my CV boot mod

a little over a year ago, i had a 3" lift installed. i knew the fins on the cv boots were touching and i have been monitoring them ever since. i have about 12k miles on the lift and now there is about a 1-2mm deep wear ring on the cv boots. i read on another tread on TW that several people have used hose clamps to reposition the boot. so, i gave it a try too....

so here you can see the fins touching and the resulting wear ring on one of the fins. (the wetness that you see it not leaking grease. its from diving in the 5 inches of snow that we had today )


to get the stock clamp off, you can pry up the end of the clamp with a screw driver. i was really suprised at how easy these clamps come off.


after prying to a certain point, the clamp just pops loose.


you can see the 3 ridges and holes on the clamp that you have to pry apart.


it didnt take much adjustment of the boot to prevent the fins from touching. i moved the end of the boot maybe a half inch down the shaft.


i used just a regular 'ol hose clamp from home depot. it is a 1-1/4" to 1-3/4" clamp. i screwed it down very tight.


no more touching.


this is super easy to do and it took all of 10 minutes.

hopefully, this will be a permanent solution and the end of the boot wont slip back to the stock position. i will keep monitoring it.

if this does work, then it will be the best $2.60 that i have spent on my truck


Start: 12-01-2011 @ 20700 miles

Check: 12-09-2011 @ 20814 miles: boot slipped back a little, but the fins are not touching.

Check: 12-24-2011 @ 20939 miles. boots are at the same spot as the last time i checked.

Check: 3-11-2012 @ 24200 miles. boots are at the same spot.

Check: 7-8-2012 @ 27324 miles. boots are at the same spot.

Check: 8-23-2013 @ 40350 miles. boots are at the same spot.

 

Interesting. Good write up, keep us posted.

 

sub'd. let us know if it slides back into place

 

This

 

nice! sub'd

 

UPDATE:
after about 100 miles, i checked the clamp and the fins of the cv boots and all is good. even though the boot slipped back a little bit, the fins are not touching. yay

the boot of the clamp that i did not tighten down as much slipped more. these clamps really need to be cranked down VERY tight.
if the fins do end up touching, i will reposition them and crank the clamps down even tighter.

also, i am keeping a record at the bottom of the first post on this thread.

 

Please aware me......

Good idea but im confused. Why is it bad if the fins are touching? Isn't the boot to just keep the lubrication on the joints? Its not like your changing the angles of the shaft, and its the angle of the shaft is what will make the axles wear prematurely. Right?

 

Because, if they rub, they can wear prematurely and this will cause an opening to occur. Then you'll leak out the grease and allow in dirt and debris. If they don't touch, then no friction on the fins and no wear.

 

Well there's my "duh" moment for the day Haha

 

So Simple, It's Brilliant
Gatta love a thinker, thanks for the Write-Up.
I'm assuming the original clamp is a bitch to reinstall.
Or is that the original problem, that it doesn't hold?



CC

 

This is a great write-up! Is there anything to condition the rubber, some kind of oil or grease that won't corrode the rubber? My boots look really dry, I just used a red rag and some 40w, but I am thinking it just made them shiny and look good instead of helping?? Anyone else have a suggestion? Not trying to Hi-jack sorry.

 

CapeCodder: The " Rubber Boots Fin's " touch and the new hose clamp helps hold it in place, so that they will not rub on each other. <<< Oo " Rub on eachother "

 

Sub'd. CV boots rubbing is one of the bigger issues with lifts right? I will definitly be doing this.

 

Yeah, knew that, just never thought of the mod to solve it.
Still curious if the original clamp is the problem,
not capable of holding the boot expanded
Thanks again, Toyota


CC

 

Try silicone spray... doesn't tend to pick up abrasive dirt/dust as much.

 

the stock clamp is only meant to hold the boot at the stock position. it is not on very tight and only holds the boot in a little groove on the shaft. taking the stock clamp off and stretching the boot to a new position requires a new clamp that can hold against the tention of the stretched boot.

 

ya, when you do a coil/shock lift above 2.5", you run a greater risk of the cv boot fins touching. my lift is at least 3" so there was no question that they would touch.

 

that's a trick that All Pro uses when installing the CV boots for their LT kits. very simple to do. i have regular standard hose clamps on each end of my boots

 

Thanks. So it's just the design.
Lookin' forward to the long term outcome.
BTW: Nice job thinkin' outside the box.


CC

 

Gotcha, read it to fast the first time....I am e-tarded.. D'oh! ..