Replacing a damaged BMW driveshaft boot

Surely no Russian driver would argue that one of the main causes of breakdowns in their "iron horses" is the atrocious state of most of our legendary domestic roads. Even such reliable and sturdy cars as BMW cannot always take it. And one of its more vulnerable components is the driveshaft boot, which has a particularly hard time of it. That is why owners of Bavarian machinery often have to head to a shop selling BMW parts, buy a new component, and figure out how to fit it in place of the old one. In reality, this is not as complicated as it looks at first glance.

The first thing you need to do is remove the driveshaft itself and clean it thoroughly. For that, you will want a pair of side cutters to cut the clamp holding the inner joint boot in place. Next, take an ordinary drift punch and use it to remove the retaining cap located on the joint ring.

After that, you can slide the boot off the joint ring, pushing it further along the driveshaft. Since there will inevitably be grease on the joint, it should be wiped off with a rag, after which the circlip is spread open and removed. This can be done with a pair of pliers. The next step is pressing the driveshaft out of the inner constant-velocity joint, which is best done with a special tool. While doing this, make sure the joint cage rests directly on the support plate.

Once the driveshaft has finally been freed, it needs to be inspected carefully for any mechanical damage in the joint. If any is found, the joint will have to be replaced. Dirt, which usually turns up inside the joint, should be thoroughly cleaned out, and for that it will need to be disassembled, first marking the position of its hub relative to a part such as the cage.

Once all of this has been successfully completed, you simply need to slide the old boot off over the driveshaft and move on to fitting the new one bought at the shop. First, it should be assembled and thoroughly wiped free of dust. After that, the boot needs to be slipped onto the driveshaft, protecting its sharp edges with a suitable sleeve or simply taping over them. All further steps should then be carried out in reverse order to those described above, and before securing the boot in its "rightful place," the sealing caps should be coated with a special sealant. In the end, replacing a driveshaft boot requires no particularly serious teardown of the BMW, and any car owner with at least basic mechanical skills can handle it perfectly well.