Front End Grinding Options

[airforceb2cc]

So I was driving down the wonderful Missouri roads last night and hit a massive puddle. After I got back on asphalt, I noticed that the steering wheel had a BAD shimmy at all speeds. It was very difficult to keep the car straight. I made it home and took a gander at the drivetrain and suspension. I noticed that both my CV boots at the hub are torn and need to get them replaced. I checked the tie rod ends, ball joints and sway bar brackets and all is secure. I put everything back together and took a test drive. I noticed a grinding sound whenever I turn while accelerating or decelerating and the wheel shimmy is intermittent. I think replacing the half shafts (the boots look like they have been torn for a while now) would fix my problem. Any other ideas?

This post has been edited by airforceb2cc: Feb 21, 2010 - 4:14 PM

[airforceb2cc]

Ok, after posting here I am almost certain that is my problem as it is more of a "ticking" sound than a grinding sound. Next question, I'm pretty mechanically inclined and am pretty pissed at myself for not checking the boots well enough every tire rotation. They were dry so I figured they were good. Anywho, how tough is it to swap out the shafts? It looks like the left side is pretty easy -- LHD car -- and the right side is going to be a bit harder. Is it as easy at it looks as far as tie rod off, axle nut retainer and nut off, rotate hub and pull shaft out of the tranny...or are there some clips I have to deal with?