Replacing Drive Shaft Boot

[redcar]

The rubber drive shaft boot (the one closest to the rear) on my HPX 4X4 Gator got torn. I have purchased the boot kit -- my question is how to separate the section of the drive shaft from its ball-bearing universal to slip the boot over the drive shaft? Thanks,

Bob

[redcar]

Here's the answer to my question:

1) In order to replace the rubber boots on the drive shaft, I ended up removing the whole drive shaft from the Gator

2) To remove it - first unbolt the couplers at each end of the shaft (which attach the drive shaft to the differentials)

3) Next, unbolt the two bearings which support the drive shaft (easy one in the rear -- tougher one attached by bolts through belly pan about under the gear shift lever)

3) Next, unbolt the bracket at front side of drive shaft tunnel that supports the drive shaft as it exits the tunnel

4) Slide the drive shaft out of the tunnel by pulling it out from the rear (you may have to rotate the "front" bearing to get it through the hole in the rear of the drive shaft tunnel)

5) Once out -- pull really hard on the drive shaft to separate it from the swivel bearing coupler -- the stub end of each end of the intermediate drive shaft (the one on which the boots fit) is held into the swivel bearing by a retaining clip -- this clip will most likely be destroyed when you pull the shaft out of the swivel bearing coupler (the boot kit will contain a new clip)

6) Install the boot(s) -- lube them liberally with the lube included in the boot kit -- attach the new boot retaining clamps

7) Repeat in reverse order to reinstall the drive shaft in the Gator

Hope this helps. And in my case, it helped a lot to have a second set of hands to assist in the repair.

Bob

[Dane]

Did you take any pictures while you had it apart?

[redcar]

Nope - just powered through the repair - but thought my "steps" might provide some guidance to the next ones facing the same problem.

[Dane]

I think it's great. I searched the web for posts like yours before I replaced the boots & seals on my dad's Arctic Cat 4 wheeler. It's amazing how much quicker a job can go when you don't have to figure out everything but have a little guidance.

[tajacks2]

I know this is an old thread but how long did it take you to replace this. JD quoted me at 3-5 hrs of labor and said I needed to replace the whole drive shaft and not just the boot. I haven't taken it in yet and I might just try and do it myself.

[jergeod]

Sounds like your best bet would be to do it yourself, by the post above we know you can get the boot kit. JD labor rate isn't cheap so for the approximate 3 to 500 bucks they would charge you could get yourself some nice goodies for the gator.

[Dane]

The first boot I ever replaced took less than three hours with a lot of time wasted looking at Youtube videos for guidance. The next one I did took less than an hour even without the special band tool.

[tajacks2]

Hey guys i finally got around to changing the boot today. It took about three weeks for the part to get here. It took about three and a half hours and putting the drive shaft pieces back together over the clip took up about 45 minutes of it. Every time I would put them together it would push the clip out, the clip just wasn't tight enough.

Anyhow I just wanted to come back and say thanks,

Taylor