Am I screwed? Need opinion

Keep it on the road outta mud and sand....drive it home or for another week or two.....get it fixed....no harm no foul.

 

I’d drive it.

 

If it’ll make you feel more comfortable driving it home, go to a local auto parts store and get some grease and lube it up so you don’t get metal to metal contact if the grease in there is already depleted. I’m sure you’ll be fine

 

I would just put new CVs in...the joints inside the boots have been exposed to the elements and you don't know how long they'll last even if you replace the boots. The tiniest bit of dirt getting in there can severely compromise them.
In order to change the boots you have to remove the axle anyway so you might as well just replace them.

 

If you’re getting these replaced, then driving on them is fine. You’ll just have to grab a can of brake cleaner and clean all the grease from underside.

 

I drove my 4Runner for 3 years with torn boots. Eventually the CVs started making noise. Still drove on the freeway at 70mph. One day I replaced both axle shaft. Dont worry about it and just fix it one day. Also a diff drop on 2nd and 3rd gen is a waste of money. Research this and you will see. Good luck with your truck.

 

This.
https://www.cvjreman.com/product-category/toyota-truck-axles/tacoma/

 

YOU'LL BE FINE, Only when they start clicking should you worry (can damage bearings, and seals if they bind).. the clicking is a sign of low grease, and wear of the 3 ball bearings races against the cage/internals of the CV.. You could probably drive it a good 500 miles before they start clicking. just turn down the radio, open the window, and listen for any front end noises.

 

That upper ball joint is how mine looks when off the ground. You probably don’t have much if any droop.

 

wrap the ripped boot with duct tape and drive very cautiously home

 

Well, I can only speak from my experience with 36,000 trouble free miles on my lift that’s not the case. If it were wrong I’d be replacing shit like many others.

 

When you're in 2wd the CV axles serve no purpose, there's nothing wrong with driving on busted boots in 2wd. No need to be cautious or anything like that. Just drive it home when you can and get them replaced.

You'll need to lower your lift, high angle boots are just a band aid. The angles on the cv shafts are too severe and the axles/joints themselves are a lot more likely to break when under that kind of stress.

Or put limit straps on your front end but that seems overkill unless you do a lot of hard wheeling

 

They all can go bad eventually, this is the reason why one should stick with 2wd’s...

 

yes we can all see what that lift did for the OPs offroad capabilities, now he's off to spend a ton of money to get it repaired

 

they all can go bad, perhaps he should have gone for a solid axle mod with that 3” lift too.

 

Drove mine everyday on the interstate for a year with my axels looking worse than that. Just because the boot is ripped doesn’t mean they are “broke” order some more and replace them, it’s not hard.

 

I guess I should’ve rephrased my post to “ is this drive able on the freeway for one hour back home” Haha.

I know these boots are torn. First time happening since lifting my truck over a year ago. Lesson I learned today: less pre-load.

 

Yes, your good to drive home. Fix it yourself or have a mechanic do it. Just as you had said previously.