Ok help please. Truck is torn apart.

[BSalty]

I have an inch of grease splattered in a 360 degree wheel around the frame, engine, suspension etc. directly in line with my inner CV boot. Saw it this morning after putting the lift on and driving it for 5 miles last night.

The boot isn't torn anywhere that I can see or feel, and its still clamped on tight on both ends. This is on both sides of the truck. WTF? Saw some of you have put hose clamps on so I got some to put it on this evening but the factory clamps are on tight as hell, I can't even start to pull the boot off or even slide it a 1/16"

I can't imagine both boots would have slid off, then reatatched themselves in the factory position.

Any ideas?

I swore I wasn't gonna mod..............

[Regulator1175]

If it was only on the drivers side I would guess it may be a small seal leak on the differential. There is no fluid on the passenger side though, so if its not the boot I am am unsure what it could be there.

[BSalty]

Yeah this is definately grease. Its litterally about an inch thick and dripping off the frame on both sides. It seems to be splattered in a perfect circle inline with the inside of the inner boot.

I checked both boots and its tight. Like I would need to cut them off tight. Turned the tires both directions to stop and they are still tight. I'm stumped. But its enough that I don't want to drive it to the alignment shop tomorrow for my scheduled alignment. Its a TON of grease spread around in there.

[BSalty]

Well I just got done putting the drivers side back togeather. There are no rips in the boot, and it is sealed at both ends. I cleaned the frame and body off and I guess we will see if it returns. I can't find anything loose or missing and its the only thing there with grease that I could see so I am 100% stumped as to where this leak is occuring. Its heavy wheel bearing/moly type grease. There was roughly 1/4 cup worth of grease on the drivers side. About half that on the passenger side.

Guess we will see what breaks next.



Not gonna mod...........not gonna mod..........

[Trail X]

I thought the same thing, but there was a hairline fracture in my boot that wasn't sealing properly. I ended up replacing the boot, which is a pain. You may want to try the hose clamp method first.

CVs can really run with fairly minimal grease, the main thing that will make them fail is water introduction in the boots.

[bdp1978]

I'll chime in as I just did mine last night. I had the EXACT same situation, looked at my axles Sunday morning and the passenger side had a ring of grease almost 1/2" thick all the way around it. No cracks in the boot, nothing leaking out the end, so it didnt make much sense. Lifted my truck 3 wks ago.


As soon as I jacked the truck up and popped the stainless ring the boot split. I had a small hairline crack in the boot and the ring was just barely holding the last bit together. I opted to just replace the boot with a new neoprene one instead of the entire axle. As James said, it really wont be an issue to drive on it for a bit as long as the joint isnt fully exposed.

[BSalty]

Well after getting some sleep I decided I'm going to swap the boots out and risk doing it twice. It must've ripped em as that is the only explanation. It has 107k miles so I was expecting some wreckage with the lift. Was just hoping to get past Christmas first.

Thanks for the help guys, I was on 48 hrs no sleep last night and couldn't see strait.

[bdp1978]

The lift def. tends to wreak a little havoc until you get it all straightened out. I've found myself saying "Why in the hell did you do this to your truck" a couple times. But then I'll have someone walk up and say "You have a lift on that don't you? It looks really good!" That, and anytime I park next to a F/S truck it gives me some satisfaction. Just fyi, make sure when you get the new boots that you get the neoprene version. Most auto stores carry 2 types, for me the neoprene was $2 dollars more.

Also, I realize that everyone on here are big fans of just swapping out the entire axle. When I pulled my axle apart and got it cleaned up the bearings in the CV joint looked like brand new with 86k on them, really no need at all for a complete axle swap IMO.

[BSalty]

Yeah I did. They had the poly version for $10 per side, or the neoprene version for $20. I got the Neos. Get to tear it apart again this weekend. oh yipee.

[MrSmithsTB]

Don't you just love the costs associated with lifting? When I lifted, I used the clamps after about a day of driving around because I saw a little grease. Held them tight ever since with no issues. Been over a year and a half now.

[bdp1978]

Don't you just love the costs associated with lifting? When I lifted, I used the clamps after about a day of driving around because I saw a little grease. Held them tight ever since with no issues. Been over a year and a half now.

Ha! Yeah, you've gotta pay to play I guess. I used the stainless straps on my boot, after 2 days I have noticed some weepage of grease so clamps will be going on this wknd.

[OregTrailBlazin]

Having some grease come out is very common when lifting the IFS rigs. Your compressing the boot a bit which typically pumps some grease out. The majority of the time, if you clean it off it won't come back..

[bdp1978]

Having some grease come out is very common when lifting the IFS rigs. Your compressing the boot a bit which typically pumps some grease out. The majority of the time, if you clean it off it won't come back..

Agreed, I actually didnt end up putting on hose clamps. Just pulled back the boot, packed it back full of grease again, re-positioned and cranked on my side cutters to tighten down the stainless strap some more.

Couple weeks now and no more grease seeping out and the boot hasnt moved.

[DmccartneyFF2TB]

I had the same issue just put some more grease in there and hose clamped it been working fine.

[BSalty]

Since this got revived.

When I got my CVs out and the old boots off I inspected them both with a fine tooth comb so to speak. There were no rips, tears, or punctures in either of them. So I have to agree that just tightening them down would have worked. Course since they were off I just replaced both boots.

For anyone future reading this I got some that were 1-2" longer and just used hose clamps on both ends for trail maint. Got em at O'Reilys for $20 ea. I got an extra and carry it with some grease on the trail.