Gearbox gaiters split HELP!
 

hi all,

got a problem... my gearbox gaiters on both front sides have split.

they are the internal gaiters between the drive shafts and gearbox.

the external gaiters at the wheel ends are fine.

questions are....
1) what sort of cost would a machanic charge?
2)i have a bit of DIY experence (suspension strut chage, engine change etc etc) how hard is it to do these gaiters?
3) should i still drive it until its sorted?

Mark

anyone?

If you want to do a proper job, it's unlikely to be as simple as simply replacing the gaiters.

If they've been ripped for some time and the car's been driven, chances are the grease has been contaminated, so at very least I would (if it was my car) take the shafts off, strip the bearings out, check them for any damage due to wear, water or debris ingress, and provided they check out, rebuild them with fresh grease and the new gaiter.

If you wanted to DIY it, getting the shafts off shouldn't be a problem given what you've done in the past. Undo the wishbone lower ball joint, the nut on the outboard end of the shaft, and the pin on the inboard end, and it's off.

If you just wanted to do the gaiter you'd need a fitting tool to force the small end over the body of the joint.

Small point of correction: They're not "gearbox gaiters", they're the inboard driveshaft gaiter. The joint is part of the shaft, not the 'box.

ok, what sort of price should i be looking at roughly.

and thanks for your reply

CV Boots (as we call them here) - are roughly $20NZD (replacement part-comes with grease), and depending on how big the monkey was that did the 32mm nut up, and whether then outer cv spline has seized in hub - its a 20min-4hr job.