Back From The Ban

I did that when I was young and very, very broke once. It did not, in fact, hold up. Moreover I haven’t heard the end of it and it’s been over 20 years.

 

It was a very tongue-in-cheek comment.Only stopgap I would trust legitimately would be melting/fusing the tear shut long enough to replace with OEM.

Member after member here has been burned by how shit-tastic aftermarket boots are on the 1st gens. It's so bad that one of the major axle companies will give you an option on whether you want genuine OEM boots or aftermarket for a bit cheaper. When one member on here reached out to ask what the diffence was between their two part numbers, they were pretty blunt with (paraphrasing), "Aftermarket boots are shit and rip/tear prematurely, so we offer the other part number which comes with OEM boots that won't see the same fate"

I dunno if aftermarket parts are similarly garbage for the newer generations, but it's definitely ass with the 1st gen, and the GMT400/800 and C10/S10/K10 platforms I typically owned prior.

 

I think it's fairly universal. :-(

 

I remember back in the mid 90’s when you could buy both a “glue together” or “bolt together” boot repair kits. Man, those sucked bad. And i was 18 years old at the time and knew they sucked. I finally ended up buying reman CV axles from the local auto parts store. I laminated the receipt and stored it in the glovebox. I must have warrantied out about 6 different shafts. Then again i was kinda hard on that 1980 Subaru 4x wagon...like really hard.

 

While it might seem easier to just swap the OE axle for a local parts store axle, have heard some of those boots on aftermarket axles have subsequently torn so would be doing the job over and over, although have also heard some are working out for folks on nonlifted DDs and they use the lifetime warranty to replace when needed.

To me it's about retaining OE axles. It seems like just about an hour more labor to reboot an OE axle once its out of the truck.

There is a detailed writeup with OE boot kit part number including grease and clamps folks usually consider if not lifted and aftermarket if lifted.

An OE boot kit can be purchased from a Toyota dealer around $47 with boots, grease, and clamps. Likely cheaper if wait for the 20% off sale @ Serra.

If lifted, folks consider the Porsche 930 boot from Kartek for like $19 IIRC or the Allpro inner boot set of 2 on sale 20% off right now for $42.32 with clamps, grease and free shipping from Wheelers (although haven't tried either there is a lot of info on various 4runner, taco, and tundra forums).

And if you go Kartek or don't have the crimp tool for the Allpro or Toyota kit, worm style clamps are like $1-2/each even for the rolled edge and smooth inner wall.

 

Been looking into this option rather than replacing the whole axel. Am I able to replace the boot without removing the axel since it’s the outer boot? If i have to take out the axel I feel like I may as well replace the whole assembly.

 

Installing a new CV boot is fairly straightforward. I think there might even be a few youtube videos on it? I replaced the boots on both my OEM CV axles (the last time i had the front end apart). There were no tears or holes in my boots, but there were quite a few age related cracks.

 

Replacing the boot is easier after removing the CV. Removing the CV vs trying to install the boot on the truck is like 5 minutes more time to pop it out of the differential and 5 more popping it back in after the boot is replaced. Yes there is a detailed writeup with a video and many more out there.

 

I used a split boot one time and it outlasted the rest of the car. Still on there and sealed when she was crushed.