Review on Beck Arnley 103 2824 Joint Boot by Juan Russell

Perfect for my 2003 Subaru Outback with 65,000 miles. The kit even had a lube (not in the photo). This seems to be a common problem as the front CV trunk is on the passenger side just above the catalytic converter which causes the heat to degrade it faster. I didn't want to do the dirty work, but I'm glad I did. NO special tools are required. It also costs a lot less than at the dealer. I looked all over Youtube - Eric the car guy and others but got confused because everyone did it a little bit differently. This is the easiest way I did it. Step by step: - Remove the front passenger wheel, knock out the center cap and install the wheel. - Borrow or buy a 32mm from a shop like Lowes - Loosen the axle hub nut but do not remove it yet. You need to use a 3-4 foot long steel bar and use a lot of force. Do not ride with a loose axle nut as this can damage the bearings. in Subaru's manual but hasn't resolved. I was afraid to remove the bottom bolt as I might damage the seal - so I removed two bolts on the strut. Mark the top screw so as not to disturb camber alignment, and then unscrew the bottom screw. Everything went smoothly. Move the entire wheel assembly away and a slight (soft) nudge will knock the driveshaft out of the wheel. .- Put the transmission in neutral to allow the axle to spin.- Remove the air filter housing to fit the drive axle trunnion from above to reach. You can do it from below, but it's narrow and could damage the O2 sensor, so I went from above - rotate the axle to see the pin from above. One end of the pen is small, the other end is slightly larger because it is tapered. I rotated the axle until there was a big hole at the top. Drive the pin out of the driveshaft. I used a 16D nail, sanded the tip and lightly sanded the top of the nail so I could insert it into a general purpose screwdriver and glue it on. It doesn't take much force, tap lightly with a hammer, it pops out. - When holding the green cup, the whole axle immediately came loose. - On inspection the outer CV boot also had some cracks in tension/flexing - Cut off the boot - Put alignment marks on the shaft to get everything back to original. - Using a screwdriver, remove the outer ring of the inner joint, it is located on the inner edge of the green shell. - Wipe down the inside of the cuff with a rag, I left the outer part of the boot intact for now. - I didn't have a snap ring tool to disassemble the free ring. - Had to go to the dealer anyway to reuse the CV outer case straps ($22 with no straps or lube) or use stainless steel hose clamps. While at the dealer I used their snap ring tool. - Re-lubricated the inside of the trunk and put everything back in place with the alignment marks and the original circlip. - Installed everything again. - Driven for a week, there were no vibrations or any problems. Total cost to reload and re-lube the passenger side driveshaft = $38 and 7 hours of labor including a trip to Lowes for a 32mm head and 4 stainless steel hose clamps, a dealer to get an external boot and a snack / water / toilet break . Next time I'll probably make it in less than 2 hours. Much luck! UPDATE (December 1, 2015) 2 years and 20,000 miles later. I was under the car this weekend and changed the oil and found the CV boots are fine, even the SS hose clamps are intact which made me worry if they would last long, a little rusty but intact. This is the only repair my 13 year old Subaru has ever needed other than an AC charge and o-rings. The most reliable car I've ever owned and I've had many. My suggestion for any repair is to keep the original Subaru parts or repair, this machine is bulletproof.