catusphile

Hello all,

To start off, a little background about my 4Runner. It is a 1999 Limited with about 118,000 miles. All maintenance is done by myself unless the project is just too big for a home garage mechanic.

Last week I received and installed Sonoran Steel's System 1 lift - for those of you unfamiliar with this system, the front was raised about 2" and the back about 3". I installed all the additional 'safety' items, including a differential drop, extended rear brake line, etc. As a side note, I love the lift and service that Steve has provided.

Now that I've installed the lift, it looks as though both of my inner CV boots are leaking a little. The boots are not visibly damaged (no tears, holes, etc), however it looks as though a little bit of the thick white grease is escaping from one end. I wiped all the grease off last night from the CV boot and surrounding areas where it splattered; got under the rig again today and saw the same white grease. See the photos below. There is just a slight amount of play in the CV boot - it will rotate a tiny bit around the shaft, but will not actually move up or down the shaft. The grease looks to be coming from the crack between the boot and the shaft.

So... should I be concerned? Does this type of leak warrant installing new inner CV boots, or is there an easy fix. What do you guys think?

seanz0rz

my right (as of before my offroad trip) was starting to spew under the clamp.

im going to get new clamps and put them on, search around here there are quite a few incidences of this happening.

HarrisonP

I had the same thing happen to mine when I lifted it. I just got two cv boot kits from toyota and put them on. They were around $40 bucks each. Granted I had 175,000 miles on the old boots.

sschaefer3

The boots are old and have alot of miles on them. They got "used to" being in one sweet spot and that changed.

You have two choices.

1. Cut off the stock clamp and use a hose clamp. DO NOT put the hose clamp over the stock clamp, the stock clamp will then cut the boots.

2. Get a new set of boots and clamps. It's really not that hard of a job to change the boots, but it is messy and you need a snap ring pliers. Like "Snap On SRP2". One boot will have two fold overs and one will have a Tacoma style crimp, so you would need the crimp tool as well.

MTL_4runner

Very common problem (I had it happen too).....ditto on Steve's advice.

UNR.Grad

Happened to me too. As long as not too much CV grease has seeped out, you can just re-clamp it with a hose clamp (what I did). From the looks of it, it seems like re-clamping it is your best option...

Pic of my CV boot problem, hasn't leaked since my hose clamp repair (~7k miles).

Beerdrinker

mine did the same after my lift, its what Steve said. I just wennt to a Firestone and they replaced the clamp for around $10-$15. no leaks since

adtoffroad

I'm not trying to jack this thread, but mine did the same thing after the lift. Significant amount of greece down there now. Unfortunately, I'm a newbie and didnt know this was a problem. I've driven about 3-4k miles since lift. At this point, what should be done? try and fix clamps or new boots? 135k on the runner.

SoiledGreen98

I'm not sure how much grease is in there but my 4Runner did the same thing and a couple of hose clamps made it right.

toyota_mdt_tech

Well, if your front axles are anything but horizontal with the horizon, you wil not only tear them off, you might tear the boots open. Only option is to get free wheeling hubs, spendy on any Tacoma4Runner if that era with ADD. Requires new hub and drive axles.

MTL_4runner

If you just have grease leaking from the clamp area.......Cut the clamps off, pull the boots back, remove as much of the old grease as possbile, add fresh CV grease (usually comes in packs available at the dealer), clean off the boot sealing surfaces (axle shaft and CV body), reinstall the boot and install new clamps (requires a special tool for crimping the clamps). They shouldn't leak after that.

It is a very different story if the boots were damaged/torn since often water, sand and other debris can wreak havoc on the bearings even after being replenished with fresh grease and a new boot. In that case it is a hit or miss as to how long they will last thereafter.

catusphile

Thanks everyone. The leak is very minor, so I'm going to try the hose clamp route. Sounds quicker and less expensive than installing new CV boots.