The quality-design of most of the available boots is so poor this is becoming a common experience. T3 and GoWesty offer heavy duty boots from Rockford and these seem to be holding up much better. All I use now. 

As for doing this yourself you will need some tools and you might find the joints are tight enough on the shaft that they will need to be pressed or pulled off with a puller and somehow driven back on. You will also need either a 6 point allen socket bit or a 12 point bit to remove and re-install the bolts and they should definitely be torqued after installation. Only the joint should have grease. The boot should not be packed. A shop should be able to remove an axle, replace the boots and re-install in about 1.5 hours. 

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Eric Caron
Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2016 4:48 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: CV boot problem repair problem continued

Very little grease up in there at this point.  seemed like very little had been put in there.

So, Assuming I can get the boot, anyone want to talk me through this repair?
Eric Caron 

85 Auto Westfalia 

> On Aug 13, 2016, at 4:34 PM, thewestyman <zolo@foxinternet.net> wrote:
> 
> That boot can break if you put too much grease into it.  The grease belongs only to the steel parts, the balls and the housing.
> Zoltan
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Eric Caron
> Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2016 1:11 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: CV boot problem repair problem continued
> 
> Hi folks,
> 
>       One of the things I had done at John’s Car Corner was replacement of the CV Boot today I was cleaning my engine and found that exact boot ripped to shredds and hanging on by a thread.  What could they possibly do that caused that failure in just a few hundred miles?
> 
> I was to leave on Wednesday for a trip and now this.  Is this boot replacement something I can do with the guidance of this list?
> 
> Eric Caron
> 85 GL Auto Westfalia