<E30> CV joints questions

[Steve.Goldstein@xxxxxxxxxx (Steve Goldstein)]

Greetings, digesters!

My winter beater ('85 325e, 192kmiles) has some rear-end noise which
sounds suspiciously like a bad CV joint.  (I've been too busy lately
to crawl under and check, that's this weekend's task).  According to the
Bentley book, the outer CV can only be replaced as an assembly with the
half-shaft, while the inner can be replaced separately.

So here are a few questions:

1. Will it be straightforward to determine whether it's the inner or outer 
   CV that's failing?  Last time I looked, about 2 months ago, none of the
   rubber boots exhibited any tears or cuts, I assume that's still true.

2. What's the approximate replacement cost for an outer CV/halfshaft?  How
   about the inner CV?  Are there any parts that should be replaced with?

3. Opinions on new vs. used (assuming it's the outer and the cost of new
   is high)?

4. Should I even think about doing the outer CV myself (if that's the
   problem)?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Steve Goldstein
BMWCCA 53191
'91 318is
'85 325e with weird rattles when coasting :(

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