What you need to know about CV boots

Many drivers hardly crouch or kneel down to look at what is below the car’s body-line.
Cars have different parts that should regularly be checked for maximum performance and stability on the road such as rubber components designed to protect vital mechanisms.
Constant Velocity (CV) boots are one of the mostly neglected, yet important parts on a car that require regular servicing.
I drove my car for more than one year without checking the CV boots.
Over time, the rubber that is packed with lubricating grease split and in the end, I had to buy a new driving shaft, which cost me more than the rubber boots.
I realised that replacing them early enough could have saved me the expense of replacing components the CV boots protect.

CV boots can easily be seen on front wheel-drive vehicles because they accommodate steering angle variations in addition to up-and-down wheel travel.
It is a ribbed, rubber flexible boot that keeps water and dirt out of the joint and the special grease inside the joint.
According to Meddie Semambo, who has been into car servicing for more than 10 years, of all cars he has handled, 80 per cent had faulty CV boots.

This, he says, is a result of driving over rough terrain for long thus leading to the puncture of the rubber moldings.
“The first indicator that your CV boot has been punctured is the cracking noise produced by the ball joints whenever you turn the steering wheel. This noise is produced because of lack of lubrication in the ball joints due to dirt and moisture that work their way in,” he says.

This might in the long run cause instability of the vehicle regardless of the road surface.
However, rubber CV boots can be replaced from most of the service and tyre centres at a cost of between Shs15,000 and Shs20,000 for saloon cars and 30,000 Sport Utility vehicles.

[email protected]