CV Boot. Replace or Normal?

[Nuthuts96]

Well, after a complete brake swap (brembo rotors/hawk lts pads), I noticed a little grease (I'm assuming it's white lithium grease?) coming out of the small end of the inner boot. It's splattered on surrounding suspension and steering components, so I don't know if it's really a problem or not. (This is on the passenger side). I have two pictures. The first is facing toward the front of the vehicle, the second is facing toward the rear.

Anyone have any experience with these? Looks like a PITA to change the boot...

[Seanz0rz]

yep, mine leaked there when i lifted. i ended up using worm drive hose clamps to reseal it. sure it maybe off balance, but it seems to be just fine thus far.

[Bob98SR5]

when its clicking down there and you see what looks like the throw up scene from the first exorcist movie, you know its time to replace it.

[Robinhood4x4]

I can't tell from the pictures, but if the boot isn't cracked then just replace the clamp that's on there with a hose clamp.

[Nuthuts96]

yea- hard to get pics when you JUST torqued the wheel back down :chair: so i just angled it as best i could in failing light...and there you have it :D

the boot isn't cracked or torn, just leaking (seeping, really) out the edge. no grinding/clicking etc... from the cv, so i think i'm good to just put 2 clamps on the boot. i researched it a bit more and some guys over at tundrasolutions put two hose clamps on it (opposite each other) to cancel out the imbalance- good idea me thinks. thanks for the info all, knew i wouldn't be without an answer to this "easy" fix. more pics to come with new tires/brake replacement...

[Robinhood4x4]

There won't be any imbalance that you would need to worry about. The diameter and weight are way too small to affect anything. You can put two clamps on if you want, but it's not needed.

[MTL_4runner]

Mine did exactly the same thing when I lifted too.

Options are:

1) Replace the boots (very, very messy PITA)
2) Replace the entire axles (which is what I chose to do)
3) Live with the grease spray until the CV's actually fail

[Lee]

if i were you id do #3 in jamie's list, then #2.

#2 is easy, will cost you around 60-90 bucks depending on where you get it, and takes about an hr for your first time going on instructions. if you know what youre doing and have experience, you can do it in about 20 mins.

[Robinhood4x4]

But why do #3 when you can fix it with hose clamps?

[Seanz0rz]

exactly, hose clamps are cheap, you havent lost THAT much grease, and it is very likely no debirs has entered the joint since its just seaping out under a clamp. just cut the old clamp on and get a hose clamp.

[Nuthuts96]

hose clamp is what i'm leaning toward now- get that on when my day off rolls around. it has literally just begun- i'd say within the last 500 miles or so, as i've been tooling around in the cv areas for the last couple weeks. i've also made a point to do a quick visual check on oil changes since you're under there for the oil pan drain plug anyway. thanks for the suggestions guys.

just to clarify, i haven't lifted the runner yet. bigger tires have been put on, and i'm guessing i gained between ½-1 inch of "lift" (due to the increased tire sidewall AND the fact this is new tread vs. worn down tread.) after putting on the 265-75 yokohama's, my foot hit the floorboard of the runner for a couple days getting in the rig! it was noticeably taller...unofficially :screwy:

my speedo reading has also changed a bit: before tires, speedo said 65 and GPS said 62-63. after tires, speedo says 65, GPS says 66-67. one size tires up, and the needle skipped dead on mph! i can live with it, but i'm guessing a new treaded 265-70 would have been perfect for the speedo reading.

[Seanz0rz]

tire lift would not change the angles of the cv, and therefore are not the cause of your leak.

i would really check for cracks, etc. and check the clamps to make sure they are on tight, either way youll want to replace the clamps, and i perfer the hose clamps.

[Lee]

sure, use a hose clamp. just be careful not to let it dig into the boot, cause in a few miles itll rip it again.

[MTL_4runner]

I just wanted to claify I was basically doing option #3 right up until I had my truck slip off of the floor jack and landed on the CV axle, ripping a giant hole in one of the boots. At that point I looked at doing option #1, but for the cost and effort, I went with option #2 and looking back I'm glad I did it that way.