A little help on leaking driver side axle boot

[WTL]

Disclaimer - I know nothing about how this works 😒.....  The driver side axle boot.  Went to the dealer and the car was in the bay on the ground.  Greasy smear inside driver side wheel has been diagnosed as a leaking driver side axle boot.  A few questions...

 

1). how hard / involved is it diagnose?  Guessing it depends on the size of the leak?  Can it be as simple as removing the wheel and seeing a leak, cracked boot?  It didn't even look as if the wheel had been removed

 

2). can anyone provide any info as to what gets replaced in a new vs rebuild repair.  Still waiting on the parts numbers form the dealer.  Does anyone have any schematics - curious.

 

3).   Considering dealer pricing, rebuild at $2000 vs new at $ 2550 - thoughts??  High, low, etc.?  I know what I think 😖

[WTL]

can anyone help me understand where the leaking grease may be coming from?  Could there be more than 1 source?  still trying to figure out how this all goes together, but its like shooting in the dark....  Does the rubber boot keep the grease contained?  Why does the whole part need to be changed out - according to dealer. This is the part they quoted me:

[JFP in PA]

The CV joints at both ends of your axles are housed inside flexible rubber boots that dry out and slit over time, allowing grease to be thrown out:

[WTL]

So if the rubber is just split, why can’t the boot just be replaced and not the whole part??  And now I’m wondering why the service manager told me

its ok to drive not knowing how much grease has been lost?  Should I worry about driving it with the grease being lost?

[JFP in PA]

Whoever told you the entire axle has to be replaced is simply taking the easy way out and trying to replace the entire axle assembly.  The boots are available as parts as shown in your diagram.  So unless the axle is damaged, or the CV joints are bad, they are taking the easy way out, right through your wallet..................

[WTL]

So once the grease has started to leak, how does one tell it’s still “ok” to drive?  Dealer srvc Mgr says I can still drive it with no worries - even though I think the diagnosis went something like this…..   car arrives to shop, mechanic sees grease stains on boot and wheel and says, replace the whole assembly. I’d bet money, based on when I saw the car on the shop floor, nothing dissembled and after diagnosis, that’s what happened…..

[Silver_TT]

On my Audi Q5 2.0T I started to hear a clicking in the front suspension.  Inspected and found grease slung out from the ripped boot .... it was too late, dirt and debris had gotten in there and destroyed the CV joint.  Now I watch it like a hawk and caught the other side, which happened very shortly after, while it was only the boot which is cheap and easy.  Anyway as soon as you see grease I would fix it.  Preferably you should inspect your boots regularly.  On some of these cars the boot has been revised to be a bit tougher and more durable..............

[WTL]

So what’s the time difference between seeing a split boot and tearing everything apart to determine one needs a full replacement instead and then putting it all back together?

Edited June 18, 2021 by WTL

[Silver_TT]

If you see a torn boot replace it immediately.  The difference is if you ignore it eventually it will get expensive and things the CV joint will fail.  You will know because you will hear a knocking sound or clicking as I mentioned .... or if it gets bad it can affect suspension and drive experience (vibration, etc).

 

The boot is very cheap.  Every time my car is up on the rack I always look at them to be sure no tears because if you catch it early it's cheap.  But if you sleep on it, this gets expensive fast.

[racerken]

Hey WTL,

I had a bad boot so I just yanked both axles out, bought the boots, and swapped them out.  Easy.  Since you seem OCD, after you do this, you'll sleep better at night.

This is a photo of the unit after spending an hour wire brushing it.  I don't have pictures of the boot swap but it looks alot faster with the rust gone, fresh paint.

 

Rust removal attempt on-car.  FAil.

 

Remove both side.  Appled paint remover...  no impact since they used some paint which resists chemical.

 

OCD Clean

 

Once cleaned, I removed the boot/replaced it.  Just get the proper (Out) circlip/clamp plier or the clip will fly.

[WTL]

thanks for posting. that's helpful.  good to know on the paint remover.