Quick question for the other first gen guys. Just noticed when under the truck that both of the inner cv boots are slinging a little grease out. It's not a lot but its there. Not sure if it was like that when I got it. Anyway, from what I gather its probably best to just replace both of them now...but being that they haven't slung out too much it seems, if I could do the hose clamp mod now and salvage what I've got I suppose I could replace them later when they were an actual problem, or as money allows.
What are your thoughts?
If they are slinging grease I would assume that they are torn and not just throwing grease out of the end. Mine were. Luckily CV grease is real nasty, thick, waterproof stuff. Even with torn boots (mine were torn when I bought the truck so who knows how long they were torn)- my inner CV axles were still coated in grease and protected from the elements.
If they are torn, replace them. I replaced mine with Bates style 930 boots from Kartek. They are about twice as big as the stock boots, and the rubber was much more flexible than the stock boots with 90k. The new boots only clamp on the inside- the side over the axle is left unclamped to "breathe". My truck has about 3" of lift in the front along with the 1" diff drop. The increased angle on the CVs in combination with these larger boots have completely fixed the problem.
It was fairly easy to change the boots, just took about 4 hours of my time since you have to remove the axles from the differential. Not hard to do, and I'd recommend changing the boots- especially if you are sitting a little taller in the front and play offroad. Might as well do it right.
Here's how to go about changing them-
I bought the Bates 930 boots from Kartek and their clamps. Call them and they'll set you up with the right parts. I bought two packs of CV joint grease and borrowed/rented a 36mm socket from the auto parts store.
Jack the truck up, remove wheels. Remove the rusted on dust cover from hub with a chisel and hammer. Remove cotter pin and 36mm axle nut with a cheater bar while having someone holding the brakes and steering wheel.
Remove the 4 bolts that hold the lower arm to the steering knuckle and pull back the steering knuckle with brake rotor, spindle and all still attached. Simultaneously shimmy the CV axle out of the hub. They make a special service tool that kind of looks like a crowbar to hammer the CV axle out of the differential. You can find a description of how to do this in your FSM. I had someone hold the rotor/spindle to the side while I give the CV half shaft a good tug, and it slips out of the differential relatively easy. Have a bucket to catch the about a half quart of gear oil that leaks out of the differential. I don't see the need to purchase a SST or hit anything with a hammer, but some people will swear that you do. Both driver and passengers sides came out with a solid tug.
If you have a vise on a bench, use it. Cut away the torn inner boot and clean off enough CV grease from the inside of the joint where that boot was to see the snap ring. Use snap ring pliers to expand the snap ring and that joint slides right off. Slide the new boot on and fill it up with CV grease and slide the joint back onto the half shaft, lining up the splines. Clamp the new boot on.
Have someone again hold the steering knuckle/spindle/brake combo to the side, line up the splines and slide the cv half shaft into the differential. It will slide in about half way. Put the 36mm nut back on, grab a block of wood and a hammer and gently tap it in the rest of the way. Button the rest back up the way you took it apart and top off the gear oil in the diff and you're done.
30,000 miles later with a lot of wheeling and I am not throwing grease anywhere- my boots look healthy, and my CV axles are in great shape.
