First of all, if you are NOT comfortable doing this I would NOT recommend doing this. This is something that I have done before and don't mind doing. Most people would rather just go to a parts store, and get one of those "junky" CV shafts every 6 months. The only reason I'm doing this is because my joint isn't bad, I just had a torn boot. So on with the tutorial.

We've all had this trouble at one time...or another....or another. The CV shaft going out, that tell tale sign of the grease up under the hood, on the firewall, pretty much all over everything on the inside of the engine compartment. Or that nice little green ring inside your wheel.

Here's a pretty detailed how to, on changing CV shafts, and for you hardcore people, actually rebuilding the Joint itself. I myself, don't care for the NAPA, O'Reilly's ones just because the boot material is sub standard, and after a few months it tears from the constant beatings we put on our cars.

First, I purchased from work, a boot kit that contains the boot, grease, and the two retainer rings. The price will vary from dealership, but let's say I get a pretty good deal on these things. ;)

Here is the kit out of the box:

Now, let's get started. You will want to jack your car up...and make sure to put jackstands under BOTH sides, and to set the parking brake. I also for extra safety block both back wheels just to make sure I don't get flattened. Remove wheel.

At this point, we will need to loosen the shaft nut on the inside of the hub. You will want to insert a screwdriver into the vents on the rotor to keep it from moving.

Then get your socket and impact gun/ratchet to loosen the nut.

Now we need to remove the calipers and brackets. I have the F-body setup on mine, so I'll need a 12mm socket to take the caliper bolts loose.

You'll want to tie the caliper up out of your way, so you can work, and you don't bump your head on it.

Now a 15mm socket will take the bolts out of the back of the spindle, and you will also need to remove your pads.

Once removed, the rotor simply slides off, and you see the hub with the splined shaft coming out of it.

Now, here comes the fun stuff. Here is the lower ball joint nut. It's a 18mm Castle nut, that has a cotter pin holding it in place. Remove the pin with a pair of needle nose pliers, and a 18mm wrench to remove the nut. At this point, you will need to push in on the shaft just a bit, to move it inward slightly. You do this so that you can finish unscrewing the nut off of the ball joint.

Also is a good idea to unplug the ABS sensor, and take it out of it's restraints. I do this just to make sure I don't pinch any wires, and it will need to be unplugged when you are separating the control arm from the knuckle

Now, there's two ways to separate the ball joint. One is to get a pry-bar and force the control arm down. Ok, I'm lazy, and I don't feel like blowing out an sphincter ring...so I go about it the Green Bastard way. I get my trusty ball joint separator as shown here.

A few taps with a 2 LB sledge will pry the joint loose, and then use a floor jack on the hub to compress the strut. You have to use the sledge to hammer on the lower control arm just a bit to jar it and keep it from binding up.

When it separates, pull the knuckle toward you, and push the shaft out of the hub. The joint will have about 7 inches of play in it total, so this is fairly simple. When you push it out of the hub, lay it on the control arm, and swing the spindle toward the back of the car.
Now we need to go under the car. This is where the shaft goes into the transmission. You can see the tripod joint on the left and lower of the pics.

Again, there are two things you can do here. One is to get a pry bar, and try to pry the joint out of the transmission. There is also a slidehammer tool that will also do the trick. I again...am lazy, and I don't feel like prying and pinching my fingers. I used a 3/4 extension about 8 inches long, and my trusty mini sledge. Put it on the thick part of the joint, and TAP, not hammer it. The retainer ring will pop loose, and the shaft will slide out. You may lose a little bit of transmission fluid, and this is normal. There won't be a significant amount of loss though, just be prepared to get some on you.
Pics of the shaft removed

And the wonderful grease that it left behind on the cradle.

Now that you've taken it out...you can either replace the whole shaft with a reman one, and simply reverse the steps to put it back together......or we can move on to the next step...rebuilding it.

Be sure while everything is still out, to go ahead and clean up the grease. Paper towels will be your best friend in this project. You may (seriously) go through an entire roll. The grease is thick and it sticks to everything. So make sure you use a good degreaser making sure you plug the hole in the differential housing so that you won't get any contaminants in it.

So now that I've got the shaft out, time to get to work. I set it on the ground, yes on the ground. There is a reason why I do this. When I take it apart, and something falls out, I don't want it rolling off the table, or flying accross the room. If it's close to the ground, then there are better chances of me finding it. Once again...this is gonna be messy. Paper towels are going to be your friend here.
Here's what we're starting with.

Start by cutting the two bands that hold each side of the boot. I used a die grinder, because it's quick (remember, I'm still lazy here...and after a few beers I just don't feel like taking my sweet time)

On the bigger end, the snap ring that holds this end together is really just like a zipper style clamp. Grind the nub on the end of the band a little bit, and it comes right apart.

And now it's ready to come apart. At this point, go slow, be careful not to lose any parts that may fall out.

Now I have to say, at this point, if the spider joint is damaged in any way...you're better off getting a new shaft. Keep in mind, that my boot was torn, and it was just leaking grease but there was no damage. If it progresses any more, and you get any dirt or sand in there....it's done and there's no point in going any further.
This is what puts power to the wheels.

There is one snap ring that holds the tripod joint onto the shaft. Remove the snap ring, and place it on a clean paper towel. Then you should be able to slide the tripod off of the splines. There are also snap rings that hold the bearings on. You do not need to take these apart, since the bearings will all fall out, and you will be stuck looking for these little bastards. Again, if any are missing...you might as well stop here.
Here is the tripod or spider joint

Now, there is another snap ring on this shaft where the joint was....remove this snap ring as well.

And now the boot will slide off the shaft. Throw the boot away because you won't be needing this any more.

Now you can clean up the shaft, and inspect the splines. They should not have any burrs on them, and should not be rolled in any way. Take the time to inspect every single one, running a toothpick or a pick down it to make sure that they are all clean.

OK, now that everything is cleaned up...and it's passed inspection. Meaning the splines on the shaft look good, and there are no wear marks on the joint and the bearings are all still there...you're ready to put it back together.
Another pic of the boot kit.

Put the retainer ring on the small end of the boot, and slide it down to the groves on the shaft. You can see them in the pic above, a few inches below the splines.

Reinstall the lower snap ring back onto the shaft.

And HEEEEERES the new Grease. Notice it's kinda solid, chunky. It's normal. Once it works around in there, and warms up...it will start to look similar to what came out of it to begin with.

Now squeeze about half of the bag into the new boot, work it down in there a little.

And now put some into the other side.

Don't forget to put some grease on the splines, and then slide the bearing assembly onto the shaft, down to the snapring.

And now reinstall the upper snap ring.

Now before you put the joint back together, put the large retainer ring on the outer lip of the boot, and slide the joint back together slowly, and you may have some grease squeeze out of the little vent holes in the top. No biggie, just clean it up.
Now, sinch the clamps down. You will need some special tools to do this. One is in use with a vise that you will have to crush the smaller ring, and another is a pinch type set of pliars that will pull the big end closed. This is why I suggest you know what you're doing, and are able to do this the right way.

and Voila! DONE!
Before

And After.

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