cv gaiter renewall - without removing driveshaft?

[Straight6DOHC]

Hi guys, I need to renew a burst gaitor on a 58 plate. Haynes says remove the whole driveshaft. Surely I just fight with the driveshaft bolt until undone, swear at the 3 lower balljoint to lower arm nuts until undone, slide driveshaft to side, remove old gaiter, then separate outer joint from driveshaft allowing new gaiter to be fitted?
Does haynes say to remove the whole driveshaft so that it can be thoroughly washed and inspected?

[RichardSEL]

No, coz you won't get the new gaitor over the UJ doing it that way round
A "universal" gaitor will eventually slip over the UJ but they only last a few hundred miles if that...

[Doctle Odd]

The stretchy boots are crap and the split ones you glue together are even worse. It's better to take the shaft out

[Straight6DOHC]

Wow, that was quick guys. Many thanks. Appreciated.

[Straight6DOHC]

Just an update. I changed the cv boot without removing the whole driveshaft. Changing CV axle boot Passat B5 - YouTube at 43 seconds shows how I did it. Took 2.5 hours but still had problems separating lower arm from ball joint. Hope that helps others.

[Cabbage head]

Popping the joint off the shaft is the easy way for me