Before doing the work, I would encourage you to put a jack under the drivers side lower control arm, raise the wheel in the air a little (to unload the axle). Then using your hands, push up/down on the inner CV pod next to the diff. If you detect excess 'free-play' then I would encourage you to replace the outer axle bearings at that side at the same time you replace the CV axle (or boot). I replaced mine and it tightened it right up.
Also. One little detail I didn't hear when I watched all the CV replacement videos is that you can just remove the upper control arm, tie rod and anti-sway bar joints and get the axle out ok. You don't need to remove the lower ball joint like some videos say. BUT (and here's the secret trick) ...you'll need to lower the lower control arm a fair amount to get the axle out. If you do that, it's a fairly simple job actually. I would also rotate all the steering joints through their entire range to work grease back into the joints (to extend their life). You might jack up the tires and push/pull on the top of the tire to see if you detect upper ball joint looseness. That's the time to change them (when you have the suspension all apart).
