I just put progressive springs on my Sp 500 and realized my left front CV boot is ripped. How dfficult will the rest of the process be to fix the boot. I already have the spring and shock out. Do i need to bring it to the dealer. Thanks for any help.

 

No you can do it yourself. Send me your email address and I'll send you a couple of pages from my manual.

 

i tried replacing the cv boot. the manual i bought from the dealer is terrible. so far i am having to remove the whole axle shaft to get to cv joint apart. its alot of work but its worth for not having to pay the dealer to do it. are there any other manuals out there are better than the one i just purchased from my dealer. thanks. bonelsless@yahoo.com

 

I just replaced the front boot on my 700 yesterday and you do not have to remove the whole axle. Granted, the 500 will be a little more work b/c of the hubs, but once you remove them, it's the same.

Remove hub

Take nut off of ball joint and drop a-arm from strut housing (you will need a ball joint separtor)

Remove strut housing (you may be able to loosen the top nut enough to just swing it out enough to clear cv joint, but it only takes a couple more minutes to remove it altogether)

Remove boot clamps and either cut old boot off or just push it up on shaft toward front case. (a set of cv boot pliers for "earless type clamps" will make the job easier. You can pick them up at any auto parts store for $10-15).

You will then remove cv joint from shaft by yanking on it. It just has a clip that holds it in. You may have to yank pretty hard.

Clean joint and slide new boot onto axle.

To put the joint back onto the axle, just line of the splines and tap it back onto the shaft. I used a piece of 6 inch long 1 inch diamter galvanized pipe to aid in tapping it back on. I just slid it over the outer end of the joint and tapped on the end of the pipe.

Pack joint and new boot with grease.

Slide boot down over joint and purge it of air. Then install clamps.

It sounds like alot, but it really isn't that bad. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions. If you have the actual polaris service manual for the sportsman 500, it should be pretty detailed.

 

You will then remove cv joint from shaft by yanking on it. It just has a clip that holds it in. You may have to yank pretty hard

... no dont do that it is a snap ring type and it needs to be spread and the cv should slide out, careful not to drop the bearings

 

thanks for the detailed instructions. they were better than the manual i just bought. im going to loosen the strut and hopefully that will give me enough play. i got the idea to remove the whole axle shaft from my polaris dealer. he said to take it out put it in the vice and hit it with a hammer to get the joint apart. thanks again for the instructions

 

I don't know if they vary by model or not, but the front cv joint on my 03 700 definitely does not have the type snap ring that needs to be spread apart. There is one like that on the inner rear joint, but not the front. The instructions from the manual says to pull it apart and then tap it back in.

Assuming yours is made like mine, there is no need to worry about the bearings falling out of the joint. The race & cage assembly is pressed in and won't come apart (unless it is broken).

Here is a link to the page that I scanned from my service manual. The details of the pictures are hard to see b/c of the dark pictures from the book, but the instructions may help you out. Just click to view it at "normal size" instead of "fit to window" and it should be fine.