CV boot question - replace or not..

[Jc12]

Okay so i have reached that awesome part of your project where you have more or less.. no funds After i put in my LC and toytec lift i was spilling from my boots like no ones business.. (maybe not that bad, but anyways). So i did the diff drop.. got an alignment (which isnt perfect because i need a tie rod) and i was still leaking a bit (all from the inner boots on each side). I clamped the small side.. fixed it great, now the larger side of the boot was still leaking a bit. I was a fool and took the thing on a small offroad adventure then realized.. if grease is getting out.. can mud be getting in? Anyway they seem to operate fine and the leaking has more or less stopped - there are no rips or tears. Could the leaking have stopped because I am almost out of grease :wow: Or do you think it just took a bit after my alignment/diff drop to kick in and get things back to normal (no more leaking)

So I guess my main point is.. If I don't have to replace them I'd prefer it but I don't want to play dumb and only create a bigger issue for myself down the road.

 

[shadow247]

If they are leaking, I would recommend replacement, or at the very least pull them off and replace the boots. With the high mileage that you have, I wouldn't recommend wheeling very hard on those CV's - leak or no leak. You can get rebuilt CV's for less than 100 bucks each if you look around. There was/is a drive axle shop we used in Dallas,TX that charged 55 bucks per axle no matter the vehicle. Just bring in your old CV and come back 2 days later and they have been rebuilt with news boots and bearings. You might look into that option, as the only thing that really wears on the CV's is the joints and boots.

 

[Jc12]

Thanks for the insight. I can get brand new quality axles for 100 a piece. Maybe that's the route I go, it'll cost me close to 50 per axle to rebuild. Do you think 100 bucks overall is worth avoiding the headache and mess?

 

[shadow247]

Yes it is worth it. At 341k mine are still in great shape, but I will probably replace them not too long after I do the lift kit.

 

[aeroneer1]

Yes it is worth it. At 341k mine are still in great shape, but I will probably replace them not too long after I do the lift kit.

Beast.

 

[offthebeatenpath]

I went for just replacing the boots on my Tacoma.
It was a bit of a pain, but mostly because I didn't have a snap ring pliers. Because of that, the first one took me about 4 hours. Second one tooke me 2 hours.

The boot kit was $35 from my local Toyota dealer. Think about it this way- would you put cheapo bearings anywhere else on your truck? Then why take out perfectly good Toyota parts just because the rubber cover tore? I plan on keeping my Toyota axles as long as possible.

Price from toyotapartssales.com for the CV parts-

-Inner CV joint - $193
-Outer CV joint - $356

Ouch.

 

[josh.bunch]

You can get rebuilt CV's for less than 100 bucks each if you look around. There was/is a drive axle shop we used in Dallas,TX that charged 55 bucks per axle no matter the vehicle. Just bring in your old CV and come back 2 days later and they have been rebuilt with news boots and bearings. You might look into that option, as the only thing that really wears on the CV's is the joints and boots.

Name please. This sounds like a very good idea.

 

[shadow247]

Hardin's Drive Axle

Hardin Drive Axle

Post a link to the google map for you. I'm not sure if they are in business still or not, I have been out of the area for 4 years now.

 

[steezemcqueen]

While i wouldn't really recommend this, I have over a year of daily driving and wheeling on torn CV boots. I think the grease has been gone for like 10 months :lol:

 

[tinman]

When my inner boot tore on my passenger halfshaft, I just rebooted that halfshaft. I bought 2 boot kits, but my driver side halfshaft isn't leaking right now. The Toyota re-boot kits come with inner & outer CV grease, clamps and boots. I figured my 98 has 176k miles on the original boots, and VERY little offroad use, so the new boots and stock shafts should be good to go for a while.

Rebooting is messy, yes, but grease is no big deal to me. Another reason I decided to reboot instead of replacing the halfshafts is some people stated having issues with aftermarket halfshafts not operating up to par with the OEM Toyota stuff (breaking prematurely, not as much flexibility as OEM, etc.). Maybe someone will chime in here that has had issues...or if they've had really good success with aftermarket parts.

 

[josh.bunch]

Hardin's Drive Axle

Hardin Drive Axle

Post a link to the google map for you. I'm not sure if they are in business still or not, I have been out of the area for 4 years now.

They are no longer in business. Thanks for the link though. I found a place that will rebuilt them for $75. Let's just call that inflation over 4 years.

While i wouldn't really recommend this, I have over a year of daily driving and wheeling on torn CV boots. I think the grease has been gone for like 10 months :lol:

Mine have been torn for about 14 months. There is still a fair amount of grease in there still. Just trying to decide between rebooting our replacing since it is original equipment with high mileage.
If I replace it will be with salvage yard OE cv's that I have rebuilt and I'll keep the current ones as spares.