CV boot replacement

How to tell a boot has torn or a joint is worn

• There is black, sticky grease on the inside of the wheel rim, on suspension parts or around the brakes. The splashes are often the first sign.
• Cracks or a tear show in the folds of the boot, or a clip has come off.
• When you pull away or accelerate on full lock, there is a rhythmic clicking. It usually means the outer joint is already worn.
• The car shudders under acceleration or there is a clunk as you pull away. That can point to a worn inner joint, but worn engine mounts, for example, cause the same symptoms.

A torn boot on its own usually makes no sound and cannot be felt while driving, so many people only hear about it at a service or at the inspection.

When the boot is replaced

There is no manufacturer interval for the boot: it is replaced when it has cracked or torn. A boot grows brittle over the years, and a boot stiffened by frost cracks more easily. So the boots are worth a look at every service and whenever the car is on the lift for some other reason.

If the tear is caught early, replacing the boot alone is usually enough. If the car has been driven a long time on a torn boot, the joint has often had time to wear.

Boot, joint or the whole shaft

The joint's condition can only be judged reliably once the boot is off and the old grease wiped away. So only the check settles which job is done. There are three outcomes:

• Boot replacement, when the joint is sound, with no wear or rust.
• Joint replacement, when the joint is worn, clicks or has rusted. A new joint usually comes with a new boot and grease.
• Driveshaft replacement, when both joints on the shaft are worn or replacing the whole shaft makes more sense than replacing the joint alone. Replacing the shaft is often the quicker job, because the joint does not have to be taken off the shaft.

How the work is done

1. We lift the car and look at all the CV boots, including the other side and the inner ones.
2. We remove the wheel, the hub nut and the suspension parts needed to free the shaft or the joint.
3. We remove the old boot and clean the old grease out of the joint.
4. We check the joint. If it is worn or rusted, we call you before going on.
5. We fill the joint with fresh grease, fit the new boot and tighten the clips.
6. We reassemble the shaft and tighten the hub nut and the other fixings to the manufacturer's torque. Where the manufacturer says a nut or bolt is single-use, we replace it with a new one.
7. We road test the car and check the work once more on the lift.

How long it takes

Replacing one outer boot is usually an hour or an hour and a half of work. It takes longer if the shaft has to come out of the gearbox, if the boots on both sides are replaced, or if bolts have rusted in. After a boot replacement alone the car is usually ready the same day. If a joint or a shaft has to be replaced, the part may have to be ordered.

What the price depends on

The price depends on:

• Which boot is replaced. Outer or inner, one side or both.
• How the car is built. Front-wheel or four-wheel drive, and whether the shaft has to come out of the gearbox. Some gearboxes then lose oil, and the gearbox is topped up at the end of the job.
• Parts. Boots come in rubber and thermoplastic, and original and aftermarket parts differ in price.
• Rust. On a car driven on salted roads the shaft often rusts into the wheel hub and the suspension bolts seize, and freeing them takes time.
• The joint's condition. If the joint is worn, the job becomes a joint or shaft replacement.

We check the car and tell you the price before the work starts. If a worn joint turns up under the boot, we tell you that and the new price before going on.

CV joints and the inspection

The inspection also checks the CV joints and their boots. Under Traficom's inspection rules, a loose or damaged boot is a minor fault, which earns a repair notice. Worn CV joints are a major fault, and the car fails. Four or more minor faults in different inspection items also fail the car.

According to Traficom's statistics, drivetrain faults led to 32 087 repair notices and 2 394 rejections in the 2025 inspections. The statistics do not say how many of them concerned boots.

With a repair notice the car still passes, and nobody checks the repair separately. But a torn boot lets the grease out and the dirt in, and a worn joint does fail the car. So a boot named in a repair notice is worth replacing straight away, not just before the next inspection.

What you can check yourself

• Turn the steering wheel to full lock and look behind the front wheel with a torch. The outer boot sits next to the hub. Check the other side by turning the steering the other way.
• Look at the inside of the rim and at the suspension parts. Black, sticky grease there usually means a torn boot.
• In an empty car park, drive slowly in a circle on full lock, in both directions, with the window open. A rhythmic clicking points to a worn outer joint.
• Note when the noise or the vibration comes, and tell us. It speeds up the diagnosis.

The inner boot usually cannot be seen without a lift.

When not to drive the car

A torn boot with no other symptoms is no reason to leave the car standing, but it is a reason to book a time soon. Do not set off on a long drive, however, if

• the joint clicks or knocks even when driving straight
• the car shudders hard under acceleration
• there is a loud clunk as you pull away.

If the joint breaks apart, the power no longer reaches the wheels, and the car does not move even with a gear engaged. A shaft that has come loose can also damage the parts around it. In that case the car has to be towed to the workshop.