Axle grease leaking. Replace boot, replace axle, labor costs?

[ghostman]

I've been coming here every time I run into a problem with my car. I've got a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer LS (automatic) that I purchased used last year. You helped me with my questions last year about the flex pipe and I saved a bunch of money by buying the part on my own and getting the mechanic to install it. I'm hoping for the same this time.

My mechanic said that the axle grease is leaking on both sides and quoted me $500 to replace both axles. I don't know anything about cars (I changed oil for the first time last week) and my apartment complex doesn't allow us to do repairs in the lot. I literally just read up on CV axles for the last 30 minutes. I was told I can ride on these without concern until I start hearing clicking noises when I turn. Is that true? There are currently no noises when I turn. So, a few questions:

Rock Auto has these for $45-55 each:
- http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3857295&cc=1382127&jnid=466&jpid=2
- http://www.cardone.com/Products/Product-Detail?productId=663379&p=rock
What's the ballpark labor costs for both sides to be replaced? And are there any additional parts that I need to supply the mechanic (washers, nuts, c-clips)?

And I also noticed these half-boots/grease/glue kits. If I did this myself, do I have to take anything off the car at all?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=418484&cc=1382127&jnid=467&jpid=6

Thanks for your help.
Incidentally, I found a video of exactly how to replace the axle for my car on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVUJAnngV38
Definitely not something I can do in my parking lot.

 

[NutBucket]

A rebuilt axle should take AT MOST an hour per side to install, especially for a professional mechanic.

Those split boots do work. It may be possible to install them without disassembling anything but not sure about clearances on your car. Do you have any plans on replacing the car sometime soon? The chances of these things failing catastrophically is pretty slim. I would keep driving it until you find a cheaper mechanic or a friend to help you replace it.

 

[ghostman]

A rebuilt axle should take AT MOST an hour per side to install, especially for a professional mechanic.

Those split boots do work. It may be possible to install them without disassembling anything but not sure about clearances on your car. Do you have any plans on replacing the car sometime soon? The chances of these things failing catastrophically is pretty slim. I would keep driving it until you find a cheaper mechanic or a friend to help you replace it.

The car will likely to be replaced in a year. But the more money I throw at it to fix things (I have to replace the tires :-/), the more I'm willing to keep it longer. But I suppose if I fix it, it may have a higher resell value.

What do you mean by clearance in my car? As in, work space in the wheel well? Or the size of the CV boot may be too big?

 

[NutBucket]

I doubt it. The average buyer won't check for torn boots. Now, if it gets noisy then obviously that would be a problem.

And yes, by clearance I mean room to work.

 

[C1]

Have someone (ie, mechanic) look at it and see if a split boot repair will stop/seal the grease leakage.

YOU DONT WANT WATER TO BE ABLE TO LEAK INTO THE AXLE BOOTS.

I've had torn boots replaced in the past (before CV joint becomes worn to clicking) & if intercepted early enough all that was required is installing a new boot along with fresh grease packing.

 

[ghostman]

I went ahead and looked at the wheel well. I can access the boots that are on the wheel side very easily, but I noticed it was completely intact without any grease leakage.

I then looked at the boot that was on the other side of the axle (the transmission side?). I noticed some grease oozing out between the boot and the axle shaft. There was no noticeable tear from my viewpoint and the amount of grease was no more than a pea-sized amount (like the amount of toothpaste you'd use when brushing). So, yes, it's clearly leaking, but it seems to be a very small amount. Is there just a sealant that I could use between the boot and the axle shaft?

Unfortunately, I'm not sure they make replacement boots for the transmission side. Or at least I won't be able to reach it myself with ease.

 

[ghostman]

A little more research and I found this message board:
http://geometroforum.com/topic/4460667/1/

He seems to use Permatex Ultra Black to seal off the ends between the boot and the axle.

Amazon seems to sell it for $6. If this works, it would be a heck of a lot cheaper than $500.
http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-82180-Maximum-Resistance-Silicone/dp/B0002UEN1U

 

[tracerbullet]

If you do that, just be sure things are as clean as possible first. You won't get a seal against existing grease.

 

[NutBucket]

If it's oozing I wouldn't worry about it. The boot will tear long before all the grease is lost.

 

[T2urtle]

I have a 03 lancer. Removal of axle should be an hour each and cost of axles normally run u $50-75.

I've never used these halfboots so I can't comment.

It sounds like ur problem is very minor. If boots are not torn or leaking, keep on trucking.

 

[silicon]

I've been coming here every time I run into a problem with my car. I've got a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer LS (automatic) that I purchased used last year. You helped me with my questions last year about the flex pipe and I saved a bunch of money by buying the part on my own and getting the mechanic to install it. I'm hoping for the same this time.

My mechanic said that the axle grease is leaking on both sides and quoted me $500 to replace both axles. I don't know anything about cars (I changed oil for the first time last week) and my apartment complex doesn't allow us to do repairs in the lot. I literally just read up on CV axles for the last 30 minutes. I was told I can ride on these without concern until I start hearing clicking noises when I turn. Is that true? There are currently no noises when I turn. So, a few questions:

Rock Auto has these for $45-55 each:
- http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3857295&cc=1382127&jnid=466&jpid=2
- http://www.cardone.com/Products/Product-Detail?productId=663379&p=rock
What's the ballpark labor costs for both sides to be replaced? And are there any additional parts that I need to supply the mechanic (washers, nuts, c-clips)?

And I also noticed these half-boots/grease/glue kits. If I did this myself, do I have to take anything off the car at all?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=418484&cc=1382127&jnid=467&jpid=6

Thanks for your help.
Incidentally, I found a video of exactly how to replace the axle for my car on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVUJAnngV38
Definitely not something I can do in my parking lot.

if you decide to try the split boot approach to repair the cv joints then cleanliness is next to godliness. I noticed that the boots need to be glued together to work and to stay put. likely if any grease should contaminate the gluing process then they will fail quickly.
Since you seem to have discovered this soon and you will trade the car soon also you can try just to continue packing grease onto the cv thru the broken boot. They will last if you do that which is what i did on one of my previous cars.

 

[videogames101]

I had a similar problem in a '02 volvo, the driveaxle cost me $75 and took 2 hours to install. No messing around with boot seals. Worth it.

 

[NutBucket]

Just to be clear, the boot isn't torn. There's just some grease seeping out of an end.

 

[leper84]

A rebuilt axle should take AT MOST BOOKTIME per side to install, especially for a professional mechanic.

ftfy. Seriously, not all cars are built the same. Don't put nonsense in peoples heads.

OP, 99% of shops out there are going to sell you a reman or new axle and be done with it. Both new boots, new clamps, new grease, all joints inspected, no risk of contamination. Split boots are cheesy crap. Just fix it correctly the first time.

 

[BUTCH1]

I have a 03 lancer. Removal of axle should be an hour each and cost of axles normally run u $50-75.

I've never used these halfboots so I can't comment.

It sounds like ur problem is very minor. If boots are not torn or leaking, keep on trucking.

I've used one, what I did was remove the torn boot, remove the old grease with clean rags and finish with brake-parts cleaner, re-pack and install the split-boot. Drove it for 2 years afterwards with no issues. Since OP's are just barely leaking he might want to try the sealer route but as already mentioned it must be cleaned thoroughly or it won't seal well or at all. also if OP goes the split-boot route I'd find one that is black, anyone checking out the car as a trade-in will spot the bright blue boot right off the bat.