Hi John,
Yep, that's the boot. There's usually a boot kit available as well as just the boot - the kit will include (in addition to the boot itself) the metal bands used to seal the boot at both ends, and, some grease to repack the CV joint. If you can't find the full kit, then some tie wraps work OK and you can use wheel bearing grease from any NAPA or Schucks or similar auto parts store. The best wheel bearing grease to use is the molybdenum - it's usually black in color.
The axles aren't hard to remove provided the CV bolts aren't corroded. Here's a few tips:
1. Use the correct socket for the CV bolts - it may be an internal hex, or, a 12 point star or something similar. The CV bolts are torqued to about 60 ft/lbs so they take some effort to remove.
2. Don't reuse the CV bolts. These bolts are special hardened bolts and you should use new ones anytime the CV joint is removed. Most any good fastener supply place will have the right bolts - ask for metric hardened bolts and take one of the bolts into the fastener supply store for comparison purposes.
3. Work slowly and carefully.
4. Repack the CV joint. First step is to remove the old grease which is a very dirty job. My reco is to let them sit overnight in engine degreaser in a deep pan. You'll end up using a ton of paper towels in this step. When repacking the grease, work it into the CV joint with your hands - don't be afraid to get your hands totally covered with grease.
5. Install is the reverse of removal.
Service life is highly variable. Basically, just check the boots once in a while. If you see that a boot has split then it's time to replace.
Hope the above helps!
epper:
