Can you 4wd with a leaking cv boot?

I found some sludge leaking from the end of the cv boot on my 98 sr5 the night before a 4wd camp trip. Was wondering how bad it is to 4wd with it leaking. Obviously not great but wondering if anyone thinks it could handle this mission without leaving me stranded. Might have to bail the plan but wanted to hear some peoples opinions first.

 

Depends do you feel lucky ?

Who can say some drive for several months with torn boots.

If it is leaking past the clamp and the boot is not torn another clamp might help.

No matter what anyone says your the one that makes the call.

 

Like @Wyoming09 said, no one knows as it'll be a guessing game.

I noticed right away when my boots tore (happened on one end, then a month later the other). One thing I noticed is I heard a clicking sound as time went on. Replaced each axle within a month of it happening but I did drive out of town each week over 200 miles away.

Kept a replacement cv axle with me in case I needed to perform a side road repair each time I drove

Would I off road with a torn boot though?

Nope.

 

These were mine when it happened -





I will say, I don't have nearly as much experience with tearing boots like @eon_blue does

Maybe he can offer some more information.

 

You'll probably be fine. A torn boot doesn't immediately effect the axle unless maybe you're submerging it underwater. The problem is that eventually all the grease gets flung out and dirt gets in, eventually it will fail. Hard to say without knowing how bad if a tear it is or how long it's been that way.

I've done trails with a leaky/torn boot before and no issues but always carried a spare axle and tools with me in case it needed to get changed out

 

Here’s a pic. No water I’ll be going through on this 4wd trail but tons of dust. I’m assuming since the sludge isn’t discolored it wasn’t been going on for that long. Maybe if I just take it slow it will survive. What you guys think about the pic?

 

yeah you'll be fine, I wouldn't worry about it much. If the boot had separated completely and exposed the bearings inside that would be one thing, but that just looks like a small tear. Even small tears make big messes because the axle is always rotating while driving (unless you have manual hubs).

Carry a spare CV with you just in case, I always do no matter what kind of offroad trip it is. They are pretty easy to change out.

 

Awe fuck that's minor.

Just take an extra cv axle with you; I'd bet you wouldn't need to replace it anyway as mine was way worse as you can see above.

 

It actually doesn't even look like a tear, just looks like the clamp came loose. You might be able to take the old one off, slide the boot back into place and reclamp it. At least just for this trip.

 

Interesting to see the OP have a 3" suspension lift when those coilovers are factory ride height.

OP sus

 

Another thing to consider is do you plan on rebooting that CV?

A spare CV lives in my truck along with the tools to replace it.

If I'm planning on rebooting it I replace the whole CV immediately. I don't want dirt and debris getting in there and causing extra wear.

If I'm not going to reboot it like I would with my O'riellys spare that has a lifetime warranty I replace it eventually. But I still don't wait super long.

 

Maybe a 3" spacer lift but the cv boot angles look OK, sus indeed

 

Yeah I put the lift in a few months ago. How is it interesting? Please explain. I don’t know a whole lot about it but I just wanted the vehicle to be more off road capable. If the clamp came loose, this is a smaller problem than a boot tear? And manageable?

 

What kind of lift? Was just interesting cause you have the stock/OEM coilovers on still it looks like, and usually a 3" lift puts a lot of strain on the CV axles/boots...which is probably why you had this one start leaking.

In my experience, 2.5" lift is the max you should go with these trucks unless they are 2wd. Anything over that and it just causes too many problems especially with the CV boots.

But that's another subject really...as far as what you're asking right now, I think you'll be fine for your trip but I would carry a spare and the proper tools just in case.

You can pick up a cheap CV axle for a spare at any AutoZone or Oreilleys, the basic ones are around $60 bucks and work as trail spares.

 

Yeah it’s a 3inh tuff country lift. I didn’t know about the strain on cv axles. That’s a bummer. As for the clamp. I’m not mechanic nor do I have an off-road jack. Might just go and slowly crawl down. Thanks for all the input guys. It made me feel a whole lot better