I was doing some filter and fluid work recently and happened to be under the rig. I have barely been wheeling in the last year or so, so I was surprised to see how badly the boot in the video was torn. I have 2 of the Toyota-labeled "OEM" remans and this one is the most recent - about 1.5 years old. I looked at the other and the rubber on the outer boot is cracking as well but still intact. Surprised, since I have a mild 2" lift and a diff drop (pulling that out soon) and good Durobumps, so the axles don't see a lot of action. Going to reboot these and keep as spares and maybe try some Napas? What do you think is going on here? The factory boot rubber lasted to original owner 20 years. Mild CA weather. I have half a mind to stitch the boot up with some deep-sea fishing line or something for now.....

3rd Gen 4Runner CV boot failure - YouTube

(YouTube burner account)

That looks like your typical boot tear as the result of time, age and lift. At least in my opinion and experience. I had an OEM boot tear identically to yours. I went with the Napa p/n NCV941258 axles. They've been installed for almost a year and they have held up incredibly well. No wheeling, just daily driving. Took it on the beach once since then but no issues with that.

These axles are new and specifically designed for rigs with lifted suspensions and help accommodate the stressed angles. I highly recommend them.

Except that there has been very little time, very little age, and very little lift I wheeled a lot harder on the 20 year old boots after I did the lift (including as far as I could go on the Rubicon trail without destroying something). I'm just a little disappointed in Toyota's 'OEM Quality' in this case. These should not have failed this quickly. I will look into the NAPAs but they seem top be sold out at first glance.
I'll probably need to reboot these using Timmy's video. Problem is no place to work.

Hmmm... that's interesting then. I'm not sure why or how they could have ripped this early on then. But what's done is done. Definitely disheartening for sure, especially paying Toyota money for them.

You can find similar/same ones on RockAuto or other places. I believe they're under the name TrakMotive or something similar to that. Others have used those and they cost much less. I just went with the Napa ones because that's what I found first and saw another user on here that had excellent results with them. I think the Napa ones will also come with some kind of limited lifetime warranty, for whatever that's worth. Rebooting seems like an option though. But like you said, a lack of space presents another issue.

Maybe a friend nearby would be willing to lend their space or driveway to you for a weekend or something. Just some ideas.

In case anyone is looking at the NAPA axles, they have been superseded (for better or worse?) by:

NAPA axle - new part number

Still have a limited lifetime warranty.

They are listed at $270.70 each but you can get them for $240-something and another $20 off it it's your birthday month and you have a NAPA online account. Not sure what I'll end up doing but I'm driving on these for now.

Edit - AAA saved $60 so a pair for in-store pickup ordered online could be had for $480 +tax. Approx the cost of a single OEM reman shipped if you can find it....

I forgot to mention but I'm sure you saw it already, the axles I previously mentioned are the heavy duty axles, not just standard replacements. My apologies.

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Pretty sure these are the burliest ones they sell. I asked the NAPA guy on the phone for the part number you posted and he gave me the new P/N. They sell other axles for our rigs for half the price ($124) of the Extended units, so I'm pretty sure these are HD, looking at their site. I'll double check before I buy anything. I'm doing other stuff first.