Speaking of preventative maintenance, my old Peugeot 405 is due for a roadworthy check and I knew I had to replace one of the front wheel bearings. This is not a pleasant job and can require some cursing to complete the job. However I've done it before so I know what I need to do.
However I noticed when I was disassembling things that the CV joint boot had failed. A small tear, had lost some grease but didn't look like any dirt had got in. So another issue to deal with

I also wanted to do it the easy way and soon, as the roadworthy had to be done within a few days or I wouldn't be able to get the old girl registered. After some faffing about online I figured the easiest way was to do the CV boot fitting on the car while I had the wheel bearing hub assembly off without removing the driveshaft and using a universal CV joint boot.
I saw on Youtube how to do this using a cone but when I went to town to get the CV boot nobody had a cone for sale so all I had was the boot. I took some funnels from the kitchen thinking they may be helpful but they looked a the wrong angle when I got to the shed. After wandering around and thinking hard I went looking for some PVC downpipe I had in some long grass. I found a short section with a bell end and cut a piece out so I could form a bit of a cone. With the application of a heat gun and lashings of duct tape I reckoned I had made a pretty good example of a CV boot fitting cone
The real test would be slipping the new boot over the bearing hub which was 90mm diameter while the narrow end of the boot was 20mm diameter

I oiled up the boot and turned it inside out and oiled up the home made cone. I slipped the boot onto the cone, put the cone on the bearing hub and started pushing. In one easy push the boot slipped up the cone and over the hub

Easier than I thought I would be. Hardest bit was turning the boot from inside out back to normal as it was so slippery. Got it done, filled it with grease, tightened the clamps, put the hub assembly/wheel back on and drove it home.
The old Peugeot has 480,000 km on the odometer and the last 120,000km on 50/50 waste vegetable oil and diesel. Cheap to run and performs well. But it's from 1994 and more things will wear out, so when I run out of my veggie oil stockpile I'll be looking for something newer. Hopefully a decent plug in hybrid to use some of my excess solar power
View attachment 40841View attachment 40842