High Angle CV boots for Long Travel, 2nd/3rd gen

If ryan ever gets the uploads finished there are other videos where you can really hear them clicking. But its only happening when the wheel are drooped out. On the drive home I didn't hear anything. I might replace them with OEM and buy another set of axles then I can bring a spare if I do a remote trip. Maybe... I can't really decide what to do about it lol

Yep the 3" lift is whats making them leak. How long ago did toyota fix them? Let me know if they start leaking again

 

Damn, that clicking sounds similar to the clicking on my truck. I've already had 2 CV boots replaced too.

 

I have 70k on my LT kit and no leaks or clicking. Maybe I got lucky. haha

 

Only happens when I'm fully drooped I think. But it's a new noise that just started on this trip. I should probably just bite the bullet and get new CVs, but I want to figure out the boot issue first

 

It's been about 3 months, roughly 5k miles ago. So far they look good but I will keep you updated. The dealer replaced the entire CV's under warranty not just the boots. I had to pull a few strings to make it happen under warranty as they didn't want to cover it at first because of the lift.

 

Don’t u only have like less than 10k miles on your truck

 

15k now. But they’re all wheeling trips. But my clicking sounds exactly like Alex’s just not as bad. Need to see what Alex does to fix it.

 

Does anybody think that I can move the small part of the boot down the axle and closer to the joint? Maybe that will keep it from stretching so much? Or is there a groove or something to position it?

Part of the problem is I have never taken them apart so I don't know what anything looks like

 

Yes you can but if you put it too close the bellows will rub all the time.. This is where the boot slide will come in handy. If you position it and cycle everything you will be good. I highly recommend venting the boots prior to install so they won’t vacuum and cause any pre mature wear.

Taking apart axles are pretty easy. Removing outer side off the shaft takes a little finesse. If you are looking to reboot you can do everything from inner side and work your way in.

At full droop your Axle starts clicking? Have you ever re-adjusted your limit strap. They do stretch over time. Maybe your axles are just binding at that point-if the limit strap is going pass that point also over stretching the boot causing the leak/boot sliding.

 

Yeah but I want to do the opposite of the boot slide. That pushes the small end away from the cv in order to stretch the boot so that the fins don't wear out

I want to move it closer to the cv, squish the fins closer because I suspect it's getting stretched too much at droop

I just checked my limit straps a little while ago. They're good. I'm right at 1/4" gap between the uniball cup and nut as per TC spec

Well looks like it's not just droop that causes clicking:

https://youtu.be/1JTcdBXKxGU

https://youtu.be/s_I0phJL_9o

https://youtu.be/MSqshzrVong

 

Yeah sorry, I just edited my previous post.
If you move it closer to the joint you will risk rubbing the bellows/fins all the time-probably worse at droop. I used a large rubber ring, cvj has them for sale, in between the first and second bellow and it helped keep it gapped at droop.

 

Only a temporary solution til decent extended boots come out, but have you considered limiting straps in the meantime? You should still have the up-travel, but at least they’ll limit droop enough to keep the boots intact.

 

You are clicking for sure. Not even at droop. I can’t tell if that’s both sides or just one side? Weird thing it’s not clicking as it’s not fully rotating, like clicking ever 1/4 turn or so-from what I got off the John Bull 3 video.

LT axle shafts aren’t cheap. Getting a reman and swapping outer/inner onto the LT axle will be some down time.

If you do it by yourself toyota has 2 different part #’s for inner grease and outer grease. Inner was a more thinner viscosity and a brownish color. Outer was a lot more thicker and grayish. Do your best Keeping those shafts clean and dry prior to clamping

 

Yeah I'll have to play with it some more. On the drive home I didn't hear any clicking at all But these joints have some hard miles on them

Toyota oem axles are 350 each. I can reuse my LT shafts I just have to figure out how to press them out.

But I don't want to buy new CVs until I figure out the leaking issue. So I will probably experiment with these. Maybe I should just try the cvj silicone boots and see what happens

 

https://youtu.be/VWIxc4vI1Z8

Does anyone else's axle have this much play in them? Kinda starting to think this has something to do with my clicking sound.

 

I’m sure the boots will stretch over both ends fine, they’d probably seal better with the tighter fit. Get some good clamps, keep everything clean, space the bellows as best as you can and you’ll be golden. Don’t over tighten the clamps it’ll bite through the boot. Off road solutions sells the red boot, I bought mine through cvj because they have the rubber band that helps keep the first bellow spaced.

Another thought is the inners causing the clicking? Inner bearings are a tri-lobe, bearing could possibly be out or loose causing that clicking in the housing or on the tri-lobe.
Best pics I can find, but those roller pins can slide off .

 

Have you tried to re-torque the axle nut?

 

@osidepunker MCM has long travel kits with extended 4x4 shafts. Doesn't say it includes new boots or not on the web site. Maybe give Matt a call and see if he has a solution, fix, or boots for his extended shafts you can buy.

 

Every LT kit has extended 4x4 axles (for a 4x4)... and every kit re-uses factory inner and outer CVs. There's nothing special about Matt's kit.

 

Yep. Boots are re-used too

 

I can move mine too, maybe not as much as yours though.

 

I am starting to wonder if maybe my clamps aren't tight enough. Toyota calls for a special tool to install the clamps. Maybe the shops are using the common pliers on Amazon and they aren't getting them tight enough. Here is a picture of toyota sst 09521-24010:



Something like that will really crank down the clamps. The manual even has a torque value specified. Its over $200 so I'm not going to buy it. But I found this one on amazon:



It's only $20 so it might be worth a try. What do you guys think? Should I get new clamps and this tool and try that? I still don't feel good about the silicone boots or the sdhq boots. At this point I should probably be thinking about replacing my CVs, cheapest option is OEM, $700 plus labor to swap the axles. The RCV axles would be nice, but I really don't want to spend that much money. However, I will buy them if I can't figure out the damn leaking issue. I'm not going to spend money on OEM CVs if they're just going to have the same problem with leaking.

 

I also found this, but no instructions on use from JTC website and no Amazon reviews so I'm not sure how well it would work:

$78 CV Joint Clamp Banding Install Tool, Boot Clamp Pliers JTC 1503

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075LPKQ34

 

As an experiment, my thought is to reuse my current oem boots, squirt a little grease into them and try to re-clamp them myself. but I want to make sure I'm doing it properly

 

This tool is for a universal band style clamp. From my personal experience, I prefer a properly sized pinch style clamp vs the band style. As far as the Toyota tool goes I’m not convinced it’s needed from a tightening stand point. I have never had an issue using tightening the clamps with the pliers. But for $20 it’s worth a shot.

 

Well sht. I've had these clamps redone 5 times by two different shops with oem clamps and worm gear clamps.

If we assume the clamps are getting properly tightened, then what else could be causing them to leak?

 

never had any experience with that tool. I used pliers like @Porschetech29 posted. I went through all types of clamps. I found that these were best to get a good bite
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/CTD6865833

Did they replace with OEM replacement boots before or just clamp? Are they the hard-ish plastic or rubber? I bought an OEM replacement axle for my tacoma the first time. It was a shitty hard plastic material. Come to put it on they leaked/slid all over the shaft on both ends. I don't think that material was made for a lifted vehicle-no matter what clamp and how clean that boot sucked ass. Duralast boots were better imo.

If you get to do it your self do your best to keep everything clean! I would take the axle off and do it on a work bench(if you bought that tool im sure it would need to be off the truck anyway)if you have access to a lift(with plier style tool) then you can try it on the truck.
here is a video that helped me (just to knock that outer end out) It's a bitch, make sure you take those lock rings out. everything else is straight forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEaWyxF1S7o

 

Thanks! Damn that looks messy lol

 

it is.. get a shit ton of shop towels lol.

 

Will toyota sell me those snap rings?