Grease from axles?

[bunduguy]

Okay, so this is my first time with a Toyota.
Recently put on a OME HD kit, including torsion bars, coils and shocks. Overall I ended up with about a 3" lift, which was unexpected but a pleasant surprise! I got the HD kit in anticipation of an ARB front and rear bumper, and winch in the not too distant future, as well as pulling my line of off-road trailers etc.

so, I see some grease coming out of what looks like the CV joints on the axle. This wasn't happening before. does this have anything to do with the torsion bar installation?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

How many miles does your 100 have Roualeyn?

Any lift is going to cause accelerated wear to the CV boots, that's not to say they won't wear and crack in a stock vehicle, just that it will inevitably happen quicker with the lift. How quick? In my experience its not like its going to happen in weeks or months, rather instead of lasting say 100k in the stock configuration, you'll get 75k out of them with the lift. Buy the boot kits from the Toyota dealer and your back in business.

Now, this might be a good time to consider a diff drop kit, I've used the Slee kit for any I'm doing, easy to install and comes complete with every part you will need. The diff drop kit will alleviate some of the added angle introduced by the lift, not all of it but a fair amount, making those boots last longer. Good luck!

 

[bunduguy]

Thanks Kurt!
Of course you'd know the answer. The LC has 118k on it now. I'll look into that slee kit.
Would it help to just take some tension of the torsion bars? I'm currently 1.5 in lower in the front than the back. Don't suppose I can/should go lower anyway, huh?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I wouldn't go any lower, just fix the boots and consider the diff drop. The dealer has the boot kits in a convenient package, even comes with the grease you'll need.

 

[sleeoffroad]

It is not uncommon for the boots to seep some grease right after a lift. The joint is at a different angle and the amount of space inside is reduced due to the angle of the boot vs straight out. The bellows compress on the one side. So it squeezes grease out of the boots. I would clean it, and see it if comes back. If it does, it might be time to reboot.

As for lift, I recall seeing your truck at the Expo and commented that the truck is really high. I would suggest you check the down travel and make sure it is not lifted too high. Just because it is lower than the back does not help, since the back can be 5" taller.

 

[bunduguy]

Thanks Christo, and Kurt.
Great advice. I'll clean it up and see what happens. I'll also check the downward adjustment.