Exploding u-joint boot

[Lyon]

Well I went down to the tire store today and they wanted to check the clearance of my GMT900 17" wheels on the 2015 brakes (fit fine, btw). And they discovered a little surprise! The rubber boot that holds the grease in around the u-joint had ripped and there was grease everywhere! They checked the other side and it was fine.

Anyway, I called the dealer, emailed them the picture and they're ordering a new axle for me. I'm told it's totally safe to drive one for the time being. It's got 150 miles on it. In the end I don't anticipate it being a problem but it's kind of annoying for now.

 

[OR VietVet]

Holds grease around the outer "CV" joint. Constant velocity joint. Does suck. Every now and then can get a bad new part or it got damaged during shipment and shows now. My brother got a new Ford Diesel years ago and did not make it home from the dealer because the fuel pump went bad. Dead of winter in K.C. Was very cold. Neat thing was, he works for Ford Motor Co.

 

[Lyon]

Holds grease around the outer "CV" joint. Constant velocity joint. Does suck. Every now and then can get a bad new part or it got damaged during shipment and shows now. My brother got a new Ford Diesel years ago and did not make it home from the dealer because the fuel pump went bad. Dead of winter in K.C. Was very cold. Neat thing was, he works for Ford Motor Co.

There we go, I didn't think I got all the tech words right. Maybe a mod can change the title for me?

Anyway, the service guy tells me I'm good to drive it to Portland and then Hood River and back next weekend. I'm still hoping the part comes in early enough next week that they'll have time to replace it. How involved is this kind of job?

 

[OR VietVet]

Pretty simple with the right tools and know how. Remove tire, caliper, rotor, large nut at end of joint sticking through the hub, separate the lower ball joint, unbolt the inner joint from trans, pry the lower control arm down and away from spindle, lean the hub out and slip spline out of hub and drop out axle, reverse to reassemble. Make sure you check to see if they damaged the lower ball joint boot when separating. It holds grease and keeps water out of lower ball joint. I could do it in less than an hour on a lift.



By the way, where in Oregon are you?

 

[Lyon]

I'm in Eugene. The job will be done under warranty (it's 2 days old) by Brad's down in Cottage Grove where I bought it. Mostly I wanted to know what to expect as far as how long it will take.

 

[OR VietVet]

As you can see by my signature I am in Eugene, also. I have done business with Kendall and tried at Brad's but had no luck. Good luck with the repair and the new Tahoe. A pic of it would be nice.

 

[Lyon]

Here you go!

 

[OR VietVet]

That's a pretty penny on 4 tires right there. Nice.

---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:10 PM ----------

What does that Supporter mean across your signature?

 

[Lyon]

It means that I've given a little money to the site to help pay for it. This is a good resource and I'm happy to contribute.

The tires are the same ones I had on the last one, I just got 6 lug wheels for them.