A6 CV joint rubber covers

Just had an MOT and my Audi A6 passed ok but the advisory said the rubber
covers over the cv joints are split

Can anybody tell me if this is a difficult job to do myself or is it a
garage job ?

thanks very much

JD,
What Robert says is correct, in that you just can't slap another boot on
there. I would avoid split boots altogether, and either go for the boot
that requires the joint to be disassembled (in which case, an entirely
rebuilt axle may be cheaper than the shop charges to
disassemble/wash/reassemble), or opt for a "stretchy" boot - there's a
company in the UK that makes/sells them. I've sent e-mails asking for costs
to ship to me in Canada but they have yet to respond. Either way, the joint
has to be washed clean (when you think it's clean, wash it some more) and
then re-greased.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"Robert" > wrote in message
...
> JD wrote:
>> Just had an MOT and my Audi A6 passed ok but the advisory said the rubber
>> covers over the cv joints are split
>>
>> Can anybody tell me if this is a difficult job to do myself or is it a
>> garage job ?
>
> The major issue is getting rid of the grit that has worked its way into
> the CV joint, after the boot has failed but before you discovered the
> failure. The joint wears extremely quickly once this happens.
>
> I had approx two weeks' grit work its way through a broken CV joint boot.
> I replaced the boot (there are DIY versions that are split parallel to the
> axis of rotation, that can be glued together once the boot is in place)
> but the gritty grease meant that I had to replace the whole joint (plus
> yet another boot) after ca. 5 months. Don't want to go there again.
>
> Get the car to a workshop where the joint can be removed and cleaned out
> thoroughly, before they put a new boot on. Unless you have the necessary
> tools to do the job, in which case you wouldn't have posted your question
> . . .
>
> /Robert
> 2001 A4 1,8 TS Avant B5, Sweden
>