CV Boot Failure

[ethernectar]

The GF and I were out on an abbreviated Land Ops event (look it up - wheeling, HAM, Geocaching, team fun) that got cut short due to a family emergency on her side back here in OC.

I noticed when we aired down some moisture on the wheel, but we had hit a couple small puddles and I attributed it to that so off we went as a part of one of three Land Ops Adventure/Exploration Teams. After an hour+ on some trails near Fremont Peak, CA she got a series of emergency texts from her sister and it was clear that we needed to get back to base camp, tear down in a hurry and make the drive back to Irvine, so off we went to pack up and GTF out. So we headed back to camp, packed and bailed.

When we got back to pavement we aired back up and I noticed that the wheel was still wet in spots, covered with dust, but still wet. Low and behold I looked behind the wheel and everything was covered in grease. Even tasted it to check (JK, it was pretty obvious).

We got back up to street pressure and she googled for me "How long can you drive with a torn CV Boot." The results were favorable, so we proceeded straight back home.

Long story short(ish), what is the lifespan of a CV boot? My '14 has 75K miles on it. On this trip we did do some bushwhacking (literally) so I wonder if the boot got cut or if that is a 'normal' service interval.

Anyone else have similar issue?

(Yes, I know my Plasti-dipped wheels look like crap, Moab was not kind to them , Should you have a set of five Rock Warriors just taking space in your garage I'll be happy to free you of the storage footprint. )

 

[TexAZ]

Cv boot failures are more common on lifted trucks.
DO NOT use NAPA boots.....i went through three in Moab, breck, and once home.
At only 75k, it more than likely got cut by an offending branch or rock.

 

[TexAZ]

If you are in a pinch and can't get the boot fixed, you can wrap it in duck tape as a get home remedy. Blown cv joints are no fun.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I bet something picture the boot. I have a Toyota 4WD with 250k on the boots and they operate at a harsher angle than any 200 will see.

I’ve only torn a boot once, and it was because a well placed root/thing torn into it. Now for the friendly ball busting, “Land Ops”, definelty sounds like something only a civilian would want to do, to me it sounds like a crappy night of failed intel and BS follow on operations.

 

[ethernectar]

I bet something picture the boot. I have a Toyota 4WD with 250k on the boots and they operate at a harsher angle than any 200 will see.

I’ve only torn a boot once, and it was because a well placed root/thing torn into it. Now for the friendly ball busting, “Land Ops”, definelty sounds like something only a civilian would want to do, to me it sounds like a crappy night of failed intel and BS follow on operations.

Judge all you want, but the group is very well run. Our comms are normally a closed radio network on its own repeater in a remote area. The base station organizes multiple teams via HAM, some with APRS reporting, to arrive at fixed destinations and relay information from one team to another to relay coordinates and information. Yeah, we're all civilians, but many of our members have served. That all said, I've never had a crappy day or night at a Land Ops meet.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

Judge all you want, but the group is very well run. Our comms are normally a closed radio network on its own repeater in a remote area. The base station organizes multiple teams via HAM, some with APRS reporting, to arrive at fixed destinations and relay information from one team to another to relay coordinates and information. Yeah, we're all civilians, but many of our members have served. That all said, I've never had a crappy day or night at a Land Ops meet.

Oh I wasn’t saying what you were doing was unorganized or not enjoyable, I was just messing. Because for me in my short life/all of my adult life has been an infantryman, with a higher command, and radios, and guns, all I thought of was commanders telling me to go from one place to another, all night, in Iraq/Afghan, looking for something or someone.

It’s hard to make playful sarcasm read right over a thread, but when you mentioned what you were doing, I thought of one of those “crap Infantrymen don’t say” youtube videos. “Hey guys, you want to go do that crap we did for a job, but for fun at night?” Umm no.

I kinda laughed, and that’s where it came from, mean absolutely no harm by it. Your my boy @ethernectar!

 

[Yossarian]

Long story short(ish), what is the lifespan of a CV boot? My '14 has 75K miles on it. On this trip we did do some bushwhacking (literally) so I wonder if the boot got cut or if that is a 'normal' service interval.

The CV boot is the Achilles heel of an IFS truck. I agree with @Taco2Cruiser it was most likely punctured during your bushwhacking excursion. On my previous IFS truck, a 90 4Runner, I replaced a couple of boots over time and it had approximately 200 thousand miles on it.

IMHO 3 years and 75k miles is to short of a lifespan, so it is not the normal service interval.

 

[Chocolate]

This is the only product I found that adds additional protection to the CVs. I'm thinking of ordering it.

CV Savers » SealSavers

 

[ethernectar]

Took it to a different Toyota dealership for the fix. The dealer I bought it at and have had it serviced at for the last couple of years didn't call back after two voice messages, and this other dealer (a bit further away) returned the call within an hour or two and then gave me a loaner to drive for the day. They replaced the whole axle under my Toyota Care warranty. I can learn how to reboot the old axle, or just keep it as is for now. I assume driver's side and passenger's side are different lengths.

 

[TexAZ]

The axles are equal length. Same part number.

 

[TonyP]

DS and PS are the same size and part number.

Rebooting is fairly easy once the CVs are out of the vehicle. The only tricky part is getting the circlip off the splined end to pull the cage off, if you don't have the right tool. But everything you need comes in a Toyota re-boot kit including new clips.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

Took it to a different Toyota dealership for the fix. The dealer I bought it at and have had it serviced at for the last couple of years didn't call back after two voice messages, and this other dealer (a bit further away) returned the call within an hour or two and then gave me a loaner to drive for the day. They replaced the whole axle under my Toyota Care warranty. I can learn how to reboot the old axle, or just keep it as is for now. I assume driver's side and passenger's side are different lengths.

Definitely keep it. If anything for the next 200 get together, we could replace a boot together in front of everyone so that we all get a little more comfortable with the process.

 

[ethernectar]

The only tricky part is getting the circlip off the splined end to pull the cage off, if you don't have the right tool.

Thanks Tony, what's the right tool? I like Taco's idea to bring it to the meet and do a little workshop.

 

[TonyP]

Thanks Tony, what's the right tool? I like Taco's idea to bring it to the meet and do a little workshop.

A decent set of Snap/Retaining Ring pliers will do the job nicely. Something like this:

The snap ring (what I called a circlip) looking like this:

So regular circlip pliers (used for the clips with holes) like this will just cause you to yell expletives as it slips off of the clip. It'll work but it'll take patience that isn't needed if you just spend the $5 on the proper tool.