Replace CV Boot, or Entire CV Shaft?

[DanielMaat89]

I have a 2009 SR5, and today I noticed the Passenger CV Boot was torn. They are the original ones with about 150,000 on the truck, both shafts are in good condition, not making any noise, and there is normal play in the joints. Should I replace just the boot, or the entire thing?

 

[Metalmantr]

I have a 2009 SR5, and today I noticed the Passenger CV Boot was torn. They are the original ones with about 150,000 on the truck, both shafts are in good condition, not making any noise, and there is normal play in the joints. Should I replace just the boot, or the entire thing?

I have been told countless times that replacing as a whole is the way to go. Have not been down the road yet, but the reasoning was that it is supposed to be much more of a PITA to replace just the boot. But, also cheaper. It is a trade off.

 

[fdbyrne]

I've replaced many on various Toyota trucks. I always advise that you replace the shaft and the axle seal. Use a new shaft instead of rebuilt so that you can keep your old one and not have to return it to reclaim a core charge. You can then rebuild your OEM one and keep it as a spare for when you need it.

Also, buy at least 2 axle seals. They are cheap and they tend to go in cockeyed. It's handy to have an extra on hand in case you can't get the first to go in straight and have to start over.

You can use a 2" PVC coupling to set the seal without destroying the lip or flange.

They are different part numbers passenger vs. driver side so make sure you order the right one.

It would be an opportune time to change the front differential fluid as well.

 

[9494runner]

I grabbed cvs with a lifetime warranty from NAPA (1 the warrenty and 2 they did not require a core ) and I have yet to grenade one, but I am not particularly hard on mine with no lockers either. I will be in the process of rebooting my old one to use as a trail spare(procrastinating so hard:doh

some swear by using only OEM but no negative expirences with NAPA yet

you can reboot both your cvs, 2 new boots each, barring any joint damage, in an afternoon. the amount of beer required will vary. it will be messy.....

 

[bpowa]

Or you can do what I do since it has no play or making noise... Leave it until it starts making noise and play. Then just replace the whole shaft.

It takes a while for it to even make noise. I rarely seen them just break all of the sunnden without abuse from working in shops in the past.

Its been over 15k since i noticed mines ripped. Still no noise or play.

 

[kacper]

I had sane issue 3 weeks ago..

The funny thing is that there was no grease around Cv shaft and fender area That means boot was already torn before I've bought this truck.
I have bought this truck 14 months ago.

New shaft 120$

I have decided to get new a boot for a 30 than loaded with new grease. So far so good no issues at all.

 

[MarcusAurelius]

Replace the entire CV, the whole trouble is to remove all the gear to get to the CV, minimal effort to replace the whole thing once you're in. Its worth the peace of mind, once water gets in the CV the clock is ticking. You don't want a CV to fail, ever.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

The basic consensus from many people is that if you're doing off-roading; it's better to reboot the factory axle shafts or upgrade (typically a new Toyota axle is slightly more expensive than a reboot kit with labor.) If you're just daily driving for the most part, most aftermarket axles will be fine.

 

[DanielMaat89]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to replace it because I do off-road frequently with it. There is probably mud, sand and god knows what else inside that thing. I'm going to keep the old one as a spare as I found a reboot kit from rock auto for about $10.

 

[Bigrupp]

Off-road all the time. Only rebooted. No issues. Why spend all that extra money? Unless you get into it and see damage there is no point in replacing it.