I don't think the 2003 700 Sportsman has CV bootsup frt only in the rear the frt is just universal joints @ least on mine
You look at it and if it is cracked and leaking grease it has failed.
You can buy a CV joint boot kit and install it fairly easily if you can find a boot that bolts together in the center. Just cit the old boot off, put the new boot on , install the grease, bolt up the sides, and put on the hose clamp.
Lift the vehicle using a jack. Inspect the CV boot for problems. Mark the axle. Separate the CV from the shaft. Remove the CV boot clamps. Use a mallet to knock the CV joint off the shaft. Remove the boot from the CV axle shaft.
The CV joint is the part inside the boot.
I wouldn't use a split boot. Rebuilt halfshafts are available and are not that hard to change. The only tricky part is taking the spindle off.
Yes
You can get a kit that has the boot that is open and has new greese that has screws and nuts to put it together. All you do is clean out the old shaft bearing and install the greese and then install the boot. Also Mighty has a kit that if you have the axle removed, you clean out the bearing and install the greese and stretch the boot over the carrior. This works better but takes more time.
Yes
A CV boot is found on the axle of a vehicle. To replace the outer boot remove the axle bolt and pull the boot off. The inner boot requires removal of the whole axle.
A cracked boot itself won't cause a CV joint to make noise. However, a cracked boot WILL cause the grease to be slung out and allow dirt to enter the CV joint. And a contaminated CV joint that is starved for lubricant WILL eventually start to make noise.
They make replacements that are split in half, but they aren't generally recommended. What's best (unfortunately) is to remove the shaft and replace it with a stock cv boot. If the cv boot has been open to the elements for a while, damage in the cv joint might have occured.