Removing the center shaft of the CV axle and driving without it

[zz_denis]

Hi guys,
After a long road trip, I noticed that BOTH my inner CV boots blew.

I need to take the truck on another long trip before I have the time to reboot. I don't want to drive with torn boots, so I'd like to remove the center sections of the axles, keeping both CV "ends" in place.

So my questions are:
1)Is there any reason to not do this?
2) My plan is to remove the 4 ball joint bolts, which will give me enough room to pull the center shaft with the three bearings attached out of the inner joint (once the boot is cut away, of course). Is the other end of the shaft (into the outer joint) held in by a C-clip? Will I be able to pop it out without removing the axle end from the hub?

Thanks!

 

[MStudt]

Since you have to remove either the spindle end or the diff end you might as well remove the entire shaft. Plus this will make it easier to work on.

Once the shaft if out I would remove the diff end cup, and put it back in the diff. I broke a shaft on the long trip, and that was my remedy that allowed me to finish the trip. I drove about 500 miles like that.

 

[phattyduck]

A few guys on here have driven for YEARS with blown boots.

Unless you are doing to be driving through water or sand, you don't have much to worry about.

Rzeppa joints are a pain to get re-assembled (the inner tripod joint is easy), so avoid it if you can.

-Charlie

 

[SaulG]

The boots are already gone..why bother pulling them apart.
Do it once.

 

[96RedRunner]

Once the shaft if out I would remove the diff end cup, and put it back in the diff. I broke a shaft on the long trip, and that was my remedy that allowed me to finish the trip. I drove about 500 miles like that.

I have needed to run this way before!

A few guys on here have driven for YEARS with blown boots.

Unless you are doing to be driving through water or sand, you don't have much to worry about

-Charlie

And this way!

 

[zz_denis]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Since you have to remove either the spindle end or the diff end you might as well remove the entire shaft. Plus this will make it easier to work on.

Once the shaft if out I would remove the diff end cup, and put it back in the diff. I broke a shaft on the long trip, and that was my remedy that allowed me to finish the trip. I drove about 500 miles like that.

I don't believe I HAVE to remove either end of the CV in order to remove the shaft. If I remove the 4 ball joint bolts (and possibly unbolt the caliper), Im about 99% sure that I will be able to swing the hub assembly OUT, and remove the "tripod" from the inner joint cup, without removing the cup from the diff.
I'd rather not remove the inner cup from the diff at this time so that I don't lose any diff oil, risk damaging the seal, or risk damaging the c-clip. I don't have any of those parts on hand right now (but I will when I do the re-boot).

A few guys on here have driven for YEARS with blown boots.

Unless you are doing to be driving through water or sand, you don't have much to worry about.

Rzeppa joints are a pain to get re-assembled (the inner tripod joint is easy), so avoid it if you can.

-Charlie

I really don't want to risk getting dirt into the joints and damaging them. Judging by the amount of grease that got thrown around the torn boots, I doubt there is much grease left in the joints, so it's a bad idea to drive like that even if no dirt gets in...

The boots are already gone..why bother pulling them apart.
Do it once.

I think you misunderstood my question. I will replace the boots/grease with new OEM ones, but don't have the time to do it before the upcoming long trip. So I want to remove the center shaft from the axle to avoid the risk of damaging the mint OEM joints.

 

[zz_denis]

I did some more research on this and it turns out that the outer joint is considered non-serviceable by Toyota, and the shaft is not supposed to be removed from the outer joint.

So this brings me to a question (mostly for MStudt):

Forgive me if I misunderstood you, but did you remove the entire outer joint/center shaft assembly from the hub and drive without it? Isn't it a HUGE no-no on these trucks?
I was under the impression that the outer "end" of the CV is a structural part of the front suspension, and driving without it will cause all sorts of things to come loose inside the spindle?

 

[MStudt]

I did some more research on this and it turns out that the outer joint is considered non-serviceable by Toyota, and the shaft is not supposed to be removed from the outer joint.

So this brings me to a question (mostly for MStudt):

Forgive me if I misunderstood you, but did you remove the entire outer joint/center shaft assembly from the hub and drive without it? Isn't it a HUGE no-no on these trucks?
I was under the impression that the outer "end" of the CV is a structural part of the front suspension, and driving without it will cause all sorts of things to come loose inside the spindle?

Everything in the spindle is pressed in, and needs to be pressed out. You have a couple dust shields that don't just come off. The ABS ring is the only thing that's loose, and it under the pressed in bearing.

I drove with everything removed except the inner cup that goes into the diff. If it we me I would just drive it the way it is, and worry about it when you get back. Mine broke after about 5k miles with no grease. I replaced both of mine with shafts from Napa since they have a lifetime warranty, and they'll replace them if the boot cracks.

Or you can get new silicone boots from ORS, and not worry about it again. After replacing my with Napa both boots cracked in about a month, and then I replaced them with ORS. I've been running those for over a year with no issues. I would NOT go with OEM on the CV's, but that's just me.

 

[marmot]

If you'd be able to take apart the outer joint in the CV axle, then I'd agree theoretically that you could drive with just the middle portion of the axle removed. But when I've broken the outermost section of the axle, it was Off-Road Solutions many years ago that told me it is extremely difficult to get the outer joint apart to replace just the outer CV and requires a special device to clamp the axle shaft and pull it apart. Even then it might get damaged. So yeah, consider it non-serviceable.

The stock spindle uses a semi-float bearing design, which needs the outer CV bolted in place to hold all the pieces together to drive on it.

As others have said just drive on it with the boots split until you can properly fix it.

 

[96RedRunner]

The boots are already gone..why bother pulling them apart.
Do it once.

Amen, It's not worth the worry. Just hit the road enjoy your trip.