I have a 1998 Wolvy 350 that I am attempting to repalce the outer cv joint. I began to disassemble and I am down to the ball joints and tie rod ends. I removed the tie rod end from the spindle using a joint seperator fork and it pierced the rubber boot. The first question is the hole in the boot is very small and can only be noticed if a little grease comes out. Do I need to replace this?
The next is there a better wy to do this without damaging the ball joints?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

if there is a hole i would cuz if ant dirt or sand gets in it it will destory the cv,s its the same with a car . and the fork is the best way to remove the tir rods you just got to be more carfull.

 

I did the same thing a couple of months ago with my 2002 Wolvy, despite using a separator fork and trying to be careful in the process. The boots got pinched, leaving a couple of small pin holes,and that was that. Considering the cost of replacing the ball joints, I'm going to regularly apply a heavier grease to the outside of the boots after each wash and see how that works out. If I get premature wear, then I have to replace the ball joints and upper arms anyway. As near as I can tell, the ball joints are incorporated into the the upper arms (one piece) - they run about $130 each new.

Good luck.

 

not exactly sure how the wolverine is set up but the same thing happened to me on my warrior but it was on my warrior the forks just don't work well on atvs Itore my boots also I put silicon on the holes and I use a grease needle (you can buy them at a automotive store )to get around the boots to grease it mine doesn't have grease fittings....I take my nut off flip it over and thread it till its almost flush [make sure you flip the nut over or use a different nut don't hit the stud without a nut either or they will smash ]brace up the spindle with a block of wood or something and use a bar or extension or something to put on the nut then hit it with a hammer mine knocked out fairly easy and saved the rubber boot and I have done this several times

 

good response, warrior-435. I hadn't considered silicon to cover the boot holes. I'll look for a grease needle. Thanks