tigertowncruiser

I installed a 3" lift on the 4runner a couple of days ago, got the 285 km2's all mounted and balanced yesterday , rides great , very impressed with the tires especially on the lack of noise. However , both my cv boots are throwing grease everywhere , possible the factory grease , looks nasty lol. I search and found some people have put hose clamps over top of the factory clamps? The boots are not torn or anything , just leaking on the end seals. Is there anyway to put new clamps on or to tighten the factory clamp. I want to try to get by the easiest way before buying new cv's. If i clamp over them hw do i fill them with grease before doing so? here is a few pics. My cv angle looks the same as many pics i have seen on here so i think the height should be ok maybe just the rubber is old and hard. here is some pictures of the 4runner. any advice? thanks

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Pretty typical. Those boots have probably been "sealed" in that position since they were new and when you lifted it you tweaked the "sealed" spot so it is leaking grease. Clean it up and see if it keeps leaking and go from there.

camo31_10.50

clean it up..clamp it down..and get on down the road LOL

i've heard of a lot of people having problems with the stock cv's and the 3" lifts

tigertowncruiser

is there anyway to refill with grease to replace what has come out? the old grease that came out looks pretty thin I would like to get new grease in if possible.

tigertowncruiser

do i tighten the clamps on there now somehow , or put regular hose clamps over top of them?

ScottyC

iTrader: (1)

Might as well put new boots on them. Especially before you take it in for an alignment.

Yukon

Same thing happened to me. I just went out and got two new ones, go to wherever has the best warranty, Auto zone, or advanced probably. Then I kept the stock ones as spares when I go on wheeling trips, and eventually I'll buy a boot kit, and fix them, then make the remans spares.

tigertowncruiser

what sucks is i paid $70 for an alignment on Wednesday

tigertowncruiser

i did some more searching. Seems some have had success with removing the stock clamps , repacking grease , wrapping electrical tape around clamp contact area on boot , and putting regular hose clamps on. I am going to clean it up and try this tomorrow and see how it goes , will update tomorrow also with pics of truck

008keith

same thing happened to my 97 after the lift. no need to buy new boots or repack the grease there is more in there than you think. i used heavy duty zip ties and never looked back works great. hose clamps are a tad too wide and can cut the boot. good luck!

tigertowncruiser

just standard plastic zip ties or the metal ones? the thick bigger ones i assume?

brian2sun

Yes, hose clamps will usually tear the boots with the raised part where the screw goes through so I think zip ties are better. This happened to me too and I used hose clamps, tore the boots after a month or so, cleaned it up, duct taped the hell out of the cvs and drove it like that for a year or more. Ended up replacing them (before they failed even) with no problems ever again. Get a $20 diff drop and that will help too. You'd be surprised how long they'll go even after all the grease has flung out!

008keith

yes plastic zip ties i used "heavy duty" zip ties they are white as apposed to the normal black ones. either way, check out your local hardware store. use pliers to tighten them up pretty snug. should be all good after that!

008keith

Oh and be sure to remove the stock clamps before putting on the zip ties just f.y.i

fattirerider

We need shots of the completed truck!

Are you running any wheels spacers to clear the UCA?

tigertowncruiser

I will get some later today. I am very surprised i didnt need spacers , as i posted about it and told i would probably need 1-1.5" spacers to clear. Also in searching the consensus was most 285 m/ts would rub , so i really thought the km2's with pretty big side lugs would rub. It has enough room to put your finger in between snugly and thats it. i may use a 1/4" spacer for a little more room.

bgmac

I used a set of universal cv clamps from one of the local auto parts store, they are pretty similar to the oem clamps. A complete set of 4 was like $10. I haven't had any problems with them since I put them on. I replaced 3 out of 4 that were leaking. I took a quick pic of the 4th one for reference. I didn't have any luck with the zip ties...just a waste of time. Also Do Not use hose clamps!
I have a set of 1/4 wheel spacers that I would be willing to part with. PM for pictures & price.

crolison

That doesn't matter, your not alterning an alignment if you change a cv........ The only part you unbolt is the lbj from the spindle, which is 4x14mm (socket), so when you put it together and take it apart there is nothing for there to be changed.

Gerdo

Kinda close? I'm looking at a set of 285s also with the same wheels. I'm wondering if I'm going to need new wider wheels with less BS.

Any rubbing from driving? Either on the wheel wells or the A arm?

tigertowncruiser

I have not seen any rubbing. I would be able to see it on the tire if there was. I have checked everyday since i put them on lol. But it varied tire to tire , some brands may be wider at that point than another even in the same 285 size.