RollingJunk

Being my first post here I'd first like to say, hello everybody! This isn't a proper introduction or build thread, or anything like that, I'm going to take my sweet time to get to there. Some day.

And since I'm new, I'm going to start bugging you with questions right away.

I have a 1995 A4 B5 1.8T quattro with a gazillion miles and am in the middle of refreshing my rear axles, since one CV boot is gone and one CV joint is toast and I have to do the shocks, so I just thought I'd do it all. But alas, it's not as simple as that, because I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure out which CV boots to order. The parts shop gave me a wrong outer CV boot a month ago that I can't return now so I had to order two new correct ones, once I figured out how they were supposed to look.
As for the inner ones, I still haven't figured it out, so I need some help.
I have one inner CV joint toast and I got everything in the kit. Boot, joint, grease, the lot. And it seemed fine.
So for the other side I thought I'd order just a CV boot. I looked around and found two possible OE codes of boots that should fit:
191498201B(found on vagcat)
and
1K0498201(using etka)

I'm going with Sipdan/GKN CV boots to be on the safe side and two different codes amount to two different products, doh:

OE 191498201B = SIPDAN 23514
OE 1K0498201 = SIPDAN 23268

This is where I started getting confused. Everywhere I looked, VAG, ECS, any parts shop, I was getting the second result as the right CV boot for my car, so SIPDAN 23268. Ok, great, but what's the difference? Well, the only one I could find in the measurements is the inner diameter, 23268 is 27mm wide, while the 23514 is 22 mm wide.
They also look different:
23514:


23268:


Ok fine, it's just pictures right? Everywhere I looked, I should be getting the second one, right?
But this is on the car right now:


The plot thickens. Since I was just thinking that I'm being delusional, I measured the drive shaft, next to the end of the CV boot and it is indeed nearly 27mm thick.
So I guess the 23268 CV boot should fit? I mean, everybody's saying it should. Look at this ECS part for my car, it says it fits and everything:
https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4...Rear/ES316032/

So I order that one, along with a lot of other parts and got my order in today, hastily unpacked them to see if I could quickly reorder the CV boot if need be, so I could use the fact that I'm a heathen and do the work over Easter.
This is what I got, the right one is from the CV joint kit from SKF and the left one is the 23268 Sipdan part:

Vastly different.
The height is nearly the same:

The inner diameter...not so much:

But they do both fit on the CV joint:


I quickly found the other boot at a local parts store and have it ordered and should have it in my hands tomorrow, so I'll be able to compare both.

However, am I doing the right thing?
I am planning on returning the wrong CV boot, however, I don't want to dig myself into this job and find out I don't have the right CV boot in either case.
Can anybody explain the difference between CV boots and which one actually is the right one? Were there different size rear axles?
What gives? Any help is more than welcome.

Prospeeder

Or you could just buy a new axle for like 60$......the thing already has a ton of miles you said, save yourself the mess and hassle and unbolt that one and bolt a new one in. I have had very good luck with aftermarket axles, especially for rears that get almost no wear. Just alot easier than what your going through.

David.Norton

I'd go the whole axle myself, yours looks kind of ugly in the picture, but for the question of the inner diameter just use a micrometer to measure the axle shaft.

RollingJunk

Getting a whole new axle would've been the easiest and most sensible thing, however, nobody seems to have them in stock over on this side of the blue puddle, or even lists them for that matter(at least in the online parts stores I shop at). I have no idea why, since it's not a rare car. My guess is that they're a special order part and special order means special money. Rather aggravating. The only listed ones I could find were well over the sum of parts needed to refurb one.
That's why I'm stuck rebuilding them, I don't mind it that much, since it's a learning experience. The part that gets my goat is guessing which part is the right one to buy. My axles aren't looking all that fresh, but I'll give them a once over with a grinder and some stone chip to fresh them up a bit. Beats doing nothing, but it's only meant to be a temp fix.

I'll report back once I get them apart, I meant to do it this weekend but the rear shocks took it out of me and my time with it. Spent far too much time trying to compress the springs using a spring compressor with hooks that are too long, instead of doing what I should've done immediately: chop off half an inch on the hooks and do the job right the first time, instead of gouging out my new shock. At least one of the new shocks looks pretty :P.

RollingJunk

Well, I did get around to changing the boots and CV joint and the bigger ID one will not fit, not even close.
There was carnage to be seen though. The reason why the CV joint failed was because of water ingress. It turned the grease into a foam like material impregnated with dirt. The water ingress happened because the axle started to rust pretty badly where the CV boot sits. It eroded part of the axle. The CV boot still fit and it appeared as if it were going to seal, but I didn't trust it. A replacement axle was not an option, couldn't find one, but if I decide to keep this car long enough I might replace it. So I just put it back together with some RTV on the inner side and one the outer joint, to seal it. I'm hoping that the flexibility of the RTV will allow for some expansion, even though the CV boot shouldn't move and seal the opening from the elements. At least for another year or so, that this rust bucket has yet to live.
Oh yeah, this is not a mint car, it's...beat. Not to the ground, but it's not worth saving with a bunch of new shiny OE parts. OEM, maybe, but OE, only if the price is right and is a critical part, for example, that plastic neck at the far end of the head, it's a critical component that was leaking on my car(ended up being because the hack before me hacked it with some RTV to "make" some o-rings), I wasn't inclined to allow some inferior part to become a ticking time bomb and leave me stranded without coolant, all just to save $10. That math doesn't sound right to me.

Now, enough with the chitty chatty, here's some gore:





I did end up cleaning the axle and giving it a quick splash of stone chip after sanding down most of the rust. Why? Eh, why not. Gives me a feeling of accomplishment when I paint rusty things with stone chip. Looks nice when I'm under the car trying to find that other leak.



Was it a giant pain in the butt? Yes. One axle was fairly easy, all I did was pop on a new joint, grease it, RTV it, lightly clean the other joint and grease it, new boots all around and that was it.
The other axle? I removed everything and took it apart and cleaned it in some gas. It dissolved the old grease in no time. Getting everything back again was...a giant pain. Getting all the ***** into their grooves without everything falling apart was just fiddly. Even with a ton of grease to "stick" it together it was just a faff. I did manage to get it back together again and the results were great.
No more clicking and banging when changing gear, no more shakes and vibrations when I go WOT. The smooth ride and feeling of accomplishment is awesome.
However, if I had a chance to get $70 NEW rear axles I wouldn't even think about a rebuild. At least now I know.

Prospeeder

Sucks you are in another country lol. In the US and Canada the rear axles can be had anywhere for 50-70$. At least you finally got it sorted out.

RollingJunk

Oh yeah, most definitely, in my case the proper boots were under these part numbers:
OE 191498201B = SIPDAN 23514.

But, as always, take a minute or two and crawl under your car and check to see what the old ones look like before ordering new parts. The ID is vastly different between the two and one won't fit where the other does. Even the right part is a tight fit, as it should be to seal out the elements.