Mad Chemist

I rebuilt my CV's today, and was nervous as hell starting out, but turned out it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I used a writeup based on a Tacoma, was identical with the exception of my 4runner not having the smaller C-clip mentioned in the writeup. I purchased two Toyota rebuild kits, that comes with new boots, grease, and clamps. I probably should have put on tougher boots while I was under there, maybe next time. It took me about 4 hours, part of that time was replacing the front diff fluid while I was under the truck. Taking off my TC skid plate is enough of a hassle that I get as much done as I can while its off. The second side was a hell of alot faster once I got the first side done and knew what to expect. The good thing is that I know what to expect now if I ever have to replace a front shaft on the trail.

Marc P

I bought the same kit from Toyota--what is in the white tube??

Mad Chemist

Dark grease. When you take the CV apart, you'll see the difference between the inner and outer boots- the inner boot that covers the tripod joint takes the yellow/white grease, and the dark stuff goes on the outer boot.

Marc P

Thanks-I am changing my torn inner boots tomorrow and was wondering about that.

rimpainter.com

Cool David - not too bad is it? Isn't it crazy how heavy they are? That was the first thing I noticed as I pried them out of the diff and tried to curl them off-balance. My thought is there just has to be a loss of performance with those things being rotated all the time...but I guess not as the manual hub guys haven't reported significant "gains" in HP or MPG...

anyway, not sure why I brought that up.

Robinhood150

Marc, you might want to do a search, I've got a little writeup here somewhere and copied straight from the manual I have which grease goes where. I'm not sure if the 3rd gen CV kit is the same as the 2nd gen kit, I've never seen the 3rd gen one.

4Hummer

If your boots are just torn you can buy replacment universal boots from a parts store. I paid $15 CDN for the set....

The nice part is you DONT have to remove the CV's.. These babies CLIP together. you simply Cut the old boots off Pack the universal ones with grease and clip them over.

They are made of a much tougher rubber too... And Fit very well

(Oh and they are not "universal" in the sense they fit every vechile they just call em that, you have to buy them for your make and model)

tulsa_97SR5

Curious how many miles you have on those, it's a tempting option but seems a little risky.

Mad Chemist

[QUOTE=<96 Runner>]Cool David - not too bad is it? Isn't it crazy how heavy they are? QUOTE]

Yeah, no kidding- makes you wonder about the forces involved when someone snaps a shaft when offroading! All in all, definitely glad I rebuilt them, I figure now that I've lost my CV "virginity" I'll have no fear of doing them in the future.

4Hummer

I put them on last Fall. and I Wheel and beat the heck outta my truck allot. They have held up pretty well..

I will try and find some pics

TStango

It sounds like you pulled the assembly out of the diff too rather than leaving that side in and just taking off the inner boot. Did the Diff fluid pour out when you did this?
I will be doing this job too in a few days. I've replaced a shaft on another vehicle but I've never actually rebuilt CV's.

Mad Chemist

I did pull the entire assembly out. The new boots slide over the inner end of the shaft, so you don't have a choice in the matter. You pull the whole axle out, remove the c-clip holding the tripod bearing in place, remove the tripod bearing, remove the clamps off both boots, and slide both boots off that end. No diff fluid should come out at all, although I read on another thread that this happened- maybe on a 2nd gen vehicle? On 3rd gens, the tripod bearing sits in a cup that is sealed off from the diff. I had already drained my diff at the point I realized that this was unnecessary, but it was an excuse to change the fluid. That Tacoma writeup is pretty good for the most part.

rimpainter.com

I concur that you do not have to drain the diff fluid, as I have pulled 4 CV axles on two different 3rd gens in the past month.

4Hummer

Never Mind those "Universal" Boots are CRAP....... I went wheeling yesturday and my CV's are clicking. Took a look at the boots and there are rips big enough to stick my fist in........

00Runner

What a difference 2 days and 3 posts can make.

tulsa_97SR5

That really stinks, sounds like it might still be worth having one along as a spare, but not to use full time. Good luck getting the CV's rebuilt/replaced!

4Hummer

The Boots are called Universal Split boots. And like the description says. they are split up the middle.

You can get 2 types. 1 is a click together, the other is a glue together. I bought the Glue together type by mistake, and it looks like the glue came apart at the seal.

I have a Mechanic buddy with a Heep that swears by them and He advised me not to use the "glue together" ones if you wheel, the mud I guess eats away at the glue.......

When I ordered them a year ago they sent the wrong ones, And I was to impatient to wait for the replacment...... Now it looks like Im gonna pay.

I've ordered the click together ones and will see what happens when I re-pack the grease... Maybe the problem will go away ???? Post pics when I do.