Driving with a tore CV boot?

[JCR]

Last weekend I had a shop put on my Toytec spacer lift and in the process they tore my CV boot. They ordered the boot from Toyota and it was supposed to be here today but it has been delayed until tomorrow. With the holiday weekend I might not have time to get it put on until next week.

My question is: Is it ok to drive? I have put a couple hundred miles on it and will be putting a couple hundred more on it this weekend. They told me as long as I didn't go through mud holes or drive through a lot of water I'll be fine which ruins my plans of taking the 4runner out to the river with my family.

Also, I lost alot of grease out of there initially but they ziptied it up to fix the leak.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Last weekend I had a shop put on my Toytec spacer lift and in the process they tore my CV boot. They ordered the boot from Toyota and it was supposed to be here today but it has been delayed until tomorrow. With the holiday weekend I might not have time to get it put on until next week.

My question is: Is it ok to drive? I have put a couple hundred miles on it and will be putting a couple hundred more on it this weekend. They told me as long as I didn't go through mud holes or drive through a lot of water I'll be fine which ruins my plans of taking the 4runner out to the river with my family.

Also, I lost alot of grease out of there initially but they ziptied it up to fix the leak.

I don't know that I'd venture out for a highway drive of a couple of hundred miles like that. If you're talking about accruing a couple of hundred miles around town that's a little better but not much. The big problem is you have no immediate indicator to tell when the ziptie failed and the joint becomes vulnerable.

A few pics might help us make "interwebz-quality" guesses With some pics I may have a different opinion.

The shop should get you an Enterprise car for your holiday weekend trip.:cheers:

 

[audiqtr]

You can damage the CV joint and end up having the replace the axle. I wouldn't take a road trip on it.

 

[Jed]

A tear in the boot will inevitably lead to the grease being pumped and/or thrown out and all over the chassis. And when that happens, dirt and water tend to get into the boot and contaminate any remaining grease. And then of course you end up with CV joint failure. So obviously you shouldn't really drive at all with a torn boot if you want the axle to last. A boot job is cheaper than replacing the axle.

 

[JCR]

Well damn, I was hoping for some more positive responses.

I guess I get to take the ol wifey's car. I have to leave pretty soon but will try and take pics before I head out. Thanks for all the help.

Better safe than sorry in this case I guess.

 

[Colemanfu]

Hurts to look at this pix but I put 200 miles on the rig in this state. Sucked, hit a speed hump at speed and when sway bar broke it droped down and tore the boot all to hell.

The boot hold a bunch of lube around the CV joint. Without the boot the lube flings out and over time the joint will dry out over time. Water, mud holes, dust, dirt heat will make it joint dry out faster and go bad.

Most people (ISF cars) don't even know they tore a boot till they hear the CV making bad sounds.

So, keep your joint clean, keep it out of the mud and water, carry some grease with ya and check it every now and then. If it looks dry slap some on. You can always go red neck and make a boot out of duct tape.

 

[JCR]

Hurts to look at this pix but I put 200 miles on the rig in this state. Sucked, hit a speed hump at speed and when sway bar broke it droped down and tore the boot all to hell.

The boot hold a bunch of lube around the CV joint. Without the boot the lube flings out and over time the joint will dry out over time. Water, mud holes, dust, dirt heat will make it joint dry out faster and go bad.

Most people (ISF cars) don't even know they tore a boot till they hear the CV making bad sounds.

So, keep your joint clean, keep it out of the mud and water, carry some grease with ya and check it every now and then. If it looks dry slap some on. You can always go red neck and make a boot out of duct tape.

Well, right before I left out I decided to look at the boot and it had completely tore off just like in your pic. There was only about an inch or two of the boot left on the tire side. Needless to say I didn't take it out of town . It's all good now, the shop got it fixed, they even replaced the inner boot while they were at it.