CV boot repair - which option is right for me?

[ShooterMcGavin]

I have slightly higher than a 3" lift in the front. The inner boot for my passenger CV has ripped and grease is flung everywhere around it. The boot is old and seems weathered ...and I used the stretch technique to separate the ribs from rubbing after my lift.

I like driving off-road as much as possible, but that is usually not more than once or twice a month. There are some options I have...

1. Kit from Napa to re-boot the CV joints.

2. Aftermarket boots that are supposed to be tougher, maybe longer too?

3. Porsche longer boots. I think they are for the 930(?), but I'll need to do more research.

 

[nobb]

I've found the Napa branded CV boots are made of a nice, sturdy, thick rubber. In contrast, the EMPI branded boots I've used were thinner and I started seeing wear in the material after a year. Napa's boots are also lifetime warranty.

My front is lifted 3" and I don't notice any rubbing. Maybe at a higher lift they begin to rub and you may need to consider stretching the boot?

Also the grease they supply with these kits is almost never enough so make sure you get extra.

 

[Hesk11dog]

If you are currently driving it around with a torn boot and plan on rebooting, make sure you do a thorough cleaning of the gears and joint before rebooting as dirt and water can now enter the axle. I tore a boot over the winter and decided on the NEW NAPA (lifetime warranty) half shalf. Was like $70 and did not have to submit the old one as a core. Seems legit and has not given me any problems with 2000 miles on it. I do some very light dirt and trail driving and have it lifted about 2 inches. You can then also reboot your old shaft and keep as a spare for the other side.

 

[atalarico]

I have slightly higher than a 3" lift in the front. The inner boot for my passenger CV has ripped and grease is flung everywhere around it. The boot is old and seems weathered ...and I used the stretch technique to separate the ribs from rubbing after my lift.

I like driving off-road as much as possible, but that is usually not more than once or twice a month. There are some options I have...

1. Kit from Napa to re-boot the CV joints.

2. Aftermarket boots that are supposed to be tougher, maybe longer too?

3. Porsche longer boots. I think they are for the 930(?), but I'll need to do more research.

Despite my best efforts, I have a close to 3" lift as well. I will say this after 4 years of having my lift...everything rubber related to your front suspension will wear out much faster. That's why I wanted to lower it a smidge, and I was hoping I'd drop more than .25" when I replaced my Tundra Bilstein 5100s for Tacoma ones, but it really had more to do with my Eibach spring. I digress...

1.) Rebuilding CV joints is a pretty massive pain in the ass. I did it once after my original lift using CVJ silicone inner boots and their neoprene outers. I think it was like $30-50 more if you include the core deposit to just get reman'd ones from them with the same boot setup.

I'll say that I never had any issues with those CVs function-wise, but the silicone boots busted after four years (?). They now include a rubber o-ring to put around the inner-most rib because I guess they can tear easily if stuff gets in there and rubs around.

I ended up buying reman'd CVs from CVJ this last summer, but I've experienced some issues in the front end that I didn't have prior to having those. I'm slowly eliminating other possibilities just in case, so I don't want to say it's for sure those, but my point is that I never had issues with my OEM CVs that I rebuilt.

2.) See above re: CVJ silicone boots. I'm probably going to go with something else next time around, as I don't have much faith in these holding up too well.

3.) Longer boots aren't a bad idea.

Good luck! Let us know how it works out!

 

[111db]

You have a 3" lift on your Prius!? Post up!


and maybe read this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/205483-cv-axles-napa-maxdrive-a1-cardone.html

 

[Scramble]

I'm now running 2 new Napa Max-Drive's. I bought the Beck Arnley boot kit from Amazon for my OEM's. I haven't re-booted yet but they seem like quality boots & no bad reviews on them from anyone here, only positive.

 

[GVL]

I just tore the same boot and went with a reman OE from CVJ and it's working great again, but the Napa's were my next option with that life-warranty. Good luck.

 

[atalarico]

Oh, and if you get NAPA and need to warranty it, YOU WERE JUST DRIVING ALONG ON PAVEMENT. I don't know for certain, but generally speaking, any lifetime warranty on car parts excludes off-road use. JFYI.

 

[90goldtsiawd]

Just lifted mine recently so I'm sure I'll need to look into this in the near future. Any more info on the Porsche 930 longer boots?

 

[ShooterMcGavin]

Thanks guys. Good info so far. I'm avoiding driving it while it is torn but I'll probably still drive it on the road. I need to find out what is the proper grease to use, to replace the stuff that has been flung out.

If you are currently driving it around with a torn boot and plan on rebooting, make sure you do a thorough cleaning of the gears and joint before rebooting as dirt and water can now enter the axle. I tore a boot over the winter and decided on the NEW NAPA (lifetime warranty) half shalf. Was like $70 and did not have to submit the old one as a core. Seems legit and has not given me any problems with 2000 miles on it. I do some very light dirt and trail driving and have it lifted about 2 inches. You can then also reboot your old shaft and keep as a spare for the other side.

I want to avoid using non-OEM CVs. I put them through some hard use so breaking one is a possibility.

I'm now running 2 new Napa Max-Drive's. I bought the Beck Arnley boot kit from Amazon for my OEM's. I haven't re-booted yet but they seem like quality boots & no bad reviews on them from anyone here, only positive.

How do the Napa Max-Drives compare to OEM CVs? Any strength difference?

Just lifted mine recently so I'm sure I'll need to look into this in the near future. Any more info on the Porsche 930 longer boots?

I'll have to do some extra research on all the options to see what I want to do.

Additional info: I am really tight on money now so I don't see myself buying reman's from CVJ. I'm trying to keep OEM quality and do this on a tiny budget. At least I am in the process of getting a new job soon

 

[90goldtsiawd]

Anybody got a link for CVJ?


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[fourfive]

There are some options I have...

1. Kit from Napa to re-boot the CV joints.

2. Aftermarket boots that are supposed to be tougher, maybe longer too?

3. Porsche longer boots. I think they are for the 930(?), but I'll need to do more research.

Out of the three options, I would go with napa. It seems like others that went this route had good outcomes. That along with the lifetime warranty, ease of getting parts & probably being less $ is why i would lean more towards napa.

If I wasn't an oem psycho with my general parts replacements, I would have gone napa when i rebooted mine. Napa and cvj were the only aftermarket cv axles/reboot kits i considered before I went oem mainly because those were the two i found the most info on at the time.

 

[Hesk11dog]

I want to avoid using non-OEM CVs. I put them through some hard use so breaking one is a possibility.

You can find OEM reboot kits that come with grease on ebay. It is just going to keep flinging grease out till it is sealed so I wouldn't clean it yet.

Avoiding non-OEM is most often a smart choice but I did some research before I decided and it just seemed like the NAPA maxdrives were the best budget option for me along with ease of obtaining and possibly replacing since I work 100 yards from a NAPA store. it really is not hard to replace the half shaft if the napa does break and everything is free with the lifetime warranty.

I know a lot of people on here are OEM junkies but there are decent aftermarket parts that have been tested by some of the senior members on here. Some with good things to say and some with bad, but that is how it is with everything.:fencing:

here is one of the links I referenced when thinking about axles
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/118912-if-you-have-used-napa-cv-axles-please-reply.html

An axle is going to break if you push it too hard, OEM, REMAN, or NEW. Doesn't matter, anything can break.

 

[Rock_Rat]

I have slightly higher than a 3" lift in the front. The inner boot for my passenger CV has ripped and grease is flung everywhere around it. The boot is old and seems weathered ...and I used the stretch technique to separate the ribs from rubbing after my lift.

I like driving off-road as much as possible, but that is usually not more than once or twice a month. There are some options I have...

1. Kit from Napa to re-boot the CV joints.

2. Aftermarket boots that are supposed to be tougher, maybe longer too?

3. Porsche longer boots. I think they are for the 930(?), but I'll need to do more research.

I decided to stick to OEM (matter of personal preferences) but there are a LOT of positive posts on here about the NAPA axles. Lifetime warranty is pretty good. Tear a boot, just replace. No cost other than time.

I went this route:

• Used OEM axles from the junkyard - $40 each. (low mileage donor)
• OEM boot kits that come with the grease already - PN# 04438-35060 - $43 ea from Camelback . Now you'll have two sets of OEM axles.

Total cost: $83 for rebuilt OEM axles.

Then all you need to buy is the inside boot kit as that's all that will probably tear from here on out. That kit is PN# 04438-35040 - $23.99 from camelback.

Of course you'll need the band clamp tools.

 

[dertrommler]

After scouring the internet and looking at do-it-yourself boots, aftermarket boots, OEM boots and go-to-a-dealer prices, I settled on the notion that it might cost $600 at Toyota for a pair of boots, so I went to a service center. I was quoted $635 per side! #stickershock #nothappy

 

[Sparky 97Runner]

After scouring the internet and looking at do-it-yourself boots, aftermarket boots, OEM boots and go-to-a-dealer prices, I settled on the notion that it might cost $600 at Toyota for a pair of boots, so I went to a service center. I was quoted $635 per side! #stickershock #nothappy

Yep. That's one of the two reasons that most people on this site do their own work. #1 They want it done right. #2 Cost

 

[snydmax]

Toyota oem reboot kit is about $60 per axle... just have to take the time to do it yourself... Timmy the toolman has a video on this. I didn’t get to it during my last front end adventure as the diff drain plug was stuck and started to strip... will be prepared with a torch, chisel, and new plug bolt at next attempt... and antiseize for the new drain and fill crush washers


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[nissanh]

Reboot is super easy: No need to drain diff fluid or remove hub nut!

Demonstration purposes only:

Apply park brake, and choke wheels. Lift front end and place on jack stands and for additional safety, place the removed wheel under the truck with some wood blocks to fill the gap between the truck and the wheel.

1) Remove upper OR lower ball joint.
2) Remove inner boot large clamp and pull the half axle and tripod joint out of the inner joint (tulip)
3) Remove the C-clip and remove the tripod-joint (notice it's orientation - make a match mark)
4) Remove boot clamps and pull the inner and outer boots off the CV axle.
5) install is the reverse order.

I did this while I refreshed the front suspension with OEM bushings. Make sure to have a good Lisle or Gearwrench Boot clamp crimp pliers. Cheap ones are JUNK. I spent more time getting the outer CV boot clamps crimped because Chinese cheap crimp tool broke on 3rd try, and ended up using stainless steel ties. Inner clamps can be tightened without a special tool.

 

[BayAreaT4R]

If I were you I'd just replace the whole thing instead of just re-booting it. I'm not familiar with the whole aftermarket when it comes to re-boots, but why not just go OEM unless there's a flaw in their (OEM) design.

 

[Endlessblockades]

After scouring the internet and looking at do-it-yourself boots, aftermarket boots, OEM boots and go-to-a-dealer prices, I settled on the notion that it might cost $600 at Toyota for a pair of boots, so I went to a service center. I was quoted $635 per side! #stickershock #nothappy

WTF?! Did I read that right? The most expensive option that I would even consider is a brand new (re-manufactured, nowadays), complete, OEM Toyota axle. Installed at a good shop in overpriced SF is about $450 out the door. After i inevitably sent both of my (probably original) boots to their graves following a mild lift, I had both done. I then popped in a $50 diff drop and I don't expect to have to worry about for years.....