Knowledge and experience needed

Hi all. This is my first post on here and my dad is having a bit trouble with his truck after he did some mild off roading in the Rockies. Looked under the right side front tire and saw that. Anyone have a clue what it is? My father and I arent incredibly mechanically knowledged, but nothing seems off with the truck just a strange noise and little squeak when pulling out of the driveway on cold start. Help would me much appreciated. Thank you!

 

It looks like a piece of wire next to the ABS Sensor connector, it could be grass...?

And it also seems that the CV Boot is ripped and slinging grease all over.

 

Welcome, looks like your CV axle boot is torn.

 

I don't think the boot is ripped, looks like to me the outer joint housing has cracked and broken.

 

Front another thread here, this is what the outer joint looks like normally. There's a bell that the outer CV joint rotates within and you can see the band clamp that holds the large end of the boot. I think the OP's cracked right in behind the spindle.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...e-replace-front-wheel-bearing-2nd-gen.189356/

 

As @DaveInDenver said, it looks like the CV axle is broken. Though that’s an odd place for it to break.

It also looks like the lower ball joint boot is torn.

Clean it up with some rags/paper towels and take/post more pictures. Confirm the issues sooner rather than later. A ball joint failing on the road is extremely dangerous.

 

OP, don't drive that truck anywhere! If I am correct, it is not safe. Sort of looks like the damage is more than might be expected from mild off road travel. I'm seeing a broken lower mount and ball joint. The pic comes through on my side not the best so I may be an alarmist and could be wrong but I suggest you safely jack up that side, use supplemental supports, and clean all the grease off real good and get a couple of new pictures and post.

 

Ball joint definitely doesn't look right

 

The OP posted his 1 post and boogied. I'll be real surprised if he comes back. If he comes back and confirms that this black section is a big gaping hole, then yes, the outer CV joint is cracked and could lock up at any time if driven.

 

Replace the axle, ball joint, and clean everything up. Inspect the spindle for damage also.

 

This ^

 

What happened to dads teaching sons about cars?
Replace the halfshaft and be done. Good time to check the bearings while you will have all that apart.

 

After DaveInDenver posted I looked again and I completely missed that. I agree with eagle eyes Dave it is broken. Mild off-roading indeed!

We won't tell.

 

I think the PO has answered your question with "My father and I arent incredibly mechanically knowledged, but nothing seems off with the truck ".
I'm beginning to think that their definition of mild offroading may be different than ours.

 

Mild offroading = didn't run it off a 50 ft drop.

 

All I can think of is the ford raptor going off the dirtbike jump.

 

That doesn't look like a hole to me... it looks more like it is coated with grease, making it black... I would guess that the lower ball joint is shot... IMO, something just doesn't look right with it, it appears that the boot on the ball joint is ruptured...

Its hard to tell with all that grease covering everything, though.

-Bear

 

Looks broken to me.

 

I'm trying to figure this out... looking at both pictures in this thread, it looks like the op is missing a piece of the knuckle?





Am I missing something, or is he missing something?

-Bear

 

That part looks normal to me.

Here is a normal one that isn't blurred: