CV joint boots

[toyota2]

I was changing the oil in my 03 t4r sport this Saturday. I noticed that the inner boot on the passenger side has thrown some grease out. I cleaned things up the best I could and could not find a tear or anything. The Driver side looks as if it has lost some as well but it must have been a while back as it is not fresh looking just a black nasty crusty mess. What would cause it to leak? I should say that it is all stock no lift or anything.

Thanks for looking!

 

[sonerick]

The clamps tend to loosen over time due to natural deterioration of the rubber boot and forces caused by constant rotation of the joint, suspension jarring, and getting blasted with water and debris.

 

[toyota2]

Ok that makes sense to me. Is there a way for me to fix this or am I looking at getting the boots replaced or the shafts replaced? Can I put grease back in and then re-clamp them?

 

[aha2988]

Ok that makes sense to me. Is there a way for me to fix this or am I looking at getting the boots replaced or the shafts replaced? Can I put grease back in and then re-clamp them?

yeah you can repack CV grease into the knuckle housings and replace the boots with new clamps. pull both your cv axle's out and disassemble and rebuild them essentially

 

[Dexter Morgan]

Get some marine-style hose clamps and clamp right over the originals. This has worked great on my Tundra for the last 10k miles, and I have just done the same to my inner's on my '05 4runner after a DS 2.5/1.5

 

[LTDSC]

Get some marine-style hose clamps and clamp right over the originals. This has worked great on my Tundra for the last 10k miles, and I have just done the same to my inner's on my '05 4runner after a DS 2.5/1.5

i plan to do this, this weekend. Glad it works.

 

[sonerick]

+1 on the hose clamps. I clamped mine off 30k miles ago and no problems since.

If lots of grease has escaped, it might be a good idea to try and inject some in there before you clamp though.

Take a look at this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/131844-leaking-love-my-toytec-lift-but-help-girl.html

Best clamps to use can be purchased from McMaster-Carr online (they fit perfectly and are the right width/diameter to replace existing clamps):
1 5574K16 1 Pack 304 Ss Smooth-band Worm-drive Hose Clamp, 1" To 1-5/8" Clamp Dia Range, 3/8" Band Width
2 5574K24 1 Pack 304 Ss Smooth-band Worm-drive Hose Clamp, 3-1/2" To 4-3/8" Clamp Dia Range, 3/8" Band Width

 

[Dexter Morgan]

+1 on the hose clamps. I clamped mine off 30k miles ago and no problems since.

If lots of grease has escaped, it might be a good idea to try and inject some in there before you clamp though.

Take a look at this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/131844-leaking-love-my-toytec-lift-but-help-girl.html

Best clamps to use can be purchased from McMaster-Carr online (they fit perfectly and are the right width/diameter to replace existing clamps):
1 5574K16 1 Pack 304 Ss Smooth-band Worm-drive Hose Clamp, 1" To 1-5/8" Clamp Dia Range, 3/8" Band Width
2 5574K24 1 Pack 304 Ss Smooth-band Worm-drive Hose Clamp, 3-1/2" To 4-3/8" Clamp Dia Range, 3/8" Band Width

How tight did you go on the clamps? I went right over the weak factory clamps and tightened down pretty good. Just about till the rubber started to compress then I stopped. Wasn't real sure how tight to go.

 

[sonerick]

Probably need them fairly tight so they don't spin off. You're probably fine, just check em after a couple drives and see how they're doing.

I removed the old factory clamps before putting mine on. The hose clamps I got were the same width/diameter as the factory ones, so no need to keep the old ones on there.

 

[Neumonic]

you can bush the boot back and compress it as far as possible to see if any water found it's way in there. If so, get as much out as you can. After I cleaned out the boot I injected new grease and packed it into the joint then used some stainless steel zip ties to clamp the boot back down. I did cut off the originals in the beginning in order to clean and re-grease the inside of the boot.

 

[toyota2]

Thank you guys for the responses, that is what i'm going to do, I just need to find some clamps to use. Any idea where to get them without having to order them?

 

[cacarbuff]

McMasterCarr listed above is usually really fast about shipping. They have a lot of distribution centers and usually ship out same day if time is what you're worried about. I don't know about West Virginia, but they actually have a distribution center in LA, and when I was back in school, we would order in the morning and get our parts by 3pm. Hope this helps.

 

[toyota2]

Thanks for all the replies, I have tried to get the hose clamps locally but no body has the ones i need so I guess I will be ordering from McMasterCarr.

One last question though, should I take the boots loose completely and clean the joint and thin re-grease or should I just shoot new grease up in the boot (I have a needle attachment for my grease gun) and then just clamp the smaller end where it is leaking?

Thanks again!!

 

[JB.]

How tight did you go on the clamps? I went right over the weak factory clamps and tightened down pretty good. Just about till the rubber started to compress then I stopped. Wasn't real sure how tight to go.

It's interesting you went right over the old clamps and it worked. I never thought of that.

I went through a few tightening trials and errors before I ended up with a perfect seal. The end result was pretty tight. I went right up until turning was getting pretty hard and I could see the rubber starting to move under compression. A 1/4 turn past that and they've been leak free for two years.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

It's interesting you went right over the old clamps and it worked. I never thought of that.

I went through a few tightening trials and errors before I ended up with a perfect seal. The end result was pretty tight. I went right up until turning was getting pretty hard and I could see the rubber starting to move under compression. A 1/4 turn past that and they've been leak free for two years.

My tightening regime was about the same. Turn until a good amount of resistance, another 1/4 turn, slight compression and so far so good for a couple days.

Yep, went right over the clamps on my Tundra too. Lined up the end of the West Marine clamp with the end of the rubber boot, going right over the puny stock clamp plus clamping down at the very end of the boot.

The boots are pretty heavy duty, they should not tear that easy even under slight compression.

 

[LTDSC]

Ill be doing this tomorrow before my road trip so ill try to document it as well.

Thanks! This helps me a bunch.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

Ill be doing this tomorrow before my road trip so ill try to document it as well.

Thanks! This helps me a bunch.

Let us know how it goes. Honestly, the most difficult part is trying to get the screwdriver in between the LCA and the clamp, and even that isn't that hard! Let us know how it turns out.

By the way, if your inners are spitting, use the clamps set for a diameter range of 25-38 mm.

 

[JB.]

The boots are pretty heavy duty, they should not tear that easy even under slight compression.

Yeah, the rubber is thick there. That's what made me eventually decide to crank on them a little. If I had looked at them more closely earlier in the process, I wouldn't have been so careful initially.

 

[LTDSC]

was a breeze, my OEM clamps werent there anymore so my process was very easy. These were taken after i cleaned the boot up and then installed the clamps. I later cleaned the who LCA and surrounding it.

 

[toyota2]

So I took the advice on here and ordered the McMasterCarr clamps and a needle attachment for my grease gun. I only did the small side of the boot for now as the larger ones do not have any problems at this time. So I cleaned up the boot and axle. I then undid the original clamp and cut it off, I then slid the needle into the boot and applied a generous amount of grease to the joint (I hope!) and installed the new clamp. Repeated for the other side and was done. Only took about 1.5 beers and that was taking my time. I have checked them a couple times since and there is not a drop of grease anywhere.

Thank you guys for the help and information and saving me quite a bit of money by doing this my self!!