CV Boot leaking

[cyclehead]

My CV boot suddenly started slinging grease from the band on the axle shaft. The boot is perfect with no cracks. The car is rear-engine so I don't have any "turn the steering wheel" options to check for noises. My questions: Does the grease slinging out indicate that the CV joint is overheating and failing? Would you recommend a symptomatic fix by just installing a tighter band to stop the grease coming out? Would you recommend peeling the boot back, and repacking the joint with new grease?
Thanks all!

 

[zzyzzx]

If it were my car I would replace the axle with a new one.

 

[Tboss]

I would replace the axle if it was my car

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The grease is coming out for one of two reasons: Something ripped the CV boot or the CV boot got old and dried up and cracked.

There are kits out there to rig up a boot ... but they don't always work well.

 

[zzyzzx]

How many miles on this axle? I don't trust them past a certain point. They wear internally and get loose, even if the boot doesn't break.

 

[Kool1]

On my 03 CRV I replaced the front axle only 20,000 miles ago. Last week I noticed that the cv joint leaked due to a slightly loose band clamp. I check my undercarriage often and caught the leak early. I replaced the clamp with a universal Dorman clamp for around $5.00 and all is well. Getting the old clamp off was difficult as a wire cutter couldn't cut the old clamp and a tin snip could not grasp the old clamp without possibly ripping the boot. I had to borrow a special tool from a friend to get the old clamp off. The new clamp is only like a metal tie wrap; not a thick qualtiy part like the Honda part but it does the job.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: Kool1
On my 03 CRV I replaced the front axle only 20,000 miles ago. Last week I noticed that the cv joint leaked due to a slightly loose band clamp. I check my undercarriage often and caught the leak early. I replaced the clamp with a universal Dorman clamp for around $5.00 and all is well. Getting the old clamp off was difficult as a wire cutter couldn't cut the old clamp and a tin snip could not grasp the old clamp without possibly ripping the boot. I had to borrow a special tool from a friend to get the old clamp off. The new clamp is only like a metal tie wrap; not a thick qualtiy part like the Honda part but it does the job.


They ran out of hose clamps at Home Depot???

 

[Kool1]

I thought about using a worm drive hose clamp versus the Dorman metal zip tie clamp. I decided on using the Dorman clamp as it said on the package that it's for CV joint boots.

 

[cyclehead]

I'll try the dorman clamp. My boots are in excellent condition, and the axle only has 25K miles. I understand that hardware store clamps are too wide. Would you suggest adding grease, or repacking with grease?

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
If it were my car I would replace the axle with a new one.
+1

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: Kool1
On my 03 CRV I replaced the front axle only 20,000 miles ago. Last week I noticed that the cv joint leaked due to a slightly loose band clamp. I check my undercarriage often and caught the leak early. I replaced the clamp with a universal Dorman clamp for around $5.00 and all is well. Getting the old clamp off was difficult as a wire cutter couldn't cut the old clamp and a tin snip could not grasp the old clamp without possibly ripping the boot. I had to borrow a special tool from a friend to get the old clamp off. The new clamp is only like a metal tie wrap; not a thick qualtiy part like the Honda part but it does the job.


They ran out of hose clamps at Home Depot??? +1

 

[gomes512]

Depending on the mileage and how early you caught it I'd just pack some more CV grease in it and throw a new band on it, the local Autozone by my place rents the tool to get the band on there.

Some of the folk around here drive on joints that make more clatter than a passing freight train, I'm sure your no where near that point.

I've tried worm drive clamps before but they pinch the boot under the screw and allow leaks.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: cyclehead
I'll try the dorman clamp. My boots are in excellent condition, and the axle only has 25K miles. I understand that hardware store clamps are too wide. Would you suggest adding grease, or repacking with grease?

Depends how much has leaked out. If it's only a little, then just wipe everything off and install the new band as tight as you can get it. The problem is that, beyond seeing what obviously got slung out, it's going to be really difficult to tell how much new grease to add. a joint that's a bit low on grease will still run for a very long time. I'm not sure what would happen if it had too much grease.

Try and get the boot/shaft joins as dry as you can before installing the new band. Any grease or film will allow seepage for a very long time. That's not harmful by itself, but it will look unsightly.