CV axle leak

Hello. I’ve been hearing a loud pop when turning left on full. Finally had the chance to crawl under my truck and found this:



Does this mean I need to replace this side of CV axle? Boots are all okay. Passenger side is dry and boots are okay as well.

Is it okay if I replace one side only or do I need to replace both the driver and passenger cv axles?

 

From a leak perspective that is not bad and I wouldn't touch it. But since it's popping when turning you would want to take a look inside the joint that is closest to the tire.

 

I agree with @Cruzer, that "leak" isn't something to be concerned about. I just rebuilt an axle 2 weeks ago and it was a far worse leak yet still had enough grease to protected the CV from damage.
The "pop" I can't guess on.
Yes, you can replace just one axle, no need to do both.
And, that little wet spot on the axle is not the axle leaking, it's a little seepage from the diff.

 

Hello. I really appreciate your response to my thread. I went on and replaced the seal and the bushing to ecgs since there was a significant amount of play on my driver side cv axle and it eliminated the vibration/shaking on my steering wheel when running around 50mph up. I’m just not quite sure if my CV axle is seated properly. Can someone please confirm if this is okay?



Also, the popping sound is still present when doing full turns on the driver side but it is not as loud anymore. What I’m planning to do next is to completely remove my trd pro skid plate and see if it is the culprit of this annoying popping noise.

 

Ball joints?

 

Possibly. How do I diagnose a bad ball joint? I’ve tried wiggling the wheel up and down, side to side but no play or anything.

 

Doesn't look to me like it's seated properly. Getting that snap ring to pop in place is a bugger. The way you know for sure is, when installing, once seated it won't come back out easily. Also, the gap between the axle and diff looks to be unequal and too large IMO.

 

Geez! I hammered it several times and I stopped when it felt solid. I just don’t want to mess with the gears inside. I tried to pull it back but it’s fixed. I’m just worried about the gap that it shows a little bit of shiny metal. I have a favor from you to snap a photo on yours, only when you can of course, so I can atleast compare. Thanks in advance.

 

It is hard to tell on your last picture due to the lighting, but something doesn't really look right. I struggled getting the CV back in on mine at first. Someone told me to tap it in and if it doesn't go in easy, rotate a bit and try again. I ended up using a relatively large pry bar and tapped the lip of the CV to get it to snap in. Once it snapped in, there was no way it was coming out, without influence that is. The face of the CV should look parallel to the face of the diff housing. I can take a photo of mine and post it for you.

 

Yes, please, so I can compare. I’m not looking forward to redo all the process as it was pain in the ass. Lol. But better safe than sorry. Thanks in advance. I will try to capture another photo with clearer picture as well.

 

The metallic part is the CV dust shield. The lip is close to flush with the diff housing.

 

https://youtu.be/ZzwvijyQpdU?si=8d3L-BVZ-k_0J8N9

 

This is a huge help. Thank you so much for the pic. Now I wonder if this has something to do with the ECGS bushing because I saw this post from another fellow Tundra owner who replaced his spline bushing with ECGS and have the same gap as mine. The only thing that differs is our dust shield. Mine is flushed and his is not.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/is-my-cv-joint-seated-enough.124640/

By any chance, did you replace yours with ECGS bushing?

Anyone with ECGS bushing can chime in?

I actually test drove my truck after putting everything back for about 20 miles and it seemed to be okay aside from the popping noise at full turn. Steering wheel vibration totally gone.

 

It looks like the dust yield is separated from the cv axle and preventing it from going in. Maybe a better picture? Super easy to unseat it partially while removing the axle if a pry bar is used, it is a press fit on the cv axle.

 

You are dead on! I’m planning to redo everything this weekend. Just wondering if I can jack the driver side up hammer the sh*t out of it without disconnecting the tie rods, wheels and whatnot.

 

I installed the ECGS bushing on my 2020. Had the harmonic growl and vibrations, it completely resolved mine. Access to the diff was difficult, so I used a cheater bar on the ECGS driving tool to drive in the bushing and then for the CV, a long pry bar with a rag on the end of the lip of the CV to seat it.

 

This confirms it that ECGS got nothing to do with the gap. I guess I have to do it the second time. Thank you very much and you guys are awesome!

 

Yea, it barely takes anything to screw up the dust shield. I pulled my CV out with a slide hammer to prevent damage to it and when it popped out, it slid out of my makeshift harness and dented the dust shield lip.

I pushed it back as flush as I could get it. Not perfect but should keep the dirt and grime out.