I've done many outer boots without pulling the entire shaft. That prevents making a mess from dripping transmission fluid, but that was mostly on Chrysler products which are real easy to pop apart. Hondas require the inner joint to be disassembled so you can slide the new outer boot all the way across because the outer joint can't be separated from the shaft. I'm not sure where Toyota falls in that range of difficulty but I suspect you can remove the outer joint without pulling the whole shaft out.
Be careful to not pull on the shaft as it could come apart inside the inner joint and the rollers and bearings will fall out of place. If you have to remove the entire shaft, there is a shoe that hooks behind the inner joint and is attached to a slide hammer. That works where a pry bar won't.
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Friday, April 8th, 2011 AT 11:31 PM