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neither of them recommend checking the CV boot for damage

It's common knowledge, part of the most basic examination of a car. It's on par with noticing a crack in your sidewall or a badly frayed brake line.

I can't come up with any other reason why the passenger side wheel has an inch or so of play side to side when it's jacked up, or why it clunks when I turn left.

OH MY GOD. I created an account solely to comment on this.

CV joints have NOTHING to do with retaining the wheel, holding it in position, or anything else of the sort. NOTHING.

Your ball joints are shot (and/or your hub). If you're driving that vehicle, YOU ARE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING YOURSELF. Pardon the caps, but seriously, you appear to be unaware of the danger you're creating for yourself and others.

A timing belt won't give you that luxury.

I don't know why you're going back to timing belts, as they are scheduled replacement items.

A CV joint ideally does not transmit any force other than torque on the axle, if there is a lot of play in the wheel from side to side you really need to replace that ball joint or control arm or whatever suspension component is broken. Your car is currently dangerous to drive, if that joint fails completely at speed you will lose all control over the orientation of that wheel and there's a good chance it will want to immediately turn sideways. If the side to side play is at the 3 and 9 o'clock position then your tie rod end has failed, if it's at the 12 and 6 o'clock position then it's probably a ball joint.

But back to the topic at hand, every repair manual I have seen has listed inspecting CV joint boots for tears every so often.

It's interesting that you say that, I've actually had it at two mechanics to get their opinion. I bought it about 400 miles from where I live, so I had to drive it back. I wanted to make sure it was safe to make the drive. Both of them said "it's the CV joint, but as long as it's not in 4WD, you're fine". When I jack it up, I can move the top of the wheel side to side like wiggling a loose tooth. So on that judgment, I drove it 400 miles clunking along.

But back to the topic at hand, repair manuals are different from the manual you get included with the car.

You're making the mistake of assuming that CV joints are 'customer inspectable', they are not, but the garage has it in their maintenance schedule (including scheduled replacements), so as long as you want the car to pass 'MOT' or whatever it is called or if it is still in scheduled maintenance with a dealer they'll be taken care of every so often and inspected at least once every year.

That doesn't mean you can't do it yourself, just that that is not usual.

You likely have dangerously worn out wheel bearings for the wheel to have that much play in it.

I don't use that word lightly, the wheel is going to eventually detach from the vehicle, quite possibly when travelling quickly or making a turn.

It's a bit more complex than checking tires or windshield wipers for wear.

http://www.wikihow.com/Check-the-Constant-Velocity-Boots-%28...

Your CV joint is quite possibly fine (though it might be shot, only way to be sure is to lock one side and then to try to move the other along all axis of freedom and restraint to check for play) but you're on the edge of either an accident or a catastrophic breakdown, visit a garage with someone who actually knows what he's doing before you find out which of the two options makes your lucky day.

Timing belts are wear parts to be replaced at fairly exact mileages whether or not there is visible damage or not does not factor into it. Some cars have chain drives (Mercedes for instance, and almost all big trucks) which are installed for the life of the engine.

I don't particularly care what your 'licensed mechanics' have told you, if you have an inch of play it could be any one of the following:

- worn splines on the diff

- shaft retainers about to go

- bearing housing worn out / bearings shot

- ball joints worn

- carrier arm support bushing gone or badly worn

It could also be a combination of the above with marginal parts and then all the bits of play adding up.

It's your life, not mine but I would take anything that has to do with the front-end very seriously. You don't always get to do a do-over after you've learned your lesson, and an inch of play is something to stop driving your car over until it is fixed.

FWIW when I was poor (which wasn't all that long ago, but that's a totally different story) I drove a 500 euro VW golf, I clocked 50K on it in one year which is a fair bit of driving for NL and I did the maintenance myself. I would never ever think of getting into that car of yours without making a beeline for a place with a bridge and a budget large enough to get it fixed, you're endangering those on the road that do take good care of their cars as well.

I realize that car mechanics is not your forte but please take this serious and get it taken care of before something really bad happens. If you were living within a few hundred K of here I'd be happy to toss my tools in the car and drive over to get your problem fixed, that's how serious I'd take this but since you're on the other side of an ocean that isn't going to happen.

As for 'licensed mechanics', one day on a Jeep I owned there was a mis-alignment left front, I ended up with the local alignment gurus who said I just had to live with the mis-alignment because they couldn't fix it. After asking for permission I was in the pit in a heartbeat inspecting the front end with their very nice light setup and found a hairline crack in the front diff, which is why they couldn't align that wheel (it could basically freely move backwards and forwards in the diff, a mm there translated to 1/2" at the wheel). That would have killed me handily if it had seized up at highway speeds, the diff was entirely dry.

They were extremely apologetic that they missed that, which is nice but that was a major error on their part. To me if the car is out of alignment or there is something fishy with the front end you keep at it until it is a 'known quantity' and you really know what you're doing or until it is repaired. It's way too easy to have a major accident that way.