badtib2000

Okay guys sorry for dumb question but I got grease on the inside of my wheel on passenger side and there is alot on the boot aswell,
Is this the cv joint that is gone/busted/worn or w/e its called. The wheel bearing wouldnt be this would it?

Please help as this is my daily driver for right now I dont want it to turn into something bigger... Thanks for any knowledge that you may have about this...

dddude55

If there is grease on the backside of the wheel it is most likely a torn boot. Doesn't necessarily mean the cv joint is bad but the boot that holds in the grease that protects it is getting tossed away and the cv joint will go bad if not fixed....

Now from what I've read it's better to replace the axle becuase to replace that boot you have to take the axle apart and this can strip the spindle. They make universal boots as well that you fill with grease and snap it onto the axle but these are crap from what I hear.

I had both my boots break and I left it alone, figured nothing happened yet it wont happen lol. Well they started clicking. When I did replace them the cv joint wouldn't hol dany weight at all, I'm surprised it stayed together.

Anyway I'm just telling you what I think I remember from some posts I read a while back lol. I may be right, or I may be wrong......

Axles for our car were like $80 each after I took the old ones back for the core charge so it's not an expensive fix... but not too cheap either.

badtib2000

So you are saying that the cv joint should be fine, just a torn boot.
Okay thats fine but as you said i have to take the axle off to replace the boot so I should probaly go ahead and replace the axle too right? Or the axle would be fine?? I dont think it is making any noises yet but I really dont know how long it has been torn or even how..also is this a dealer item????

I am really short on money right now but I dont want to take off axle,replace boot,then later take off axle again to replace when I could have done it the first time...IDK im confused...Ill think about it..any extra opinions would bee great though............

Bullfrog

Replace your axle and don't worry about if your patch to your boot worked.

dddude55

I went a good amount of time on 2 torn boots before it started clicking. I'd say 6 months. It all depends on the size of the tear and how fast the axle is loosing grease. But I would sy it's definitely better to replace the axle.

You will know when it is bad because you will hear it start to make a clicking sound when making turns. I forget which way it works but I believe since it's your PS axle that is torn it will click when making right turns.

Once it starts clicking the damage on the cv joint will be pretty bad so it's your last warning before anything bad may happen. I'm not sure if they will actually come apart but you don't want to be driving down the road at 60 mph when it happens. Because with no grease in there it is metal on metal contact and the joint will slowly grind down.

I went about a week with clicking in both directions before I had mine fixed.

But at any auto parts store you should be able to get remanufactured axles and they are like $180 but whne you get the old one off and bring it back in the box the new one comes in you get like $100 back. Look around because some shops cost more and others less.

I had a Mexican shop replace both my axles for $90 but if you don't have any of those or don't speak spanish then it will be like $300 per axle in labor at a shop.

Edit--> The time I went before anything happened is not a set amount of time it takes. Your's may be ruined faster or slower. Please don't take what happened with me to be how long you have until things begin to happen. Lots of factors decid how fast it will go bad such as how long it was like this before you noticed it. It is best to get it fixed as fast as possible, but it should give you enough time to save some money for this. End warning lol

b1gb4ll3r

i just replaced my driver side cv boot. i was rollin around with the old boot torn for like 4 or 5 months. my wheel was full of grease. if your gonna change the boot yourself do not buy the cv split boot repair kit. that thing is a total piece. get an actual boot made for your car or a universal 1 that fits. boot is like $10. i pulled the whole axle out & popped the joint off for the new boot to go on. gear oil gonna come out yo tranny too btw. so i drained that also & put some fresh stuff in. careful the axle seal on the transmission when pulling or putting axle back in. i had to replace that too cuz was leaking. $7
P.S. if your gonna do the boot replace yourself & you pull the axle out, make sure you hit the joint on the outer edge so you don't damage the cage inside or the bearings.

badtib2000

I really dont know how long its been torn but I will try to get it fixed as soon as possible. How long would it take to get serious? I drive only about 20 miles a day/30 min. and thats it.
but it could have been torn for more than a month though.

stealth

mine has been gone on the ps side for more than a year, seeing as i bought the car with the problem, and have driven almost 6k miles with it like that, and when its the ps side, you should hear it when taking left turns, at least thats how it is in my car, and i just noticed this week that my ds is gone now too, and am hoping to replace them soon

dddude55

Like I was saying in my post, there really isn't a set amount of time it will take to go bad. Mine took about 6 months of driving 4 miles to and from work, and then 60 miles a night as me and friends went around town... every night lol.