# Cost to replace a leaking CV boot



## k3vink3vin (Mar 18, 2020)

Hello!

I recently bought a 2007 TFSI 2.0, the driver side CV boot was cut and needs replacing. I estimate the car has clocked 200-300 miles with this, no obvious noise or vibration yet but I believe it needs immediate attention.










AUDI dealership gave a quotation of £338.
RAC gave a quote over email of £170.

Is £170 a reasonable price to pay for the job? I searched on the forum, some suggested it is a £60-80 job?

I am located in North West London, any recommendation on car mechanics is welcomed too.


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## chickenBaguette (Aug 6, 2020)

Had my MOT done in April, I was charged £58+vat to replace OSF CV boot.


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## k3vink3vin (Mar 18, 2020)

chickenBaguette said:


> Had my MOT done in April, I was charged £58+vat to replace OSF CV boot.


Thanks, I will try a local garage.


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## motornoter (Jul 16, 2012)

Just be aware that there's two ways to repair a leaking CV boot. One is to cut the old one off and fit a universal repair boot over the exposed joint and 'zip' the joint together. The obvious and best way is to remove the brake disc and hub assembly and fit an OEM replacement CV boot. Latter will be more expensive labour wise but in my view is the best way to repair a leaking or split boot.


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

I replaced a front boot earlier this year, wasn't too bad of a job

Loosen hub bolt, undo driveshaft bolts from the gearbox, undo lower balljoint from hub. The hub will now swing out and you can undo the hub bolt fully and the driveshaft will be free

I did the left side shift has easy access to the gearbox without removing undertrays. The right one will probably need this removing for access

Reverse the above to refit and be sure to torque everything correctly. A boot kit from Audi was just under £30, the hub bolt was about £6

Pretty much exactly the same process as the Mk5 Golf shown here


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## k3vink3vin (Mar 18, 2020)

Thanks for the replies.



motornoter said:


> Just be aware that there's two ways to repair a leaking CV boot. One is to cut the old one off and fit a universal repair boot over the exposed joint and 'zip' the joint together. The obvious and best way is to remove the brake disc and hub assembly and fit an OEM replacement CV boot. Latter will be more expensive labour wise but in my view is the best way to repair a leaking or split boot.


Had it fixed at a local mechanic for £80 (inc VAT). I didn't watch them do it, but they had the wheel off for the job and no obvious "joint" on the boot, so it doesn't look like they used one of those easy fix CV boot.

I drove off and pretty quickly I noticed the car pulls to the right a little bit. Headed back to the mechanic, checked the wheel is tightened properly, did a visual check on the front wheels and noticed the drive side wheel is pointing outwards (toe-out) a little more than the passenger side one. He suggested a wheel alignment will fix it but they don't have the equipment to do it.

Booked a wheel alignment check at Kwit Fit tomorrow and see how it gets on. The rear tyres are due so I need to pay them a visit anyway.


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

The only thing that could have affected wheel alignment will be the removal of the lower ball joint. I made sure I refitted mine in the same position (can see where it was based on dirt marks). I'd say you just need to loosen and retighten that. It is designed to be adjustable

Toe out sounds odd as the steering linkages do not need to be removed


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

Btw, the 3 bolts just above the bottom of the alloy are for the hall joint. Can see they have been removed as they look like they have penetrating oil on them


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## 83kY (Apr 5, 2017)

They could have spared you from the alignment if they had just removed the balljoint nut above and removed the balljoint from the knuckle. Like said - the 3 holes on the wishbone are oval and you can adjust camber from these when the nuts are loosened. End result is same with both methods, the wishbone can be pushed down and after that the knuckle can be pulled outwards to clear the driveshaft from the hub. Other method loses the alignment and the other does not.

I think I can see "witness marks" on the bottom side of the balljoint face where the nuts have been previously or it might be just the shadow.

Also the boot they used is an universal cut-to-fit version which can be stretched over the cv-joint with a special tool. Not the best one to use on these as the original boot is quite short in length but it might last for a while. Also the inner clamp on it looks a bit crooked on the picture. I suggest to keep an eye on it for a while to see how it holds up.

There is no reason to dismantle the brakes nor hub to change the boot. Unclipping the brake hose from above the knuckle will give enough slack to it for you to be able to pull the knuckle outwards enough to get the driveshaft out from the hub.

Actually when the driveshaft is out from the hub you could remove it fully by opening the 6x ZXN size 10 (triple square) bolts from the gearbox side. But of course it would be wiser to loosen those first if planning to remove the whole shaft.

Just my small "rant" as a shop owner myself. :roll:


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## k3vink3vin (Mar 18, 2020)

Learned a lot from this, thank you all.

If I could go back in time, I would go to RAC for this job for the peace of mind.


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