jingalalahoe

So I decided to clean and paint my front calipers as well as put proper caliper grease in them today.

When I opened the left wheel, I immediately saw that both driveshaft and CV joint boots were torn. The tie rod end was damaged too.

Busted CV Joint boot.



Torn driveshaft boot



Damaged tie rod end



This was not all. Opened the right wheel and found more surprises.

Caliper pin missing a bush



Bush on sway bar link seems crushed



Torn caliper piston seal



Questions :

1. Is there is a temporary fix for patching up torn driveshaft and CV Joint seals? I was thinking maybe fill up the inside with grease and patch the torn boot using some rubber or tape? Will it work?

2. I'm really concerned about the torn caliper piston seals, however the brakes feel just fine. The seal on the other caliper is also cut but its not as big as the one in pic. I can maybe get another set of calipers soon but it will be a week or so.

3. I have a pair of new tie rod ends. Replace the pair?

4. How do I know if caliper pins are busted? This bush was missing inside of the caliper pin and I never noticed! I have a spare set of pins, will take out the bush from the set for now.

Cheers,
Sunny.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

1. there is not really a quick fix temp repair for the CV boot...I mean sure you can repack it with grease, but good luck getting anything to stick to it, and hold the grease while the axle is spinning at more than a few hundred rpm, while articulating to various angles constantly. I would go with a split boot, which is meant to be a permanent repair, but I would never use it as such. This way you don't need to drain the transmission and pull the axle out. however, at some point I would either get a proper boot, remove the axle and repack that joint, but if it's damaged, you'll be better off getting new axles.


2. if the piston is not seized, damage, rusted or pitted/scored etc. you can just replace the boot, you can get caliper piston boot kits for 2-5 bucks on rockauto. You'll want to do it sooner than later to prevent further damage, calipers aren't cheap, even if they're Chinese/remanufactured.


3. That goes without saying...when you replace a tie rod end you'll need a wheel/steering alignment, so if that ones that bad the other isn't far behind, so unless you do you're own alignments (very time consuming, and never perfect), then you'd best replace both...do a rough alignment after install by ensuring the steering wheel is centered, and both wheels straight, then make sure the distance between the front wheels from the rear edge to rear edge, and front to front etc is as close as possible, then you can drive it to a shop to have it aligned properly, your tires and wallet will appreciate it.


4. caliper pins are busted if they are actually busted, as in broken, stripped, sheared, bent etc. Also if there are no longer smooth, like rusty or pitted...some rust can be cleaned up, but then you're polishing a bolt...they're cheap, replace them...for that bushing, i'll bet you $10 it's still inside the caliper bracket, and probably torn...You should lubricate your brake caliper guide pins often, and make sure the boots for those are not torn. I do mine every fall and spring, because the roads are heavily salted here during the winter, it helps keep pad wear even, and not excessive...a seized guide pin can cause excessive brake pad wear, and damage to the rotor due to overheating, similar to a seized piston.

jingalalahoe

I saw a youtube video of someone using bicycle tubes and cable ties as a temporary fix to a torn boot. Just tried that today.

Measuring and cutting the patches



Patch for the CV joint boot. DO not thread the cable ties this way, it causes the edges to bunch up!



CV Boot patched up



Driveshaft boot patch. Withe the cable ties sticking out, it will join neatly without bunching up



DS Boot patched up. Not the neatest job



Both patches



Surrounding areas cleaned and degreased



I filled each boot with about 75grams of general purpose Li grease, hope that is satisfactory. I went on a test drive, reached 150KMPH, headed back home and checked the patch. No grease leaking out! Yay!

I'm ordering a pair of new boots, I should get them in about 3 weeks. This is just a temporary patch until the proper ones arrive.
I checked again, it was only the dust seal which was damaged. The piston is intact and no corrosion around it. I'm going to order the Febest seal kit. I have a pair of new calipers anyway, if it gets bad I can chuck out the old ones and replace them.


I am very meticulous about Wheel alignment and balancing, used to face lot of headaches due to uneven wear on tyres with my previous car. I'll swap the tie rods next week and get the alignment done.


There was no pitting, rust or excessive wear on the pins so decided to re-use them. Pins had normal grease put on by the previous retard who serviced them; I cleaned them all up and used proper caliper grease this time



B-I-N-G-O!!! The bush was stuck in the boot when I pulled out the caliper pin. However it had expanded, if I put the bush on the pin, it just wouldnt go into the carrier. I ended up replacing it anyway with a new one.



Point taken. I'll inspect them every 6 months and check.