Upgrade Tires, CV Boots are now leaking after upgrading tires and need advice.

[AZ4runner08]

I had taken my truck in a few weeks ago and had the Xreas system pulled off and had new FJ coils installed in the rear, along with the adjustable Bilstein shocks all around and spidertrax spacers. Up to this point I had no issues at all until today when I upgraded my tires from a 265-65-17 to a 265-70-17. Anyways after backing into the driveway my wife noticed something leaking in the driveway. Since I just had back surgery my wife offered to crawl under the rig to investigate and she snapped the following pictures. It appears that the small bit of extra tire height has caused my CV boots to leak on both sides. The question is what do I need to do to repair and can I do anything to buy me some time until I do repair. And of course how much can I expect to spend. I just spent a bunch of money to 1) replace the suspension and level the truck out, 2) prepaid for my back surgery to the tune of $1540, and 3) paid $1000 for the brand new Duratrac's. As I mentioned before, I had no issues what so ever until the new tires were installed today. Any advice is greatly appreciated, I included some pics of the new leak after tire upgrade, the truck with the new tires and a pic of my super cool little wife under the rig helping me figure out out what was leaking. Thanks everyone...

 

[Brutalguyracing]

hard to tell from that pic....
but it does not appear to be cv "grease"
looks more like diff fluid ?
has anyone messed with any of the fluids? lately?
if you take a pic of where the cv enters the front diff and see if thats where the oil is coming from....
also it looks like your missing a band around the cv boot on the left side of that pic.....

 

[zopperman]

hard to tell from that pic....
but it does not appear to be cv "grease"
looks more like diff fluid ?
has anyone messed with any of the fluids? lately?
if you take a pic of where the cv enters the front diff and see if thats where the oil is coming from....
also it looks like your missing a band around the cv boot on the left side of that pic.....

CV grease looks a heck of a lot like diff fluid once it gets hot and runny - was this taken after driving it?
I'd imagine it's just a little grease, wipe it away and see if it comes back. I'd start by reclamping the axle boots and seeing if it helps, sometimes it just spews some grease when you lift it and change the CV angles.

 

[AZ4runner08]

Ok here is a few more pics and some more information. My Xreas leaked liked crazy before replacing the suspension, enough where there was zero pressure when they disconnected it. The fluid that leaked from both sides today was very watery, hardly like a grease but has a very slight oily feel. And it was from both of the larger clamp sides, unlike what I have read about the typical CV Boot leak. As far as the band missing, it was just coated with gunk. So both of the small clamps are there and like I mentioned the watery fluid that is leaking dripped out from below both of the big clamps. I did wipe it down a bit so I am hoping these pics shed some light on the issue. Any information is greatly appreciated, and please let me know if there are any more pictures I can take to help. No one has touched the front differential since I purchased the truck. Seems really odd that adding the tires after leveling out the truck would cause any issues. The bottom of the truck is coated with the Xreas fluid that leaked out as well as a bunch of junk from the road. Was excited to get the tires done finally only to have this mysterious leak...??

 

[CrimsonCountry]

I'm like the other poster, it sounds a lot more like actual diff fluid rather than CV grease but not sure why it would be seeping out other than a loose axle seal. I've been driving with a torn boot myself and have seen the CV grease in varying concentrations/temperatures and can attest to it changing in appearance. However, I don't ever recall it looking like what your describing. But who knows, hopefully it is just a simple case of boot leakage due to the lift. Or it may even be a random accumulation of fluid from elsewhere. Also, the increase in tire size shouldn't have any effect on the CVs. To troubleshoot, I would just wipe everything down as you've done and keep and eye on it.

Oh yea, truck looks great too. Perfect height and tire size for a DD.

 

[JB.]

Anyways after backing into the driveway my wife noticed something leaking in the driveway. Since I just had back surgery my wife offered to crawl under the rig to investigate and she snapped the following pictures. It appears that the small bit of extra tire height has caused my CV boots to leak on both sides.

It's hard to tell if the larger seal is leaking. Much more common is the inner, smaller one.

...can I do anything to buy me some time until I do repair.

I'd wipe it down real well and make sure the boot is not ripped anywhere, then wrap it with silicone tape. That is the perfect buy some time fix. It's semi-permanent. Sometimes goes by other names like fix-it-tape. If it turns out the bigger seal is leaking, it might even work there, too.

Pic

 

[AZ4runner08]

Looked at carfax and they did chane front differental 9,000 miles ago before I bought it, but haven't had any fluid leaks since. Guess I will wait for other to chime in...

 

[CrimsonCountry]

I'd wipe it down real well and make sure the boot is not ripped anywhere, then wrap it with silicone tape. That is the perfect buy some time fix. It's semi-permanent. Sometimes goes by other names like fix-it-tape. If it turns out the bigger seal is leaking, it might even work there, too.

:iagree: That stuff is awesome. As I mentioned, my driver's boot is completely severed near the small clamp. I've been using this stuff as a poor man's boot for months and it's working great so far. It can't hurt!

 

[txclimber]

Repeating what others have said, but maybe more specifically:

You really have to wipe everything down and get it really clean. Only then, can you actually tell where it is leaking from. Once it's clean, take a quick spin and then check it. The only place that is dirty will be where the leak is.


Once you've identified the trouble area then you can focus in on a fix.

 

[Desert Fox]

The grease in those CV boots have a horrible smell, probably the worse fluid I ever smelled from a vehicle. That is one way to identify it. But it looks to thin to be CV grease. Look around above where you are seeing the fluid. It may be from somewhere else. I cant think of anything involved in changing tires that would spray fluid on the axels. Maybe the shop used a fluid around the wheel during install and it sprayed on the axel?

 

[drewm]

I agree with everyone else, that isn't CV grease. My best guess is your diff seals started to slowly leak. That's why you see it coming from the diff side. That most likely just happened by chance, there's not much a lift could do to cause that.

Wipe it all up and see how quickly it comes back.

Diff seals and topping up the fluid should be around a 2hr job and I'm guessing would run about $250-300 with parts and labor.

 

[oljedi11950]

C/v would look like a bad milk shake , flung all over . And mine did split after lift & shocks so it can happen , but does not appears as most have stated that .

 

[AZ4runner08]

Well it was far from a thick fluid and as of this point thats there isn't anything leaking. Way fricking wierd to say the least. It was only like 5 miles from the tire store, I backed in the driveway and thats when we noticed it. After the suspension was upgraded a few weeks back there was no leaking what so ever. I only went from a 265-65-17 to a 265-70-17 so I can't see that causing much stress on the CV Boot. And it appeared to be just from the bigger clamp on both sides so I am baffeled. I will definatly keep an eye on it but have since drove it to the store and back and no more signs of a leak. Tomorrow I will crawl back under and see if anything stands out. I do know the XReas had no pressure left so is there any chance that fluid could have collected somewhere and since leaked out with the higher stance? Lol....i know, way crazy thinking here but the last thing I expected was something like this after finally getting my upgraded tires today...

 

[oljedi11950]

Like you say xreas leaking probably all , clean as best you can & check it daily . I wouldn't sweat it if c/v mine did & I just repacked them & new boots , clamps , grease . I'm not to hip on xreas stuff but once it fails I've heard ??

 

[AZ4runner08]

The only other thing that discount tire did today was retorque my spidertrax spacers, any chance they could have caused any damage doing that? They didn't use an impact tool...

 

[AZ4runner08]

Took it out again and no more leaking, it only leaked immedIatly after the new tires were installed and left 2 small puddles in the driveway. Should I be concerned that the front differental has no more fluid? Front what I have read, when axle seals leak the fluid comes out directly from the side, not from the botttom of the boot like mine did. Checking the fluid doesn't sound difficult other then the fact that I just had back surgory, lol....

 

[Brutalguyracing]

Took it out again and no more leaking, it only leaked immedIatly after the new tires were installed and left 2 small puddles in the driveway. Should I be concerned that the front differental has no more fluid? Front what I have read, when axle seals leak the fluid comes out directly from the side, not from the botttom of the boot like mine did. Checking the fluid doesn't sound difficult other then the fact that I just had back surgory, lol....

Just take out the fill plug and jam you pinky in there and if it get wet with some fluid your good to go
I think its a 10mm allen

Unsure about the size it was on my taco

 

[TOY2G]

I just noticed this post.

What you are seeing is called oil bleed, it happens to all grease, and can be worse in hot climates.

I keep a large amount of grease in stock, mostly Mobile 1, but also some other high pressure grease. It all has oil bleed, and it is nothing broken or damaged on your vehicle. It will seep out of you boot and drip down.. It looks like oil, because it is, grease is just another refined petroleum product.

If you are interested, HERE is an article about grease bleed or separation.

Perhaps the movement of having the tires installed caused the oil to make its way to a small crack or space in the CV causing it to drip.

There are member on here who are Army mechanics in hot states that deal with GP8 (nasty stinky axle grease military issue) and at some point all of them will have gotten this bleed on them and had to throw away the coveralls or deal with the smell forever.

 

[drewm]

Took it out again and no more leaking, it only leaked immedIatly after the new tires were installed and left 2 small puddles in the driveway. Should I be concerned that the front differental has no more fluid? Front what I have read, when axle seals leak the fluid comes out directly from the side, not from the botttom of the boot like mine did. Checking the fluid doesn't sound difficult other then the fact that I just had back surgory, lol....

Did you get a chance to smell the grease that you wiped up? Did it stink real bad or just smell like oil?

If it smelled like oil, your front diff holds about 1.6qt of diff fluid, and I'd only start worrying if you lose over 1/3 of it.

If it stunk real bad, don't worry about it, it's CV grease that liquefied (I think it's unlikely, but possible)

 

[drewm]

Just take out the fill plug and jam you pinky in there and if it get wet with some fluid your good to go
I think its a 10mm allen

Unsure about the size it was on my taco

That might be tough, pretty sure there's a skid plate in the way that needs to be removed.