99 Elantra Driveshaft Boots

Hello everyone,


This past weekend I was flushing the brake fluid lines in my
sister's 99 Elantra and noticed that both outer boots are cracked
right in the middle and from the looks of things it may have been a
while since this has happened as all of the grease looks to be on the
wheels. I haven't done this before so I called the dealer to get a
quote, they had told me that it would run $255 for the labor on the
outer boots plus parts. So now that's got me motivated to actually
learn how to do it. In looking at the Hyundai service document I'm
trying to determine what specialty tools I'm going to need to get the
shaft out. I have the tie rod end puller and the snap ring tool. It
looks like I'll need to get an axle shaft puller but that looks like
all I'll need from the diagram. Are there any other told that I'm
going to need? Also besides getting the new inner and outer boots,
bands and grease, and retainer ring, what other parts will I need for
this job?
I also had a look at advanceautoparts and it looks like they
sell a new axle for about $100, does anyone think I should just buy
this and not worry about replacing the boots/parts on the existing
one?


Thanks in advance,

Nick

 

Since it's likely that dirt and water have found their way into the CV
joints, there's not much point in replacing the boots, as the joints are
probably damaged. Replacing the complete axle assembly is relatively
easy and as you discovered, rebuilt parts are pretty inexpensive.
Frankly, I'm surprised that the dealer would even quote you on a boot
replacement, as they must know that it's a bad idea in such a situation.

 

The axle is much more expensive than the boot at the dealer. Unless the
prices have changed recently, I'd quote the boot if I couldn't find
anything wrong with the axle on my test drive.

 

Thanks Brian and Hyundaitech for your responses. I think I'm going to
get the Cardone axle as everything is already assembled and you just
need to pull out the old and put in the new. Also there is only a $20
difference between getting a rebuilt one and a new one so I'm going to
get both new.
Provided that they do not include the retainer ring, is this
the only part that I would need to buy besides 3 quarts of
transmission fluid?

Thanks again,
Nick

 

you far better off to just replace both axel units

 

Often, you can just transfer the retaining clip from the old axle with a
little action from the pliers so that you close it back up again after you
put it on-- removing usually opens it quite a bit.

I made another response earlier but it apparently hasn't made its way in
yet (and probably never will). It addressed your question of special
tools for axle removal. Usually the axle can be taken loose from the
transmission with a pry bar. It should slide out of the wheel hub after
removing the cotter pin and castle nut. If it doesn't slide out, striking
with a plastic or rubber hammer is usually sufficient.