Blew out brand new OEM CV

[Black200]

So recently I replaced both of my front cvs with brand new OEM set. Ended up getting them installed with a bit of a struggle but it was all straight forward. The vehicle is currently lifted on Ironman 4x4 2" Foamcell Stage 2 lift (honestly it looks like its a little more than 2"). The lift includes a brand new UCA. Today I was installing my new wheels/tires set up and I noticed my front right cv blew a lot of grease all over the inside of my wheel well. After installing the cvs, I did not put more than 50 miles on flat Florida roads. The grease seems to have come out of the crimp ring closest to the differential (sorry not sure what the ring is called).

I'm beyond upset and disappointed.

What is the issue here? I assume I will have to do a diff-drop at some point, even though everyone else seems to have not had any similar issues. The CV is at a more aggressive angle but I haven't seen anyone having similar issues without the drop.

EDIT: By "Blew" out, I don't think the cv boot itself blew out, it seems the grease came from under the crimp ring. I was unable to locate the cv boot tear as of right now.

I also optioned out the front coilovers as additional 100lbs of constant load and rears as 200-800 additional payload. I dont know if that makes any difference.

 

[TN LX570]

You’d be surprised how much grease can come out of a small tear (ask me how I know ). I had the same thing happen less than a 100 miles after initial install, a wheel well full of mess.

In my case I’m convinced I just knicked it during the install, oem replacement has been fine ever since.

I put a whole new cv in, and then rebooted the failed one which gives you an excuse to have a spare.

 

[Black200]

You’d be surprised how much grease can come out of a small tear (ask me how I know ). I had the same thing happen less than a 100 miles after initial install, a wheel well full of mess.

In my case I’m convinced I just knicked it during the install, oem replacement has been fine ever since.

I put a whole new cv in, and then rebooted the failed one which gives you an excuse to have a spare.

I have two spare ones from the old set up that i just replaced. Did you end up having the new installed boot tear itself? I'll have to double check but it did not appear that there was a tear really.

Damn, I'm going to be upset if it ends up splitting and I have to reboot it.

 

[LTSR]

what was the reason for replacing the old ones?

 

[bloc]

Was it the hub end of the cv or the diff end?

The diff end is easy to dislodge from over extending it.

what was the reason for replacing the old ones?

Same question.

 

[Black200]

Was it the hub end of the cv or the diff end?

The diff end is easy to dislodge from over extending it.



Same question.

It is on the diff side. Its the ring that is closest to the diff. It appears that the only affected with grease is near this crimp ring. The rest appear to be dry. What do you mean from overextending it?


So I bought the car used. Upon installing the lift both of the cvs blew out bunch of grease. Upon replacing them I observed that one of the cvs inner sides was held with a zip tie, instead of crimp ring. The other side was "patched" with a gray hard plastic like substance. Both of the leaks came through those areas. I still have the cvs and I'll probably end up rebooting them since they appear OEM and they might be original. Unfortunately the idiot who installed one of the cvs banged on the end of the 39mm bolt and caused damage to the treads.

 

[paulunm]

Why not just re-band the CV boots? Or just the one that's leaking grease?

 

[Black200]

Why not just re-band the CV boots? Or just the one that's leaking grease?

I'm just upset that it is occurring to a brand new CV. I just see it as something that I've not seen occurring to someone else. I don't want to go through re-banding the cvs only for them to start blowing out grease elsewhere. Is OEM band not good enough/tight enough from factory?

 

[bloc]

It is on the diff side. Its the ring that is closest to the diff. It appears that the only affected with grease is near this crimp ring. The rest appear to be dry. What do you mean from overextending it?

The two joints on a CV shaft are different types. The outer is an inner and outer star with a bunch of large ball bearings that ride in grooves to transmit force. The way it is designed, you can't pull it apart.. the shaft has to come out of the middle by overpowering a circlip, then rotate the inner star and you can start removing balls.

The inner joint is very different. It needs to be able to slide in and out to account for the cycling of the suspension up and down. Because of this it is possible to pull the thing apart if you aren't careful with it during install.. and worse, the boot will hold it mostly together so that you can't tell anything is wrong.

Now I've never done this, only read about it. I don't know what potential for permanent damage there is when this happens, but it is plausible that some damage to the boot could be done.

I'd hope an installing shop would know this.. but it's hard to say. What I do know is if the factory clamp is installed correctly, grease should not be making it out past the clamp. As others said a tear can throw out an alarming amount of grease.. I'd try to clean things up really well and look for damage that could point to the shop having been too aggressive with things.

Your lift is unlikely to be the issue. My CVs are original with 170K miles on them, 20k on a lift about as tall as yours, and zero issues.

 

[Black200]

The two joints on a CV shaft are different types. The outer is an inner and outer star with a bunch of large ball bearings that ride in grooves to transmit force. The way it is designed, you can't pull it apart.. the shaft has to come out of the middle by overpowering a circlip, then rotate the inner star and you can start removing balls.

The inner joint is very different. It needs to be able to slide in and out to account for the cycling of the suspension up and down. Because of this it is possible to pull the thing apart if you aren't careful with it during install.. and worse, the boot will hold it mostly together so that you can't tell anything is wrong.

Now I've never done this, only read about it. I don't know what potential for permanent damage there is when this happens, but it is plausible that some damage to the boot could be done.

I'd hope an installing shop would know this.. but it's hard to say. What I do know is if the factory clamp is installed correctly, grease should not be making it out past the clamp. As others said a tear can throw out an alarming amount of grease.. I'd try to clean things up really well and look for damage that could point to the shop having been too aggressive with things.

Your lift is unlikely to be the issue. My CVs are original with 170K miles on them, 20k on a lift about as tall as yours, and zero issues.

I ended up installing it myself with my brother in law. I'm having an alignment done on Monday and hopefully I'll be able to have it apart before then.

 

[linuxgod]

The originals sound like there were issues so I'd ignore any leaking or whatever with them, TBH

When my CVs were rebooted (the mechanic nicked them when installing the lift) mine were leaking. The Toyota OEM-style clamps just weren't tight enough and mine were slinging grease almost immediately. I ended up removing the clamps and using basic worm-drive band clamps and those worked and held until I had a tear form in the middle of one of the boots about 20-25k later. I had them rebooted and ended up doing a DD kit after that, no issues since.

Were the replacements CVs actually brand new, or were they rebuilt/remanufactured/whatever? In your case it's possible the clamps aren't tight enough, especially if they are genuine Toyota CVs with OEM boot kits but were rebuilt/rebooted. If they are clamped correctly then they will not leak grease - and if they are not clamped correctly they will leak grease even without a lift (just possibly not as much since they may only leak when you cycle the suspension over bumps)

If you want to go the worm-clamp route let me know and I'll look up the parts. You want the McMaster-Carr clamps which are stainless steel and have a rounded edge, so they won't dig into the CV boot and possibly tear it. There is someone who sells a kit online for the 100-series, though you can just order the clamps yourself from the distributor

 

[Black200]

The originals sound like there were issues so I'd ignore any leaking or whatever with them, TBH

When my CVs were rebooted (the mechanic nicked them when installing the lift) mine were leaking. The Toyota OEM-style clamps just weren't tight enough and mine were slinging grease almost immediately. I ended up removing the clamps and using basic worm-drive band clamps and those worked and held until I had a tear form in the middle of one of the boots about 20-25k later. I had them rebooted and ended up doing a DD kit after that, no issues since.

Were the replacements CVs actually brand new, or were they rebuilt/remanufactured/whatever? In your case it's possible the clamps aren't tight enough, especially if they are genuine Toyota CVs with OEM boot kits but were rebuilt/rebooted. If they are clamped correctly then they will not leak grease - and if they are not clamped correctly they will leak grease even without a lift (just possibly not as much since they may only leak when you cycle the suspension over bumps)

If you want to go the worm-clamp route let me know and I'll look up the parts. You want the McMaster-Carr clamps which are stainless steel and have a rounded edge, so they won't dig into the CV boot and possibly tear it. There is someone who sells a kit online for the 100-series, though you can just order the clamps yourself from the distributor

These were brand new not rebuilt units that I bought. I will take them off over the weekend and see if I possibly nicked one or if the clamp is causing it to leak.

 

[RTaylor]

In my 4R days, we’d replace the stock clamps with heavier duty versions. Hose clamps with electrical tape underneath to prevent cutting the boot, IIRC.

Leaking grease isn’t the end of the world. You could pump in more grease and clamp it up again without removing the shaft.

Your bigger problem might be your CV angles.

 

[Black200]

Ended up taking the CV off and it appears to be defective. One of the clamps had a piece of metal that was facing right into the boot, when it was supposed to have been folded up. This caused a small tear in the boot which was nearly invisible. Of course it spewed greased all over.

New CV is being sent out under warranty claim. Not looking forward to taking the car apart for the 3rd time, but changing out the CVs has gotten pretty easy.

 

[bloc]

Ended up taking the CV off and it appears to be defective. One of the clamps had a piece of metal that was facing right into the boot, when it was supposed to have been folded up. This caused a small tear in the boot which was nearly invisible. Of course it spewed greased all over.



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New CV is being sent out under warranty claim. Not looking forward to taking the car apart for the 3rd time, but changing out the CVs has gotten pretty easy.

Good that you figured it out and the dealer is standing behind the part, at least.

No picture of the messed up metal part?

Interesting to me that the grease is tan.. most CV grease is gray, and I assumed that was a result of the high molybdenum content. I'm curious what toyota uses in theirs.

 

[Black200]

The photo does not capture it well, but in the second photo it is the piece of metal that is right next to the hole. In person the metal is more open towards the boot.

 

[bloc]

Maybe it is the angle but to me that looks exactly like it should, other than the tear.

Does it seem like it possibly could have been dropped and the impact on that spot bent the clamp guide and tore the boot?

 

[Black200]

Maybe it is the angle but to me that looks exactly like it should, other than the tear.

Does it seem like it possibly could have been dropped and the impact on that spot bent the clamp guide and tore the boot?

I really don't know, I ordered these online and they were delivered. They had damage to the bearing cover area which was flattened in few areas. It might have occurred here during the shipping too. I will definitely check the new ones over before installing them.