On my Lexus there is a small leak of grease from the inner boot (small end) and was wondering replacing it or changing the clamp. Any suggestions on boots as I intend to keep my OEM axles in the event the boots are replaced. The Lexus/Toyota dealerships don't even carry them unbelievable we have thousands of Toyota cars in our metro and they don't carry boots, wonder what they do for a CV repair job.
CV boot (small end) grease leak
- Thread starter MaximaGuy
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They just replace them. Too many manhours in rebuilding it.
My sons CRV had a leak there. I put a new clamp about a year ago. It has been fine since.
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I'm like you. I'm a DIY'er and if I can fix it then that's what I do. It's a horribly messy job replacing CV axle boots but it can be fun in a sadistic way. Roll up your sleeves, get some paper towels and get wrenching. Buy both inner and out boot kits and replace them both and enjoy your beer when you're done.
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Are you kidding? The Toyota techs love to sell reboot jobs since they pay well (lots of hours) and the entire axles are pricey.
Year and miles on car?
if its lot of hours then how much are you really saving? if I spend 500 in labor then I just spend the extra for a brand new axle, instead of band-aiding some worn out parts.
That's what I intend to do and only replace them if they are torn - will ask my installer to put a new clamp and call it a day.
I just replaced a CV on my Toyota.
Toyota will want ~$400 for the new axle and several hours of labor for the replacement. They likely WONT reboot it (neither dealer here would, ymmv).
You can purchase re-boot kits FROM Toyota ($50 online for OEM) which is what I did.
You’ll need two sets of boot clamp pliers (one for the ear clamps and one earless style), lock ring pliers, and some detailed info on your particular CV to get them apart.
2011 ES 350 and 138K miles
I can tell you guys that the local Hyundai dealership here wouldn't even touch it. They just wanted to replace it. Went through it with wifes Santa Fe.
Of course, YMMV.
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I would just replace the clamp and keep an eye on it, and only reboot if the boot is torn etc. Good call on keeping the factory axle - unnecessary parts replacement is wasteful
3hrs to pull the axle and reboot it but 2 hrs to just pull the axle and put a new one in. That doesn't seem accurate. A good tech should be able to pull and replace in less than an hour. its a very simple job, especially working at chest height with the vehicle on a lift.
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