OEM CV axles….the million dollar question

Hey! I’m sure there are already lots of threads about this….but I’m gonna start this one anyways

I’ve got a 98 3.4 SR5 on 32’s, with 3” of lift (Old man EMU). This rig when I bought it had cheap parts store CV’s in it, all torn to hell. After I bought it, I replaced the CV’s with more cheap parts store CV’s and guess what .. they’re all torn to hell after about a year of light wheeling, primarily camp site seeking. My question ..

Is it worth getting the OEM axles to hopefully get a lot more time before the boots break? Do the OEM boots historically last longer, even with extreme angle from a 3” lift?

i understand I can get smaller coil overs, lower the lift .. do the dif drop (which I plan to do), or just get the high angle replacement boots. But ideally I’d like to have just a new dependable set of axles I can just throw in there and hopefully forget about. Really curious what peoples experience is / what they’d suggest.

Ideally I’d get the RCV chromolly axles but I am afraid that just isn’t in my budget, nor do I think it’s necessary considering what I am doing with my rig. Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance!

 

Diff drop = worthless

Lower the lift

 

OE boots seem to last longer. But they will still tear.
You’d be better of getting high angle boots and doing the boot slide mod.

 

Here is a link for the mod.
Like anything in life. Good results require some effort and work.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/high-angle-inner-cv-boot-with-boot-slide-mod.382314/

 

Don't listen to others in this thread. Keep the diff drop. Do the boot slide mod.

 

I was kinda in the same boat. I bought my truck ('03 Xtra Cab with 3" lift) 3 years ago. Parts store axles tore about a year later. I put CVJ (remanned OEM) axles on mine with the high angle boots. So far so good, and no tears yet. I daily drive the truck and wheel it hard during hunting seasons, but not much wheeling otherwise.

If I were you I'd just buy used OEM CVs and reboot kits. Reboot them, install them and send it. You can pick up spare OEMs, reboot those, and always have a spare set sitting around ready to go in, should a boot tear.

 

Jerad's suggestion has kept my '97 V6 Taco 4x4 hunting truck dependable & wheeling hard for over 25 years: OEM CVs rebooted with OEM boots & a rebooted spare set ready to install. Front end is approx. +3" with a diff. drop kit and the rear has AALs which raised it 2". I have only broken the OEM CVs once while pulling a 30" oak tree out of the trail. My own fault as I should have cut the tree into smaller pieces. OEM CVs are pretty damn strong, the very reason that CVJ uses OEM CVs.

 

I have a 3 inch lift with diff drop and the High angle CV boots tore on me after like 3 months, for what its worth.

 

Is the boot slide mod still worth doing if you have minimal lift? I'm at about 1.5" in the front and my CVs sit almost flat. Was planning on getting the reboot kit

 

Lolwut

 

It's all about whether or not fins of the boots rub. If your CVs sit almost flat I doubt they rub and therefore the boot slide mod, shouldn't be necessary. If I'm wrong and they rub, then it'd be worth your while to do

 

If the boots rub they will tear no matter their quality, just a matter of time. Diff drops just tilt the diff by rotating it forward a tad, they don't drop it down. Not worth the effort

 

If you're tearing through CV boots then I think it's worth it, but I would try the high angle boots first. or whatever cheaper.

What? My regular cv boots tore and the high angle replacements tore. Boot slide mod is the only way to fix this long term.

 

Originally had a 3" lift with diff drop on my 07 when new... after noticing the boot ribs riding switched to a 2" lift with diff drop. Even at that height without the drop a couple of the boot fins touch... with the drop they don't. 16 years later and still on original cv boots (use rubber conditioner/silicone spray.) Just what I've experienced.

 

Comparing your 2nd gen to the OP's 1st gen is an apples to oranges comparison.

 

Any time there is more than 2.5" of lift the boot fins are going to rub. Eventually the boot will tear.

Stretching the boot out a little bit might help with this but the only real long-term solution is to run less lift.

 

Just a heads up. RCVs boots suck worse then OEM. The CV itself is fucking bullet proof but the boots and the joke of a roll clamp they use are shit.

 

I always ran oem CV's and boots with no diff drop when I was IFS with an OME lift. No real issues outside of "normal" wear. I believe I only swapped out one set of boots in 11yrs of having the lift on there.