Scirocco Register

hi all
found out today that the drivers side cv boot has split chucking grease everywhere on my 1989 scala,not done one before can someone please tell me firstly what size socket i need to remove the wheel hub and are there any dos and donts i need to be aware off.
many thanks in advance.

30mm socket or at least it should be. Try and slacken the hub nut off before you get the car in the air. You'll probably need a very long bar!

Also don't buy cheap cv gators, they don't last long.

Front hub nuts are very tight, you will need a long bar and probably someone on the brake pedal to stop the wheel turning.
I have a steel bar with lugs welded on which I bolt onto the hub (after jacking up and removing the wheel). This digs into the ground when I undo the hub nut using a steel tube over my 3/4 socket bar!

Village Idiots wrote:Front hub nuts are very tight ...

Slight understatement!

do i need to take the drive shaft out to do it or do i just take the hub off and replace the boot on the car

There is a pinch bolt on the underside that once removed allows you to pull the splined end of the drive shaft out of the wheel bearing housing. I recall tapping it out with a piece of wood in the way to protect the metal. You'll have to have your brakes with carriers cable tied out the way.

I resorted to using heavy duty cable ties for the CV boot because i was never fully happy with metal clips on the GSF kit. You can use plumbers pincers to crimp them on which can work fine from what i've read.

Also you might not want to over pack the CV joints with grease. It will do no harm and their should be about 90 grams in there but I found it was oozing out for weeks after I changed my boots.

I would get a hold of a Haynes manual.

The pinch bolt allows the complete hub assembly to be detached from the wishbone. If your car has an anti roll bar this will make pushing the wishbone down to detach the hub difficult (jack up the other side to allow that wheel to drop and take ARB pressure of the side you are working on). Once detached you can then push (knock!) the splined shaft from the hub, pulling the hub outwards. Remove the old boot, clean up the inner end of the CV joint. If you can see the retaining circlip, remove it. If you have the later driveshaft, the circlip is not visible and the CV joint needs a sharp blow with a soft faced mallet to get it off. Be careful you don't pull the inner CV apart when pulling or knocking things outwards. Haynes tells you to remove the driveshaft completely from the car to do this job. To do that you detach the inner end by removing six bolts which need a splined key. Then it is easier to remove the inner CV and slide your new boot on. Think about how old your CV joint is, if you have to remove it, I would fit a new one. For the price it's worth knowing you're not going to be doing the whole job again in a few months!

I did mine at the weekend on my Golf, heres a picture of the bar I use to undo the nut, I have a deep 30mm socket and old torque rench and a scaffholding bar.

You can change the boots on the car but watch out for bits of dirt getting in there. If you undo the two bolts that hold the suspension strut on you will need to get the camber set up again. Being an 1989 you should have the later CV joints so they will need to knocked off with a hammer (my 1988 Golf has later CV joints)

hi all
I have removed the hub nut took out the pitch bolt and removed the anti roll bar bracket (i am going to replace the bushs) but i can not get the wishbone to drop down off the hub anyone got an ideas.

i have now managed to release the hub and have moved the drive shaft out and removed the old boot but i am struggling to knock off the shaft end to replace the boot is there a partical place to hit it to aid removal

If you pull on the cv joint (hold it where the hub nut is and you do have to hit with a mallet quite hard at the edge of the cv joint then you should not damage the cv joint (I only had a hammer so there is a couple of dents on the edge but it is covered by the cv boot). Make sure the cv joint is straight and you do have to give it a GOOD old hit, it should then come off.

I have attached a photo of were to hit (red circle), its not a very good photo but I'll try and find a better picture if no help to you.

Cpt Custom wrote:

Village Idiots wrote:Front hub nuts are very tight ...

Slight understatement!

after having to torque all 80 wheelnuts on a truck last night to 780Nm, i reckon a rocco hubnut would feel like it was only on finger tight. my arms hurt!


personally, i get cv boots done at the local garage. £25 fitted, and he gets them done much quicker then i can, as i haven't got a stretcher so would need to separate off the cv joint. personally, i like the stretchy ones, as they feel much more "rubbery" unlike normal ones which are much less flexible.

I imagine you've done this job by now but for future reference here's yet another variation

1. Undo hub nut
2. Undo 6 splined inner CV bolts
3. Undo 2 strut top mount bolts
4. Wiggle strut/inner CV until inner CV pops out of gearbox (only need 1/2 inch of movement)
5. Withdraw complete driveshaft

On some cars step 4 isn't even necessary, there may already be enough play to pop the inner joint out - turning the steering can also help.