it apart.

Mike

 

The tool arrived today, and it looks good to me. The threads are stout and a
good fit, the metal is heavy and the adaptability looks good. I have to
investigate shaking in the right front of my old Volvo soon - I'll give this
a try if the occasion comes up.

Mike