MAZDASPEED 6 PROPELLER SHAFT CV BOOT

[myarbro1]

I recently asked if anyone knew jack about the CV joint on the driveshaft, aka propeller shaft, in our Speed6’s on FB.

I have those answers and thought I would share what I have learned.
To begin, my CV boot was ripped and leaking. The joint and/or boot are not available separately; Mazda only sells the whole driveshaft. I found a post and picture once of someone who had installed a Subie boot on his, so I went that route. Beck Arnley PN#1032824. I do not know who to credit with that finding.

Looking at the joint once removed from the TC you’ll notice it is a heavy steel part with a soft thin metal at the rear. This part is the boot. The rubber boot part is actually inside; I later figured that the metal part protects it from the nearby downpipe.

The trick to removing the joint is the take a chisel and hammer, and place the chisel on the shoulder of the soft metal part. Whacking it with the hammer will drive the joint backwards, and the metal cap on the end will get popped off by the shaft. I used a chisel as opposed to hitting the flange directly with a hammer to avoid bending it.

Inside you will find a circlip that will need to be removed, and the joint will pull off. I took the joint apart and cleaned it in mineral spirits to get rid of the stickiest grease on the fucking planet. DO NOT wipe that shit on your arms; it laughs at GOJO and every other soap/hand cleaner. Keep notice of how the cage comes out; it will physically fit and seem to work with the cage frontwards or backwards, but there is only 1 “right” way. It’s very easy, just pay attention.

The OEM boot is a bitch to get off. Shown by arrows in the pics, the boot is crimped into that groove on the CV joint. I carefully used a grinder and chisel to thin the metal in two places so I could chop and peel it off.

Reassemble like you would any other CV joint and boot and you’re done. The rubber boot is close to the downpipe, so we shall see how long it lasts. My dad made a template for a heat shield to slip between the DP and CV; we will get that cut out of some thin metal and give it a go to see if it helps protect the boot long-term.

[TiGraySpeed6]

Nifty
I've never seen a 6 that hadn't sprayed grease out of that joint... I'll have to take a good look the next time I'm down there and see if it's time for a rebuild

[Hargarbl]

Wanna do mine next lol?

[Downmented]

i dont think my driveshaft has ever had that boot on it. Also, out of curiousity, how much grease did you pack into the new boot?

[myarbro1]

I would be willing to bet the boot is there @Downmented, it just doesn't look like a regular CV boot that we are accustomed to. The light grey metal at end of the flanged joint is the boot. Its metal on the outside and the rubber "boot" is inside. Presumably the metal outside protects it from the extreme heat radiating from the downpipe.

Mine is devastated looking because I used a BFH to try and remove it. I was expecting a snap ring instead of a circlip, so the BFH is not at all the right tool for the job.
As far as how much grease, I used the whole container that came with the new boot.

[Mazdazilla6]

I was hoping you would post this on MSF. Thanks again!

[myarbro1]

you don't live far away at all @Hargarbl; surprised I've never seen you around. I am only aware of one other black and 2 red MS6's around here. Never seen a Ti Grey one!

[TiGraySpeed6]

'cause we're stealthy...

[Hargarbl]

Originally Posted by myarbro1 you don't live far away at all @Hargarbl; surprised I've never seen you around. I am only aware of one other black and 2 red MS6's around here. Never seen a Ti Grey one!

I live at 60 and mt carmel. I have only ever seen 2 other ms6's since Ive had mine, another ti grey, and once every couple of weeks or so on my way to work I see a lowered red one on county line rd. Im ti grey, stock height with black dipped stock wheels.

[myarbro1]

Originally Posted by Hargarbl I live at 60 and mt carmel. I have only ever seen 2 other ms6's since Ive had mine, another ti grey, and once every couple of weeks or so on my way to work I see a lowered red one on county line rd. Im ti grey, stock height with black dipped stock wheels.

Two TiGreys here, WTF? How have I missed you both?
I live in Providence Lakes; off Providence between Lumsden and Bloomingdale. If the red one you see has a lip, it likely belongs to a member of TBMC (tampa bay mazda club) His car is clean. Another red one runs down Boyette Rd. all the time, and his only visible mod is a sharkfin antenna. Actually, both red one's have a sharkfin I do believe.

[TiGraySpeed6]

I'm tellin' ya- stealthy...

[myarbro1]

sneaky bastids!

[Hargarbl]

lol well according to Tigrays location he is in tally so i doubt you will see him around here. Although Im kinda surprised with 4 other known ms6's around here i havnt seen another one at all.

[friedricebob]

This is great, thanks for the write up.

Replaced my driveshaft with a boneyard unit once already.

[meelo88]

I just did this to mine, I'll drive it around for a bit and report back

[myarbro1]

So far so good with mine; looks perfect a few hundred miles later. Time will tell how the heat affects it. Your install go smooth @meelo88?

[meelo88]

Originally Posted by myarbro1 So far so good with mine; looks perfect a few hundred miles later. Time will tell how the heat affects it. Your install go smooth @meelo88?

Yup I had a bit of fun going through the grease to get all the parts out but once i figured out how they come apart it was much easier.

Your instructions are good. I think the boot is a bitch...i used a Dremel to shave off the boot with a chisel and locking pliers to peel off the back strip.

I kinda tugged on the whole boot to get it off after I got the c-clip off. Not sure that was the best way to do it but it worked...

Cleaned the crap out of everything with mineral spirits (BTW that stuff is awesome!!!)

My only real snag was after getting everything packed in grease again I had to use a punch to tap the center piece back onto the shaft so i can get the clip back on without getting grease everywhere (I failed...got grease everywhere).

[myarbro1]

**UPDATE**

Well, I got a P0037 CEL last night. What the hell does a rear O2 sensor CEL have to do with a drive shaft boot? More than one would think...

First things first, I check the plug for the O2 sensor...hey, only the plug on the main harness is present. Hmmmmm. Well would you look at that, the entire wire running to the rear O2 sensor is straight GONE.
I then noticed the boot on the drive shaft CV was pretty much gone too.

My assessment is this: I initially thought heat was an issue, but for me it was probably installer error on the big clamp.
The big boot clamp came off, I ignored it for a few days, the boot ripped off during a run to Mexico. The boot ripped, splayed open and grabbed the O2 wire and wrapped it around the drive shaft, which promptly removed the wire from the car. I am thankful it left the plug on the main harness!

Get the right tool to fasten the boot clamps!!!!

Carp. Time to try again.

[Hargarbl]

Damn I was afraid that might have been an issue, but deep down was hoping the boot could handle the heat. Thanks for the update though.

[meelo88]

Mine has survived so far, about 1k miles on it, maybe my DP Is ceramic coated to keep it a bit cooler? I'll check mine again to see...

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1416276530.584535.jpg

[myarbro1]

Originally Posted by Hargarbl Damn I was afraid that might have been an issue, but deep down was hoping the boot could handle the heat. Thanks for the update though.

You and me both.

[myarbro1]

Originally Posted by meelo88 Mine has survived so far, about 1k miles on it, maybe my DP Is ceramic coated to keep it a bit cooler? I'll check mine again to see... Attachment 182317

Yours still looks perfect. Got my fingers crossed for ya!

[DocBrown]

My wallet thanks you @myarbro1; !

[DocBrown]

By the way, do you guys think the drive shaft needs to be re-balanc3d after installing the new boot or is it good to go? Anyone have problems with balance?

[myarbro1]

I wouldn't think a boot would affect the balance at all. I noticed no vibes personally.

[Rich990]

For the guys that have done this - how's the boot holding out?

[meelo88]

I haven't had my O2 sensor taken out yet so i have reason to believe the boot is still there...

I haven't actually been under the car lately to see the condition of the boot however...

[myarbro1]

you might be able to see it by looking over the rear of the engine and down. I was able to stick my arm down there and tear of the remnants of my most recent boot.

[xliquidx]

I did this a few hundred kms ago, it's held on so far at triple digit speeds no worries. I used a slightly different boot with the same clamps our oem boots use for the axles (not ss cable ties)

[xliquidx]

UPDATE: MY BOOT HAS TORN FINALLY AND RIPPED OUT MY SECONDARY O2 SENSOR. Same thing that happened to another guy when using the same boot and clamp (not the one posted here). I even did it up with the correct tool.

[myarbro1]

Damn it man!!!

[siegsuwa]

I am about to attempt this. I have an extra shaft with a torn boot I'm going to rebuild, then rebuild the shaft I'm removing the same way and keep it as a spare for NATOR. How did your boots fail? Do we think heat is the primary factor or is the boot material the wrong application?

Anyone try to recycle the heat-shield / cowl for the boot, or make their own?

[meelo88]

I just had some work done on my exhaust and I took some pics to check on it, looks solid still, I have a CS downpipe ceramic coated so maybe my heat is low enough not to cause an issue? I have some pics attached...

Installed about 5,400 miles ago a 8/24/14...

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1432234934.060994.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1432234953.222252.jpg

[xfeejayx]

Originally Posted by meelo88 I just had some work done on my exhaust and I took some pics to check on it, looks solid still, I have a CS downpipe ceramic coated so maybe my heat is low enough not to cause an issue? I have some pics attached... Installed about 5,400 miles ago a 8/24/14...

Where is your rust? Did you not get that option?

[meelo88]

Originally Posted by xfeejayx Where is your rust? Did you not get that option?

got the California option....no rust, deal with cops...

[myarbro1]

Ceramic Coating FTW it seems. Glad someone's held up!

[siegsuwa]

Originally Posted by meelo88 I just had some work done on my exhaust and I took some pics to check on it, looks solid still, I have a CS downpipe ceramic coated so maybe my heat is low enough not to cause an issue? I have some pics attached... Installed about 5,400 miles ago a 8/24/14...

Thanks for posting up, dude. I pulled feejay's drive shaft out of his wrecked MS6 this week to replace my shaft with a torn boot, and I am pretty sure I tore the boot (or exacerbated an existing tear) in the process of getting the shaft out, so now I get to rebuild both!

Your boot looks really solid at 5k miles.


EDIT - so now that the boot interior volume is much larger than it originally was, did you just fill it up with CV grease?

[myarbro1]

I think we all used the entire container of grease that comes with the boot siegsuwa.

[meelo88]

I just loaded up the boot with the grease it came with... I suppose I could have put more in but I figured it was probably okay...

[rndmheroxx]

Speaking of shafts.......


Any of you fellas happen to have an extra prop shaft laying around? My carrier bearing(s) have bit the dust and im on the hunt for a replacement