Hello All... read the thread about the HHR that had it's boot(s) done at the dealer for something north of $350 and was wondering if anyone had a link to some photos and a how-to for me so that I can tackle this myself? I still yet need to crawl under and make sure something else didn't trigger the dealer to tell me that the boot was leaking. Great site - enjoy the photos especially.

 

to the forum deejay!

Well here's a great video "How To" from Eric The Car Guy over on YouTube, even though he's working on a Honda, the principals remain the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S-ofMoWsr0

But as Eric points out, and as you'll find when you compare the costs and effort required to replace the torn boot/boots, its usually more cost effective to use a re-manufactured half shaft.

As for what to look for, check for grease thrown into the wheel wheel on the side they said was bad, and mark your tire so you can move the HHR back and forth a bit to check the entire outer boot on both sides. For the inner boots, which hardly fail, you'll need to scoot under the vehicle with it safely supported.

 

Just remember: If the boots are cracked and letting grease out, then they can also let in road dirt and water.Cv joints don't last long when exposed to dirt and water. Be safe and replace the half shafts as 843de stated.

 

You got to take it all the way out, So just put a new half shaft in and be done with it. The price is not that bad for a reman.

 

On my old Corolla it was cheaper to buy the wholr shaft assembly then to buy a new CV joint and have it installed.