CVJ Red Silicone Inner Boots vs. Boot Stretch/Slide Mod

erggg I've gone back and forth in my head about 50 times tonight trying to decide between rebooting vs buying reman'ed CVJ axles....

I like the idea of sticking with my OEM axles and cleaning something old up and making it new again, which would be a satisfying project plus saving lots of $$$.....but new CVJ axles would be a clean job and I wouldn't need to worry about my current axles starting to fail/click due to deterioration while driving with torn boots...

I did just drive around tonight with my windows down to see if I could hear any clicking from the joints and heard nothing...

 

Is the truck your only mode of transportation?

If not I'd tear those CVs out, remove the old boots, and inspect. Let that guide your decision. The rebooting process is really not that bad. Worst case they're both toast and then you order CVJs. Best case you save like $500+

 

I have a bike! haha and my girlfriend's car sometimes...

I know you already gave me advice on how to inspect the CVs: "Just articulate the CV joints on either end while rotating the axle shafts with your other hand and everything should be totally smooth (no grinding or clicking/clunking). Also if you find any metal chunks in the remaining cv grease, then you'll know they're ruined"

Should I be able to articulate the CV joints and rotate the axle shaft after I remove the axle shaft from the hub (and get the hub out of the way)? (for reference, here is a video at the point in the process I'm talking about)

I'm wondering because it seems like maybe I could inspect things at that point and make a decision before I go any further?

 

Yes I believe you should be able to. Spinning that CV while its still in the diff on the inner joint end could be difficult by hand (particularly in what is a somewhat tight area to work around in). If you remove the inner joint end too and then try and inspect it while it sits in there, draped over the LCA, that should be easy enough and very telling of whether or not they can be saved.

 

With my lift, my brand new OEM axles only lasted a few weeks before the boots ripped. I rebooted them with OEM boots and the bootslide mod, never ripped again.