CV axle question (Swap or run it?)

Getting ready to go on a road trip shortly. Was under the truck the other day doing an oil change and tending to the yokes. I noticed a bunch of what looks to be CV axle grease on the inside of the driver's side wheel and all over the knuckle area. The CVs were replaced about 3 weeks ago (about 600 miles). I triple checked the boots and there are no rips. All I can assume is it is pushing out of the clamp nearest the hub. I couldn't move that clip, but I can't find anywhere else it could be coming from.

I am feeling a bit lazy and tired so I need some outside advice. Do I run the axle as is or do I swap it out for another one before I leave this weekend? Got them from Napa and it is supposedly warrantied as that is how I replaced both of them that have been on the truck for the last 4 years or so.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

You say the CVs were replaced 3 weeks ago - did you replace them, or did a shop do it? Were the old CVs replaced because they had torn boots (and presumably slinged grease all over the place) and maybe the old grease wasn't all cleaned up after the repairs?

If you don't know, then you could clean off that grease on the wheel wells and drive around some more to see if it comes back. If it does, replace/fix. If not, then at least you can decide if you feel good running it for your trip.

This also depends on the type of trip you are doing. Weekend camping somewhere (relatively) near civilization? OK yeah I wouldn't sweat it. Expedition to the Arctic Circle? Yeah that's different. No one-size-fits-all answer but I'd start simple by cleaning up and checking back first.

 

I did them. I also did the first Napa set as well in 2021. The first set’s boot tore about a year after the installation with 20k miles or so. I proceeded to drive on them with zero issues for another 3 years and 50k miles. I only decided to replace them as I figured maybe it was time as all 4 boots were torn pretty badly.

I am doing a 5k mile road trip and figured I would change them. The axles Napa sold in 2021 were clearly a different manufacturer whereas these are by made by Trakmotive.

There was no grease prior to the install. Any grease from the original axles stopped coming out a long time ago.

 

Yeah if you are doing a 5k mile trip and have mystery grease coming from your axles (or somewhere else) you'll want to look into that. Seeing as you just installed these new units might be worth having Napa exchange it under warranty for a new one that (presumably) still has all the grease inside.

Another option would be to get an OEM unit from car-part from a low-mileage 3rd gen if you can find one. Once upon a time there was someone on the forums acting as a middle-man service for finding these pulls but I can't remember where that thread is now. Price was pretty decent for those too and OEM is generally the best quality. Good option for having a trail spare on this route as well.

 

Do you have an aggressive lift? The failure of all 4 joint boots seems suspect.

 

Stock

 

Very odd.