hi everyone,

put my felicia estate in to garage this morning as there was some play in n/s/f wheel.

garage just phoned and said they have tightened the wheel bearing, the ball joint has a little play in it and a cv boot has a small tear.

they say ball joint nothing to worry about just yet!

cv boot ( i think it's the cv boot) nothing to worry about just yet, plus they would have to remove a shaft or something to replace this.

would you folks agree with this, no rush to get these things replaced or would you get the work done now.

thanks robert

If they're happy with the wheel bearing and ball joint (to MoT standard) leave them for now. I'd get the CV boot done though, cos that can only get worse, and the logical end of that is needing a new CV joint.

Of course, changing that may mean removing one or both of the bearing and ball joint, in which case it's cheaper to replace them than not.

hi kenONeill,

thanks for the reply, was looking for some reassurance that the work didnt need done immediately. i'm not mechanically minded but i had a feeling that the cv joint might eventually need replaced if the boot doesnt get done. could do without the extra cost right now, as the wifes car needs a clutch and has a starting problem which we need to sort.

we are on holiday in 3 weeks and need one of them to be working, lol:)

You can leave it. The other possibility, if they still exist, would be that there used to be boot kits which, instead of being a tube that goes over the end of the shaft, were slit down the side, so you put the rubber over the joint, then glue the seam up with a special glue. No idea what it was, or it might have let you seal a small hole.

ok thanks, will check that out

Linky dink - they don't last long though....... You'd be better off doing a proper job. I have replaced CV boots before and it isn't that hard providing you are technically proficient.

S

That's the fellow! I've heard of some cases where they've been quite successful (maybe 2 years, which with bad luck is the life of a boot anyway). It is impossible to emphasise sufficiently the importance of not getting any grease, not even a few molecules, onto the glueing surface though.

thanks guys,

i just learned how to do an oil and filter change and plugs etc, so it might be a bit beyond me just yet, but will have a look. thanks