I was asked by PMM to carry out a product test on the Bailcast DuragunPro CV boot application tool.
On delivery of this tool, I noticed that it was of good quality, with a weight of 2.1kg and my first impressions of this tool were that it looked rather an awkward shape and out of balance – a bit cumbersome – but how wrong I was. This tool handled really well!
The tool is only to be used with stretchy universal and Duraboot CV boots for ease of operating and safety and the manufacturer states that it can be applied to work on all vehicle models. I also discovered that it was British made and it’s nice to be able to test a true British product as most tools and equipment now seem to originate from China. It comes with a two year “no quibble” quality guarantee which I thought was quite generous.
Let’s put it to use
This product works by pneumatic power and needs the air supply to be set at around 4-8 bar with a maximum supply of 9 bar (130psi) for safety.
It’s very easy to operate as you connect an air supply to the tool, check that the pressure of the air line is correct, then place and slide the CV stretchy boot or universal boot to the jaw/fingers of the tool just over the end and then slowly press the air button until the fingers open to the correct size to pass over the CV joint that you are working on, then you can slide the boot onto the driveshaft and then over the CV joint.
Once you operate the tool to the dimensions required to be placed over the outer CV joint with the larger diameter of the boot placed first onto the tool you can then remove the air line from the tool and this made it easier to operate and handle in a confined space, as now you have no restrictions to work with, and the pressure to keep the jaws/fingers of the tool still remains locked in the open position until you press the switch again to release the pressure and this then closes the jaws/fingers to release the tool from the CV boot.
On using this tool I soon discovered that the CV boots were easier to fit if the CV boot was immersed in hot water for a short period of time around 5-10 minutes, making it more pliable and easier to stretch whilst the tool was operated to its opening dimensions to enable the tool to manoeuvre over the CV joint to fit the new CV boot onto the drive shaft.
This product made the fitting of a new CV boot kit quicker and easier as you did not need to dismantle and separate the CV joint from the drive shaft, saving time and effort as time is money. Especially on some vehicles where the circlips are broken or damaged and stuck on the drive shaft.
Not a very pleasant job replacing these CV boots as the grease is thrown out of the joint and gets very messy and goes everywhere, but it has to be done, as if water and dirt and debris gets into the joint it will quickly render the components useless and fail making knocking or clicking noises when turning full lock coming from the outer CV joint or straight ahead when accelerating coming from the inner joints. I found this product to work really well saving time and effort on replacing split or damaged CV boot kits, especially is difficult to split and remove the CV joint from the driveshaft.
The tool was quick and easy to operate, although the instructions could have been better and made bigger and easier to read, but this is just my view only. Most instructions today with their print size tend to be very minute and not enough detail, they need to be made larger as these are very important instructions to help us operate the manufacturers tools and equipment safely.
I must say it is nice to see British tools at the forefront for a change and not items made elsewhere.
Verdict
This tool is well worth the investment as these CV boots are common faults and always tend to fail the MOT inspections due to cracks and splits and they leak the grease all over the driveshaft and wheel hubs. It’s a very good tool and constructed really well and easy to operate.
