O/S/F CV GAITER

[marco2002]

Hi
Just need a bit of advice. Recently put the 406 into the garage to get the o/s/f cv gaitor done. I supplied the part they fitted it all fine so far. Got the car back drove it for a couple of weeks then was having a look underneath and noticed the gaitor they had fitted was leaking cv grease and was slipping off. Took the car back and they agreed to re-do it. Waited while they did it. Apprentice came out and said it might stay on see how it goes. I wasn't very happy after parting with £67.00 for them to do it plus the £15 part thought it was a bit of a cheek in fact.

Had a look at it the next day and there was more cv grease leaking out of it. So back to the garage again. Spoke to the boss and he blamed it on my part saying that it was "too baggy or loose and i would have been better off supplying them with a universal cv boot(rubber/stretchy type). He said he wasn't prepared to do it again. I said well give me one of those metal clips and I'll do it myself. Then he said even if you do it i doubt it will work and then scuttled off and came back with a metal clip which he said he would sell me!

I told him i thought after forking out £67.00 he should give me the clip as a token of goodwill as i need the car for my work and i do spend a fair amount of money there. I didn't pay for his clip and went to the motor factors. bought a clip for 50p cleaned up the driveshaft, cv gaitor,cv joint in situ as it was fairly clean, packed cv joint with grease put the cv gaitor back on did the new metal clip up as tight as i could . All seemed well after that. Needless to say i've just written to the garage for a refund of the labour and i doubt i'll go back there again.

Today i've just looked at the cv gaitor and theres a bit more grease leaking out and even though i did the meatal tie up really tight its moving just a touch letting the grease out. The cv gaitor itself is one of the plastic ones looks very similar to the ones you buy from Peugeot. Has anyone else had this problem with this type of cv gaitor. I'm thinking maybe i'd have been better getting a universal one even though this part was ordered specially as it only fits a 406. When i refitted the cv gaitor the cv joint was all degreased and the edge where the boot goes onto the cv joint was also clean. Any advice would be appreciated. Want to get this fixed a bit quick over the weekend. I know this post is a bit long winded but sometimes more info is better than less.....

[lozz]

dont use the metal clips,
get a thick cable tie,

cv gaitor might be too big or they got grease everywhere making it imposible to get the clip to clamp,
clean everything off and cable tie it

[marco2002]

Thanks for the advice. When i cleaned everything last time it didn't look like they had done a good job of cleaning it up. I'll have another go at cleaning it up.
The cv gaitor seemed a good fit on the cv joint makes you wonder why they supply it with metal ties instead of plastic ones.

[jasper5]

If there is plenty of room for a jubilee clip to go round the gaitor fit one of these, check that as the shaft spins it doesn't catch anything.....those hard plastic gaitors are notorious for this problem...ask a Vauxhall owner...Corsa are the worst.

A cable tie will not do the job i'm afraid.

[marco2002]

Thanks Jasper

I'll get a jubilee clip tommorow. As much as i don't like it i think the bloke in the garage may have been party right when he said a universal cv boot (rubber type) fits easier than the plastic type. They couldn't get it to stay on and what i've done is 10 times better i pulled the meatl tie i fitted on as tight as i could get it then tensioned it crunching the metal bit on top with a pair of pincers and still the grease leaked out after running it for a couple of days but the cv boot has stayed on and only moves a tiny bit its just the issue with the grease leaking i don't really like the idea of it being near the discs and caliper and i suppose theres the chance that the cv joint could end up a bit dry.

The metal tie i used is the one that has squares cut out all the way round then you just pull it on as tight as you can and there are like little metal bits that stick out and they hook under the square holes if that makes sense. Theres also another metal tie they had in the factors that has a bearing inside like a plastic cable tie once its on it only goes tighter but i think you need a special tool to tension it. I see what you mean about using a jubilee clip not sure about the clearance i'll have a go tommorow and let you know what happens. Thinking about it thats the best idea so far as i doubt one of those will come off.

Cheers

[lozz]

its more than likely theyve just got Grease everywhere
its a Mare to fit a cv gaiter if theres grease on the boot Maybe they Rushed it

[marco2002]

Hi
i think they definately rushed the job the first time and they didn't do much better the 2nd time gave the job to an apprentice. It took me a fair while to clean it all up. Letter will be in the post tommorow to ask for money back.

[marco2002]

Hi
Just finished the cv gaiter. The jubilee clip idea didn't work wouldn't clear the gap in between the hub and cv joint it was a shame as i thought it was the best idea so far and at least you could get it nice and tight. So i've had clean everything again, wire brush the driveshaft, cv joint, de-grease the cv boot, re-pack the cv joint with grease and put it back together and use another metal clip. I managed to get it tensioned a bit tighter this time. Whether it will stay on only time will tell. I'm thinking if it doesn't i'll use the money i get back off the garage for refund of labour and go somewhere else maybe use a universal/ stretchy boot next time. I've got the next 3 days off so i can keep an eye on it......MOT soon so i want it spot on really.

Thanks

[marco2002]

Hi
Heres a quick update as the cv boot hasn't held out still has grease leaking out . I was hoping after all my effort over the weekend i'd cracked it at last . So I think it will have to be a rubber type cv boot or one of the stretch ones. The thermoplastic cv type boot just won't stay on. It was a shame jaspers idea with the jubilee clip idea didn't work. So i'll have to get myself a decent breaker bar and a socket i think its 34mm. Its been a while since i did one of these if i remember rightly you have to take the nut off the lower balljoint and use a balljoint separator then push down on the lower suspension arm and pop the cv joint out of the hub and also be careful not to lose the gearbox fluid? Can someone jog my memory....

Thanks

[jasper5]

Marco, i have a similar job to do on friday this week on a Mitsubishi Carisma diesel....as you say, it's a pity the jubilee clip didn't work (I always carry a bag of 4 inch clips for plastic cv boots)....anyway, the Mitsubishi needs a special flat clip because of no gap at the caliper.

I bought one from a local factor, it's a flat clip without the squares, the inner part goes through the outer part and as you slide the inner part through it holds it tight.

[marco2002]

Hi Jasper
I'm looking at one of these just now bought one from the car shop a while ago the bloke said you can use one of these instead of the other type with the squares cut out.It looks like a large metal cable tie but instead of having the big plastic bit at the end with a bit of plastic inside it has a bearing so once its pulled on it will only go tighter? I do remember the car shop bloke saying you are supposed to have the proper tensioning tool to do it up? Is there anything else you could use i've been using a big pair of molegrips and a bit of brute force to get it nice and tight. To be honest the clip that i put on recently with the squares cut out was on really tight crunched the metal bit with a set of pincers as far as it would go and i really did think i'd cracked it i looked underneath yesterday and theres a bit of cv grease oozing out on the edges. I'm just wondering if using this type of clip is any better as you can only use so much brute force. Let me know how you get on with your job. I might have one last attempt at this on friday as i finish work early have the evening off. I've just sent my letter off to the garage that fitted it originally for a refund of the labour. They used to be a Vauxhall dealer round here so after what you said about vauxhalls having the same problem with plastic cv boots you would think they could get it right first time? Lol. I was thinking about buying a decent breaker bar and a 34mm socket just in case i have to get a stretch boot/rubber one. Thanks for your help.

[jasper5]

Hi Marco, every Corsa I have serviced recently has had the metal clip broken on the CV boots!

The clip you got is the one I am using friday, I don't have a tool for tensioning them but I know what it is.

Make sure you get the correct socket for the hub nut, I thought they were 35mm....my 36mm fits but it's a bit slack, I haven't bothered with the correct one as I have 2x36mm sockets.

Those clips with the squares are a bit awkward to fit, I never seem to be able to use them.

There is another alternative....in some CV boot kits I buy there is a metal strap that wraps around the gaitor, you pull it as tight as you can get it and fold it over to stop it coming off, cutting off the excess with side cuts.

If you still feel confident with the clip with the squares, why not try cleaning the cv joint surface and the boot and slipping some silicon sealer around the boot ....as you tighten it the sealer will stop the grease coming out.

Good luck anyway

[marco2002]

Hi jasper

i think i'll have another go at repairing before i start taking the cv joint out of the hub. The silicone sealant you were talking about do you put a smear of it between the cv joint and boot and then pull the metal tie tight? or do you just put a smear of it around the edge of the boot itself? Good luck with your job.
I have an old pug 106 1.5d which needs to be fixed wondered if you could give me a bit of advice on whether it can be fixed. to cut a long story short last year it dropped to -12 here pump froze solid non-starter even with easy start. AA man came out said it will need new glow plugs and the cambelt looks looser than it should be, he suspected because the pump froze solid that it may have jumped a few teeth. Tested the anti-freeze and it was non existent. I think there may be a possibility the valves could be bashed up a bit. I did notice cylinder heads for these are fairly cheap from the breakers so maybe that could be an option. Its a shame to just scrap it as it was running great upto the big freeze here. Thanks

[jasper5]

Hi jasper

i think i'll have another go at repairing before i start taking the cv joint out of the hub. The silicone sealant you were talking about do you put a smear of it between the cv joint and boot and then pull the metal tie tight? or do you just put a smear of it around the edge of the boot itself? Good luck with your job.
I have an old pug 106 1.5d which needs to be fixed wondered if you could give me a bit of advice on whether it can be fixed. to cut a long story short last year it dropped to -12 here pump froze solid non-starter even with easy start. AA man came out said it will need new glow plugs and the cambelt looks looser than it should be, he suspected because the pump froze solid that it may have jumped a few teeth. Tested the anti-freeze and it was non existent. I think there may be a possibility the valves could be bashed up a bit. I did notice cylinder heads for these are fairly cheap from the breakers so maybe that could be an option. Its a shame to just scrap it as it was running great upto the big freeze here. Thanks

I would smear the sealer on both sides without getting any in the joint.

Might be worth putting a new timing belt on the 106 first and see how you go...not that bad a job if i remember....I can supply info on timing if you need it.

I had a similar problem on my brother's old 406 1.9td, fortunately a new belt and pump fixed it.

[marco2002]

Jasper thanks for that advice. I'll give it a go with the silicone sealant and try the other type metal clip tommorow. Any info you've got on timing up the pug 106 would be appreciated. I'm pretty sure that the pump has to be locked as well as the timing belt. Its been sitting in the yard since Nov last year. Had £1000 spent on it just before i bought it new rad, new head gasket, new rad hoses,cylinder head skimmed, valves re-done as well. I only paid £300 for it so it was a bargain. On the bill it said coolant had been changed which is rubbish if they had changed it i'm sure it would be still running. I drained a lot of the coolant out and re-filled with anti-freeze and water so it should be okay in the meantime. The only thing that needed doing for its mot was the tappets as they were a bit noisy so just needed shimming which is a camshaft out job. The old pug diesels are a lot more agricultural than the new ones. I later found in the paperwork that came with the car it had overheated for some reason .The bill for the work is a con job theres no way it should cost that much if it had been my car i'd have sold it for spares.

thanks