CV boot diagnosis on jackstand

Joined
Mar 30, 2020
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66
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
2008 Land Rover LR2. All original OEM CV axles. 168K miles. When I recently had new tires put on, they told me there was a small leak near the large clamp on the outer boot of the front left CV axle. Now it's spewing grease which is very thin in consistency, almost like oil. No clicking noises while driving/turning, so the joint is probably OK. Possibly some portion of the grease liquified and seeped out from the clamp, leaving the thicker grease in the joint.

I lifted that corner of the car and put a jackstand under the frame. Then removed the wheel so I would have space to take a closer look. I cannot see or feel any tears in the boot, it appears intact. The clamp also feels tight.

However, I can't check the entire boot because the axle droops when I have the car on a jackstand and the wheel off (see photo). This causes the boot to bend at an angle which compresses the top ridges. It's nice and straight with the wheel on and sitting on the ground, but then I have a difficulty getting access.

Any suggestions on how I can prevent the axle from drooping when I lift the car? I'm thinking of removing the boot clamp, repacking the joint with grease, and putting a new clamp on. But even that will be difficult if the axle and boot are not straight while I'm working on it.
 

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I tried turning it but it didn't budge. You would think at that point I would have realized that it was in Park and not Neutral! So that's the obvious solution to inspect the other side of the boot. Forums like this offer that second pair of eyes that we all need once in a while.

For my least-cost solution of adding some grease and replacing the clamp, is there any way to get the axle oriented straight?
 
I tried turning it but it didn't budge. You would think at that point I would have realized that it was in Park and not Neutral! So that's the obvious solution to inspect the other side of the boot. Forums like this offer that second pair of eyes that we all need once in a while.

For my least-cost solution of adding some grease and replacing the clamp, is there any way to get the axle oriented straight?
Put the car on jack stands then use the jack to raise the control arm so the axle is level.

But unless you are going to replace the boot with a speedy boot, you are not really addressing the issue.

The real solution is to remove the axle and repair or replace it.
 
The boot needs replaced, You can see the grease splatter is in-board of the clamp. It only take a very small hole to make a big mess.
Had this exact thing with my Accord. Even after I pulled the shaft out and had it on the bench I could never find the hole the grease was coming out of. It got replaced and the old one chunked. Made it 260k, figured it didn't owe me anything.
 
Be sure to get a quality kit that includes the new inner c-clip

I used a universal (not split) kit on an '01 Ranger and the stub came off with great difficulty, trashing the clip in the process. I saw the Motorcraft kit included EVERYTHING but didn't have time to wait on it.
 
I really don't want to give up my OEM axle for a pinhole leak in the boot or a bad clamp. I'm going to pull the wheel and make a second try for a closer inspection. This time, trans in Neutral. I'll also try jacking up the lower control arm to straighten out the drive axle.

Thanks for all the input. I had two questions and got answers to both within a few hours of my post. This forum is a great resource!
 
Put the car on jack stands then use the jack to raise the control arm so the axle is level.

But unless you are going to replace the boot with a speedy boot, you are not really addressing the issue.

The real solution is to remove the axle and repair or replace it.
This EXACT thing recently happened with my ride. Right rear axle started splattering a small amount of grease even though the boot/clamp looked to be intact. Service guy said the best approach would be to replace the axle/boot since it would have to come out anyway for any reasonable fix and I agreed as that's one less thing to deal with in the future.
 
Re-Boot your axle ... its not that difficult - if you have a reasonable set of tools and are mildly mechanically inclined you can do it. even if you have to pay LR to do it, reboot yours not aftermarket rebuilt junk. Use an OE boot.
 
I really don't want to give up my OEM axle for a pinhole leak in the boot or a bad clamp. I'm going to pull the wheel and make a second try for a closer inspection. This time, trans in Neutral. I'll also try jacking up the lower control arm to straighten out the drive axle.

Thanks for all the input. I had two questions and got answers to both within a few hours of my post. This forum is a great resource!
If you want to save the OEM axle -- and you're not getting any noise or bad vibrations yet -- remove the axle from the car and put new boots on it.
 
Re-Boot your axle ... its not that difficult - if you have a reasonable set of tools and are mildly mechanically inclined you can do it. even if you have to pay LR to do it, reboot yours not aftermarket rebuilt junk. Use an OE boot.
Well you can also always get OEM axles not much more expensive than the aftermarket 'junk'...
 
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