Inner CV Boot Fins Touching & Wearing

I wish I had caught this sooner...two of the CV boot fins on the passenger side have been touching. There is wear on the inside of one of the fins, it feels like a little depression in the rubber.

I was going to remove the factory band clamp, use an awl between the axle and the boot to let air into the boot, and slide it down the axle a bit so the fins aren't so close together, and then replace it with a regular screw type hose clamp.

Is there any reason I shouldn't do this? Is there a better way to do this?

Please let me know! Heading to the parts store in the next 20 min!

-Thanks!

 

Oh, and are there any tricks to removing the factory band clamp? It looks like I just need to unfold the metal and open it up?

 

MJP, thanks for the heads up!

Is there something that would cause the inner CV boots to touch on the passenger side and not the driver's side? I do have the Toytec diff drop kit installed and the truck sits level left/right.

Anything I can do to keep the fins from touching?

 

Yep, they were pointed straight. I noticed it while I was washing the truck.

Lol...well I'm glad at least that the axle removal how-to was posted here today so I have something to go by when it does fail. Seems like an awful damn lot of work for a pesky boot.

I dont' think it'll move the diff enough, but can I add a 1mm washer to the spacers on the Toytec diff drop kit without ill effects?

 

Taco lean...it common for tacos to lean on the driver's side, even after lifting, so the passenger side sits higher, giving the passenger side a worse cv angle

 

Sounds good, I'll leave it be and get the parts on hand. I'm hesitant to lower the front any more. When I installed the lift it was level front/rear but after settling the front is lower by 1/2 to 1".

It'll be interesting to see how long they last. I've got about 9,500mi on the truck now, about 7,500 of those are with the lift installed. I'm hoping for 30,000 but I don't think the boot will make it that long.

Hehe...so there's at least one sick day in the near future. Dammit please don't fail when its bitch cold out...

 

Ok! I fixed this! The truck did have a lean to it. I checked after the install and had my alignment shop check ride height and we both got even numbers to within a 1/4". It must have settled because I checked it again and it was off by 3/4". I lowered the passenger side with the coilover adjustment and the CV boot fins aren't touching

I measured from top of rim to fender when I did this. Before I was at 14.25" driver's side, 15" passenger side. Now I'm at 14.25" driver's side, 14.5" passenger side.