Axle/wheel question....BURIED myself yesterday

Bushwhacking around some class 6 roads in NH yesterday. Picked the worst spot to turn around and ended up sinking the front end to the frame...

After hitchiking home to get my buddys truck and a winch, I was able to get myself out (not sure how to post videos)

Anyways, this morning when I was rinsing off the mud I noticed one of the seals(?) at the end of the axle right before the wheel is squished in. Tried freeing it up with no luck. There's a little play when I grab it with my hand but the other side seems to have some play in it as well. Haven't been able to figure out what exactly this does and if I need to have it fixed immediately or if I'm fine driving with it for a while. Just driven around town today with no issues. Here are pictures from both sides for comparison. Does anyone have any experience with this??!!
Thanks

 

Do you Have a YouTube acct?

If so you can upload a vid there, hit "share" and "copy link"
Then just paste the link in here.

 

It looks like the boot was compromised from what I can see. I would replace it and ensure your CV joint is cleaned and relubed. Moisture/dirt can wreck some havoc if left unattended.

 

This ^^^^^^^^^^

 

Looks to me like the boot just slipped on the axle and is twisted. If it doesnt have any holes in it try to take a screwdriver and a hammer and tap on the clamp to "untwist" it

 

Probably twisted it trying to get unstuck. I would drain the front diff and replace the gear oil while you are at it if the boot is damaged it will trash the CV in short order you maybe able to twist back into shape with water pump pliers on the clamp.

 

ok thanks guys

 

Maxtrax. Just saying

 

Before I spent money I'd make sure you really have damage. Maybe you do, maybe not. Can't say for sure by the pic.

 

Maxtrax are not getting you out of that

 

Yeah it was so soupy, I think the winch was the only way. Also don't have Maxtraxs so I guess I'll never know

I wasn't able to twist it back in place with pliers...I'm taking it in to get inspected on Wed so I'm going to have my mechanic take a look. No grease or any leaks from the boot so I think I'll be fine until then

 

To me it looks like all your mechanic will have to do is take the boot off, replace/repack it with grease, and refasten it. Should not be a big deal.

 

Oh nice, your boot actually got sucked into the CV joint. Very talented! If it doesn’t come out by releasing both clamps on the boot you will need to pull the wheel off, unbolt the axle nut, swing the hub away and pull on the end of the outer CV to release without tearing. Bravo!

 

Update...Once we got the truck up on the lift I could see a little grease coming out of the CV joint so that needs to be replaced. Also noticed the U-Joint was SUPER loose so those are both getting replaced on Monday. Kind of a bummer but I'm over 110,000 miles on this thing and these are the first repairs I've had to make and I pretty much caused them myself.

 

When you say the U joint is loose, is there play rotationally or does it just move in and out? In and out (wheel towards differential) is normal, but if you grab the joint and rotate back and forth along the wheel’s axis and feel/hear play that’s cause for repair.

 

Yeah there's lots of play when I rotate it back and forth. The truck has also been shaking a little bit and squeaking when i accelerate to about 10mph so I believe this is what was causing this.