High-Angle CV Boot Recommendations (3 Viewers)

[Rednexus]

My inner CV joints boots are starting to split after 4-5 months and less than 5K of driving. I'm running NAPA/Cardone reman CV's with the HD thermoplastic boot. I have a 2.5" front lift without a diff drop (not interested in one due to losing ground clearance) and the inner boots are splitting where two of the rings/ripples are rubbing together.

I really don't want to have to replace or re-boot the axles twice a year so I'm looking at HD boot options, and wondering what other folks here have used, and how they have been. Ideally I would get 2-3 years out of a set of boots.

Options include:
All-Pro ($92 with grease and pliers for inners only):

https://www.polyperformance.com/all-pro-off-road-cv-boot-kits-for-07-14-fj-cruiser-and-03-18-4runner

SDHQ ($96 for all 4, but no grease and no pliers):

SDHQ Built OEM Direct Replacement CV Boot Kits

Direct Stock Replacement Inner and Outer CV boot's OEM Replacement Boot's are made with same Material as your standard Race style 930 & 934 CV boot kits

sdhqoffroad.com

Off-Road Solutions (ORS - $152 for inners only, no grease, no pliers):

High Angle Inner CV Boot - Products - Off Road Solutions

These CV boots have been completely re-designed to work with high angle applications, such as lifted vehicles. They are made from silicone material, making them very resistant to the heat and friction created w/ high angles. Kit includes 1 boot, 2 clamps, and CV joint grease. 2 kits are needed...

www.offroadsolutions.com

I'm leaning towards the All-Pros because it's more of a complete kit, but the SDHQ's seem to be a better buy as I'd get all 4 (my inners are fine right now). ORS' are super pricey, but I'd be interested in them if they'd last several years.

Anyone have any experience, good or bad, with any of these boots?

 

[jiggletits]

In my experience, no boots are better than Toyota OEM. They're high grade silicon vs. low grade rubber you get from all box stores. Usually you can get just the boots from the dealer. Splitting after 5 months doesn't surprise me for Cardone. I usually drop my diffs though, at least 1".

 

[jdevtac]

I bought the All pro boot kit. The larger outer boot is just a Bates 930 boot. At first I was confused, for some reason I thought the 930 boot went on the inner/diff side but I was wrong, and it doesn’t quite clamp in the same spot as OEM when mounted on the outer joint. I essentially clamped it in place how it looked best. I’ve seen some people use 930 boots on the inner , clamped over top a cutoff piece of the original boot used as an adapter to the tulip, which is what I originally planned to do but o well.

Didn’t use their provided grease. Used some red line cv2 grease instead.

The boots have been fine on my GX for over a year now. But most of my driving is pavement and I only have them on the driver side which was the side so take that with a grain of salt.

As for the orange/silicone boots. I have no direct experience but in my research they seemed a mixed bag. Some people tearing them, etc and all for like a $40+ piece of silicone with zero warranty. Figured I could always go back to OEM boots if the all-pro kit didn’t work out.

 

[Rednexus]

Thanks for the feedback so far. I had Cardone/NAPA axles for around a year and they were fine, until I ripped both during the lift install by letting the CV slide to far out. So I think my CV angle is just wearing them out sooner and they just aren't going to work on a lifted GX.

Anyone have experience on a lifted, non-diff-dropped GX with the OEM boots ($56 for both with grease and clamps) vs. All Pro? I'm tempted to go with All Pro since they are designed to work with a lift but they are about twice the cost of a OEM boot. I didn't know the OEM's were that cheap.

EDIT:
Just remembered that I still have my OEM CV's (boots were torn at 135k - replaced them right after getting my GX) sitting in storage. They seemed fine otherwise so I think I'll reboot them (probably with the All-Pro full kit) and swap them out when the NAPA/Cardone boots do split all the way. Then reboot the NAPA/Cardone axles and keep them as a spare set.

 

[phishtaco]

I feel like I have read somewhere on here that the boots can be replaced with 5th gen t4r boots. The 5th gen boots have less ripples??? And are more durable?

 

[jdevtac]

I feel like I have read somewhere on here that the boots can be replaced with 5th gen t4r boots. The 5th gen boots have less ripples??? And are more durable?

I’ve heard conflicting info on these. Some claimed you could. Then someone installed OEM 460 boots (should be same as 5th gen t4r) on supposedly an OEM axle and the inner boot doesn’t quite fit the tulip the same and leaks. Could be bogus or install error, not sure. Someone said just get the entire 460/5th gen axle instead.

 

[Rednexus]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the complete All Pro boot kit today, for $122 shipped from Summit Racing (also where I got my All Pro rock sliders - cheaper than anywhere else). Nothing wrong with OEM boots, but I did some more reading and found they commonly rip too on lifted rigs.

When they come in I'll rebuild my old OEM boots and update my build thread on how it goes. Then we'll see how well they last. If they last at least a year with no signs of ripping I'll go ahead and reboot the set I'm pulling out so they are ready to go when I do eventually rip one again, or blow up a CV. If the All Pro boots don't last well....I'll try something else and maybe also do the 5th gen T4R axle upgrade at that time as well.

 

[jdevtac]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the complete All Pro boot kit today, for $122 shipped from Summit Racing (also where I got my All Pro rock sliders - cheaper than anywhere else). Nothing wrong with OEM boots, but I did some more reading and found they commonly rip too on lifted rigs.

When they come in I'll rebuild my old OEM boots and update my build thread on how it goes. Then we'll see how well they last. If they last at least a year with no signs of ripping I'll go ahead and reboot the set I'm pulling out so they are ready to go when I do eventually rip one again, or blow up a CV. If the All Pro boots don't last well....I'll try something else and maybe also do the 5th gen T4R axle upgrade at that time as well.

Nice. Here was my Allpro boots once I was finished. I probably could’ve stretched the outer just a tad.

 

[Rednexus]

Installed one set of the All Pros today. This is a really easy job. I'm never going to buy remans again and will just reboot. I started with a NAPA reman, thinking the insides might be better, but it was a waste of $70 as the reman innards were in no better shape than my original axles with 135k on them. I'll swap the axle over this weekend.

 

[The Bob]

Hello, I could not find the All Pro outer boots for a GX 470 at Summit. What Toyota fitment are you all using?

 

[Rednexus]

I used the 4th gen T4R boots. The provided crimp pliers suck so you might want to get a better pair.

AllPro Offroad AP-306232

Free Shipping - AllPro Offroad AP-306232 with qualifying orders of $109. Shop CV Boots at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[LRDV8R]

How have these held up?

 

[Rednexus]

Still holding up excellent after over a year. I recently gave them a good inspection when swapping out the front coilovers and they had zero issues. I also had to tweak the whole CV axle side-to-side quite a bit to get the new coilovers in (which is when OEM-type boots typically rip) and they held up great.

If I get another year or two out of them I'll be stoked. 100% recommend.

 

[LRDV8R]

Good to hear. I went ahead a ordered a set for a pair of new remans i just bought. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[BigNick]

These look an sound nice but freakin expensive

1
Ultimate IFS CV Axle Set for Toyota FJ Cruiser ('07-'14), 4 Runner ('03+), Tacoma ('05+), Lexus GX460 ('03+) & Lexus GX470 ('03+)

1
x
$2,199.95

 

[LRDV8R]

These look an sound nice but freakin expensive

1
Ultimate IFS CV Axle Set for Toyota FJ Cruiser ('07-'14), 4 Runner ('03+), Tacoma ('05+), Lexus GX460 ('03+) & Lexus GX470 ('03+)

1
x
$2,199.95

Those better be unbreakable for that price. Even then I'm not sure I could justify it...

 

[BigNick]

Those better be unbreakable for that price. Even then I'm not sure I could justify it...

I know.. I was thinking same thing , gotta be unbreakable..

 

[Rednexus]

At $2200 you could replace each side 8 times with high-angle, re-booted Toyota/NAPA/Cardone remans! Not a good ROI for anything but an extreme rig

 

[BigNick]

At $2200 you could replace each side 8 times with high-angle, re-booted Toyota/NAPA/Cardone remans! Not a good ROI for anything but an extreme rig

I think they said Dana 60 modeling or something like that which is damn near unbreakable especially on just a 5k lb rig..

 

[Rednexus]

Not sure I understand "Dana 60 architecture" as a Dana 60 is a solid rear axle without CVs or even U-joints/birfields:

The axles feature a double-offset inboard CV joint that is comprised by 1-inch balls and 300M internal components. The outboard CVs utilize our Dana 60 architecture with combination of 4340 & 300M components optimized for maximum strength. The center bar is 35 spline 300M, the strongest in the industry. The RCV developed moly SPEC grease is used in the CVs to control heat build-up in even the most extreme use environments. Black oxide coating is standard.

But it does seems like these are using high-strength steel and bigger parts in the actual CV joint. Probably a good mod for a trail-specific rig, but overkill for everyone else