Slinging grease

[ncflyer]

2019 with about 24K miles and majority on road. Not primary vehicle and today moved it, grease on the floor. Looked underneath and there is grease in the area around the inside boot on the front dif. on both side. I have a lift but not extreme, 2" maybe, boots look ok and clamps look fine.

Anybody seen or had this occur?

Thanks for any info.

 

[Dynamo]

Yep, been there, done that. Happened on my '19 ORP when it had 27k miles. Fixed under warranty and it's been dry every since (50k miles now).

Inner CV axle boot leaking...

Make sure whoever fixes it crimps the clamps properly.

Also, several other '19 owners had the same problem. Makes me wonder if there was a bad batch that weren't properly crimped from the factory.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Yep, been there, done that. Happened on my '19 ORP when it had 27k miles. Fixed under warranty and it's been dry every since (50k miles now).

Inner CV axle boot leaking...

Make sure whoever fixes it crimps the clamps properly.

Also, several other '19 owners had the same problem. Makes me wonder if there was a bad batch that weren't properly crimped from the factory.

Maybe not crimped enough? I do recall doing a handful under warranty a couple years ago, thought it was a little weird.

To the OP, you're probably still under warranty for that; can't hurt to ask at least? I wish the really nice CV Boot clamp tool we have wasn't so expensive, I'd recommend everyone get one vs. those boot pliers. :/

 

[ncflyer]

Thanks gents. I would think warranty should cover it but when I was asked about the lift got me thinking a good way for them to deny warranty. We'll see.

 

[headstaller]

Same with my 19 and covered under warranty.

Yep, been there, done that. Happened on my '19 ORP when it had 27k miles. Fixed under warranty and it's been dry every since (50k miles now).

Inner CV axle boot leaking...

Make sure whoever fixes it crimps the clamps properly.

Also, several other '19 owners had the same problem. Makes me wonder if there was a bad batch that weren't properly crimped from the factory.

 

[ncflyer]

Just as I guessed, said the lift/install caused the problem so said I could...

1. Spend about 1,000.00 on OEM cv axles (said axle had to be replaced too and couldn't just reseat or replace the boots only)

2. Spend maybe 50 or less on aftermarket parts.

Looking into aftermarket (larger) boots to replace OEM.

 

[Jeremy556]

Just as I guessed, said the lift/install caused the problem so said I could...

1. Spend about 1,000.00 on OEM cv axles (said axle had to be replaced too and couldn't just reseat or replace the boots only)

2. Spend maybe 50 or less on aftermarket parts.

Looking into aftermarket (larger) boots to replace OEM.

Don't change anything, OEM boots are probably the best thing available. All you need to do is fully crimp the Oetiker clamp. Any decent set of the pliers ($30+) should easily do the job in about 5 minutes.

OEM CV axles are $350, and you can change the boots. A kit with inner and outer boots, grease, and clamps is sold as a kit by Toyota for like $60. Also, lift has nothing to do with this problem.

ETA: As BlackWorks mentions, the Toyota tool for these is tits, but I haven't seen the same design on the aftermarket anywhere. I have some Knipex that are great for smaller ones like the TRE boots, but not big enough for the CVs. I have this style, and they sort of work with some long prybars to get a lot of leverage, but because of the slop and poor tolerance and they don't do a very good job.

 

[ncflyer]

"Also, lift has nothing to do with this problem.'

Thanks and will get it worked out but likely any reason to deny and then say I need 2 new axles and boots to fix the boots that may have loosened some.... I have suspicions but doubt the dealer will go back against their tech.


Might try another, or just put take the clamp off, push back and put a regular screw clamp on? They said Toyota is real particular about this kinda stuff. Who knows, maybe got stretched out with the suspension install but didn't look it over so can't say that's what happened either. Odd when you see some dealers that will do aftermarket no problem, and then others won't touch anything not OEM.

Live and learn - Thanks all for the information.

 

[ncflyer]

Little follow up if it may help if you see this, one possible issue...

I cleaned up the area good around the boot/axle and grease on parts around. All things looked okay best I could tell and then found this on both sides, same location. On the inside (towards diff) of the boot, at the lower part of the clamp where it's crimped, found if I pushed on this area it seemed to give slightly. You could see grease but no coming out so maybe the "point of failure" so to speak when it turning.

In the pic, the area is where the ridge and clamp/boot meet and can see the grease in the area. Cleaned it up a bit more and gonna try silicone to see how it works out. May want to do some minor moves with the vehicle to see the other ridges to see if they may be the same but think it may be just these areas since same on both sides.

I have a mild lift so may not apply to others that are 3" or so since the angle will definitely be more.

 

[DougR]

I think the clamp may be a little loose. If so, a rise in ambient temperature combined with a recent lift may force out some grease. Here is a spec for checking the clamp.

 

[ncflyer]

I think the clamp may be a little loose. If so, a rise in ambient temperature combined with a recent lift may force out some grease. Here is a spec for checking the clamp.

Cool, Thanks.

 

[<<<<]

Don't silicon rubber boot. Get new band regrease the joint and reclamp leaky boot.

 

[WRM1]

"Also, lift has nothing to do with this problem.'

Thanks and will get it worked out but likely any reason to deny and then say I need 2 new axles and boots to fix the boots that may have loosened some.... I have suspicions but doubt the dealer will go back against their tech.


Might try another, or just put take the clamp off, push back and put a regular screw clamp on? They said Toyota is real particular about this kinda stuff. Who knows, maybe got stretched out with the suspension install but didn't look it over so can't say that's what happened either. Odd when you see some dealers that will do aftermarket no problem, and then others won't touch anything not OEM.

Live and learn - Thanks all for the information.

I would never put a regular screw clamp on a CV boot. Too much risk of it being out of balance and causing a bunch of vibration for me to even think about it.

OP, If you can live without the vehicle for a couple of days, remove the CV axles and take them to the dealer(or elsewhere) and have the boots replaced, along with the clamps. I had to do that with my wife's Volvo when I wasn't watching what I was doing, and pulled one of the CV joints apart. The bright side was I did that just before the last of the grease was going to go away, so avoided having to replace the axle.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I would never put a regular screw clamp on a CV boot. Too much risk of it being out of balance and causing a bunch of vibration for me to even think about it.

OP, If you can live without the vehicle for a couple of days, remove the CV axles and take them to the dealer(or elsewhere) and have the boots replaced, along with the clamps. I had to do that with my wife's Volvo when I wasn't watching what I was doing, and pulled one of the CV joints apart. The bright side was I did that just before the last of the grease was going to go away, so avoided having to replace the axle.

So I was always taught to mark every portion of the axle when you take it apart to rebuild/reboot it and have had two schools of thought imparted on me regarding the clamps. First one was to line all the clamps up because that should be how it was done from the factory, the second was to vary the clamps by 180° because that is how it was done from the factory.

I was really religious about that for many many years and then over time I started getting lazy and forgetting about the clamp orientation as well as the marking some days. The vast majority of technicians I've talked to from the really seasoned old timers to the relatively seasoned guys who have at least a decade under their belt didn't and/or don't bother with it anymore. Even the factory doesn't seem to consistently match clamps up and the more I think about it, it really doesn't matter because the bigger weight that is being slung is the grease itself which will "self-balance" itself. So I think this is one of those "it's great on paper and if you want to do it, go ahead, but in the real world it's negligible."

~

As to the OP's concern, the clamp looks like it could do with a little more crimp. I'd go and buy one of the tools that was pictured earlier, they're not the best; but unless you want to dole out the cash for a Toyota SST, they'll work fine. Get two 1/2" breaker bars and carefully squeeze the crimp on the clamp a bit tighter, I say carefully because with the tool that Jeremy556 mentioned it's easy to twist the pliers and either stretch or break the clamp when you're trying to tighten them (especially if your using breaker bars.

But I can tell you that the majority of the time I have seen that type of light grease seepage it's been due to a slightly loose clamp. In most cases I just snug the clamp up, hit it with brake clean, and have them keep an eye on it; rarely had any that came back needing to be fully replaced.

 

[honda250xtitan]

and to think the potatoes at the dealer told him to install new axle assemblies. SMH

 

[BlackWorksInc]

and to think the potatoes at the dealer told him to install new axle assemblies. SMH

Sometimes it's easier/better to get stuff done under warranty than it is to just do the "simple thing."

For example, it wouldn't shock me if most dealerships just wanted to reboot the CV axles for the customer under warranty. Is it needed? Eh, maybe? Like I said, most of the time you can just tighten the clamps, but every now and then you just get one that doesn't seem to tighten up right, so maybe being conservative and just doing it for "free" under warranty for the customer is the better option.

Also, if that's all the customer is coming in for and they're still under warranty it becomes this sort of cost/benefit analysis. For example, you drive all the way out to my store to get this grease leak looked at; we're a bit busy so you're in the waiting area a few hours. Then I have to get the vehicle, rack it, inspect it, and now I'm stuck with two options...

A.) I just tighten the clamps, clean the grease and make a note to keep an eye on it. This is what a lot of us did starting out and most of us still do from time to time... but, then if it starts seeping again, it's a 2nd visit and now is a "comeback" and the tech gets dinged. Then they have to make a TAS case because it's a second repair attempt, and in the end waste more time to end up doing the reboot anyways, because that's what TAS will advise. Bear in mind all of this time is unpaid, Toyota doesn't pay for diagnosis time, only repair work from their warranty flat rate manual, so all the diagnosis time, tightening the clamps the first time, filing a TAS case, and calling it in to be on hold for who knows how long is all done for free at my and the dealer's expense. That's not including the wasted time of the customer and possibly them believing that we're trying to scam them because we didn't actually do any work (i.e. in their mind, no parts were replaced to fix their "defective" vehicle) and they might cause a stink because of it (been there, done that... "no good deed goes unpunished" is basically the dealer tech mantra lol).

Or

B.) I just recommend rebooting the CV Axles under warranty, most of the time we have reboot kits in stock so all we need to do is ask the customer to leave the vehicle with us another couple hours or the rest of the day. The new boots will be tight and leak free I get paid for fixing the customer's vehicle and the customer feels like I did something. I don't have to fight with Toyota, because I get paid the repair time and I didn't waste time diagnosing, making a TAS Case, etc. Now this still results in wasted time for the customer to a degree and some customers will still think they're being scammed and that their vehicle is defective and should be bought back. Not much I can do about that really...

It's a stupid game you have to play when you're in the dealer side of things, so just to give you an idea why sometimes things get replaced more often than just adjusting or tightening something. It mainly comes down to covering your own ass and getting Toyota to pay you for your work and avoid come backs and any liability.

 

[ncflyer]

Thought I'd try one more time to see what a tech thought and went to a local dealer vs the previous one (had purchased from there).

I did mention I had taken it to a dealer and what their decision was. After looking at it, this dealership will be changing both cv axles under warranty. I asked about the lift as mentioned by the first one and was told the tech said there was still enough movement/range that it wouldn't have caused the leaking. He said pretty much BlackworksInc wrote. About the same to replace it all vs trying to fix a certain part so I get new axles.


Thanks all for the information/advise. Safe travels.

 

[ncflyer]

Still some sort of leak?

Hadn't seen any issues after the warranty swap and has been mostly sitting in a garage since. I drove it about 300mils or so and though not slinging grease or dripping, did find "fluid" grease on skid and around boots were wet. Looks like a coating but no obvious spots as before. It has been in the 90s so maybe residual from Remove and replace and just "melted" so to speak with the heat?

Will wipe it down and see how it goes after and may go by dealer just to make sure.