Driveshaft boot split.

The other day replaced my gear box oil only to have it come p*ssing out the drive shaft boot that links the shaft to the gearbox. We came up for a pretty good fix for it.

- Jack up and support (or use a set of ramps) the effected side to ensure all the oil drain out of the boot.

- Drain the oil from the gear box.(I kept mine casue it was clean having only just put it in)

- Unscrew the bolts on the flange that hold the boot to the gear box. (A bit of oil may come out if its not all drained back ino thte gear box.)

- Identify the split or hole and clean it up.

- Take a unwanted kitchen knife or screw driver and heat it up as pretty hot (it might be a good idea to wrap a rag around the handle as to not burn yourself). I used a camping stove as i could have it next to the car while i was working.

- Press the hot kife into the split and wait a couple of seconds. Remove the knife and press the split closed. This is fiddly so you may want to arrange the boot in position on the drive shaft before you do it. Be careful the hot knife will go through the boot like butter.

- Allow to cool and check to see if the split has closed. Re do it if necessary.

- The boot should rotate in the flange so position the ex-split at the highest point jsut to reduce the chance of leaks.

- Re attach the flange to the gear box and refill the oil.

- Job done.

- I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS AS A PERMANENT FIX JUST A STOP GAP BETWEEN FINDING THE LEAK AND SOURCING A NEW BOOT. GET ONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

I've only ever done the inner boot twice - and what a PITA getting it off & getting the new one on - two different cars but the methods were almost identical.
A couple of years later I see an advert for a 'euro boot', a CV boot supplied in two halves that you 'simply' glue together, and certaily cheaper than the boots I had to buy.
Not sure how easy they would be to glue together but the first time I replaced the inner boot, the garage quoted me £200 & told me it was an 8 hour job. I managed it on my ramps in a little under 7 hours (two boots). Second time I only had the one boot & managed that in about 3 hours.
I'd certainly chance the glued boot if it saved all that messing about.

wot car u have mate? & is it o/s or n/s?

I used a split boot recently, crap, get a proper boot if you can.