100 Avant CV joint boot change
 

I need to swap a CV joint boot on my C4 2.0E at the weekend. It was done with a stickyboot before I bought it and, shockingly, it has come apart.

HBOL makes it look pretty straightforward:

1. Undo driveshaft bolt.
2. Unbolt drive flange.
3. Wriggle/wrestle/pry driveshaft out.
4. Remove CV joint from shaft with big bolt.

My question is what sort of socket bit do I need for the drive flange bolt. T'internet seems to suggest it is some sort of 12 pointed thing.

Any ideas?

It's an 8mm 12 point spline bit, most accessory shops sell them either singly or as a kit of 5 or so different sizes.

Changing the boot is an easy but messy job with all the grease about but the most important tip is clean out the inside of the driveshaft bolts very well and tap the bit into the bolt to make sure it's fully seated before you try to remove them otherwise they are a pita to get out if the bit slips and rounds the splines out.

Cheers matey. I think I'll have to invest as I'm pretty sure I haven't got one.

I've done this job about 20 times at this stage on various cars. A few tips if I may.

When you're accessing the inner bolts (the 12 spline ones) do so with 2 x 12" extension bars and the wheel off. There will be a sweet spot where you can access them easily so rotate the shaft to suit that position.

Take a few minutes to clean out the inside of the inner bolts. This will allow the socket to seat better an reduce the chances of it spinning.

Hammer the socket tightly into place before you try to loosen anything.

Get a helper to apply the brakes via the pedal. This will keep everything tight as you loosen and tighten things and saves a lot of frustration.

Loosen the big hub bolt before you jack the car up an take the wheel off.

Enjoy. It won't take you too long.

Is it the front or back? Changed a rear inner CV last weekend on a 100 Avant quattro and needed a size 10, 12 point spline and was a tw*t of a job and took 5 hours...:wall:

It's the front nearside. It doesn't look too bad to be honest. Having a flange that unbolts makes it a sight easier than just having CVJs either end of the driveshaft so you have to pop the inner one out of the gearbox (and lose a load of oil. Then lose a load more oil trying to access the filler hole. Then the bolt you thought was the filler hole is actually holding some vital part of the gearbox internals in place. This falls off then you have to take the end plate off the gearbox to refit it.......).

Finally got around to tackling this this morning. Everything went fine right up until the point where I discovered that my star bit is far too small. After much swearing and consideration of stripping off the strut to do it I resigned myself to sticking the wheel back on until I get the right tool.

Can anyone offer a link to the right tool for the job?

Did I understood that right - are you intending to remove whole driveshaft from the car to change rubber boot of outer CV? If yes, you want do to unnecessary job, there's no need to remove driveshaft.

Might be necessary if the outer cv joint was as stuck on as the ones on the Ur! :D

How do I do it then?