CV Boot Tearing Theory

So I have a 2010 4wd access cab with 108k miles on it. I added an OME Hvy kit and an ARB bumper back in 2020. I have been having only in the past year or so been tearing through CV boots, I've had to replace three of my CV's in less than a year and a half and now have two boots, both sides, are now torn and it's in the middle of winter and will have to replace the both sides again.

I have measured the angles and confirmed with two mechanic friends and they look fine.

So my brilliant, half wit idea is this. I have Good Year Duratrac tires that I bought back in 2018, they have 60k+ miles on them with plenty of traction left, but, they have gotten to the point that the rubber is becoming hard, loud road noise, noticeably rougher ride, etc. They are also 10ply so that makes things even more rigid.

So could the age and harsher ride be causing my CV boots to be destroyed? Right now I am looking at approximately $830.00 for OEM replacements, do I need to add another $1000-$1200 for new tires?

Thanks for any help, this is making me look at new trucks....

 

The tires are not causing the boots to tear. If it’s the inner boots. It’s probably due to the lift. If it’s the outer boots. It’s probably cheap aftermarket boots.

You might look into the cv axles with mild lift boots.

Or do the boot slide mod???

 

The boots are OEM, or at least they should be. And the angles should be well within acceptable ranges. And it seems to be random upper and lower.

 

How are they tearing?
With the rings (rubbing) or across the rings?

 

Here ar
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Passenger and driver side pics. See anything that jumps out?

 

I will say that your inner and outer boots are closer together than mine are. However a lot of people on here will make theirs like this to help prevent the "folds"(?) of the boot rubbing together and tearing this way. I keep my boots a little further apart than yours and both my inner boots lasted about 5 years before they wore through with contact on themselves and tore... my cv angles I would say are worse than yours as well... if your boots are OEM I'm not sure why they would be going to shit so fast.

 

Your shock bolts are backwards, now that isn’t what’s causing the tearing just something I noticed. Looks to me like the one is really dry rubber and the axle shafts are rusty. Maybe tread the rubber with some 303 or equivalent; your undercarriage looks like it’s seen some harsh conditions.

 

maybe try a different grease for the boots? just thinking the grease might be deterorating the rubber causing it to tear prematurely, not sure but worth a shot.

 

Never understood why people run way higher load rating tires than the total weight of the vheicle calls for. Just causes premature tread wear, stiffer ride wears out bushings faster, and doesn’t do anything for off-roading.

But i agree with the others that the lift is causing the boot wear.

 

The heavier tires are sometimes the only option for certain sized tires. I'm not sure how a heavier load range E would have worse tread wear than a lighter C rated tire.

Also, a higher load rating generally means a greater ply count which provides additional puncture resistance offroad.

 

On the long travel buggies we used to run, we got rid of the metal band clamps on the axle and used zip ties that were just barely tight enough to keep the grease in. This allowed the axle side of the boot to slide on the axle and find it's own happy spot where the folds weren't too tight or being pulled apart. It might be worth a try sanding the rust off the axles and going looser on those clamps.

 

The last time I had them replaced the damage w

That was done by the mechanics. I trust them to do the job right, but on the way home I was going to go through my paper work to see if they say OEM and not some off brand. As I said before, things were fine for a long while until I had to change out my original CV's. I would say these have 10-14k miles on them and I primarily on the Hwy in Montana, with some maybe 10% of driving off road to go camping. I use my CanAm to go places I don't want to take my daily driver

 

That was a recommendation plus a helluva discount from where I was working at the time. I would rather have a lower load rating, but E, 10ply, was all they came in. Like said in a reply, I do mostly Hwy driving in Montana, so going with an LT with a softer feel would be a lot better.

 

I would have to ask what the mechanics are using. Also maybe trying to put something on the boots and shaft to keep them from rusting and drying out like this.

 

If you had a private shop replace them, chances are very good that you got aftermarket parts - no matter what they say. I don't know of a single private shop around here that uses OEM parts unless nothing else is available. When customers ask, they fall back on the old argument that any part designed for a Toyota is just as good as OEM - and most folks buy it.

 

And also, after reading and looking up what the angle of the CV shaft should be, that is not an extreme angle, or have I been looking in all the wrong places? This is just driving me bonkers. seems like every 10k miles I'm having boot issues

 

I know them personally and they are friends, but, I do agree on what you said. I am probably going to order them myself and bring them in and see if that helps. I had my original OEM CV's for 10 years without an issue. Go figure

 

That does make sense, what type of zip tie are you using? Something the HVAC people would use?

 

@Rabby
Are they replacing the CV or just the boot? The boots look too far extended. Cv angle looks normal. Something isnt right if its blowing boots

 

I am going to go though my records and ask that same question. I would hope they replace everything but now that you say it, I wonder if they don't replace the boots that aren't cracked, just the damaged ones. I do know they replace the shafts, they are new when when I d them replaced last time. Maybe they just cleaned the old boots to make them all shiny.

I am going to give them a call today and find out. I have spoken with the owner and lead tech and they both say angles are right, but they are baffled too. And yes they are a reputable shop that I trust..... But I am thinking that they could be using non OEM parts.

Can anyone recommend a place I can order them without getting my pants pulled down over the price, or possibly going with a CV axles with mild lift boot like TnShooter recommended?