CV Axles

[yogibear18]

Don’t know where to post this under what category, what was your first CV axle shafts replaced ? What year ? and mileage ? Had right side done about 59,000 or so done at the beginning of the year and now the left side at 63,300 or so, cause for replacement the boots torn and grease let out, first picture is the left side other is right. I don’t ever recall running over any debris in the road. I find it premature at these mileages, agree ?

 

[aszumilo]

Doesn't necessarily have to be from debris in the road. Boots are rubber. From the movement of the suspension, the rubber flexes. Over time it can wear down the rubber in places. Once there is a tear in the rubber, the grease starts to get flung out.

I haven't replaced my CV axles yet. Truck is at 156,000 miles, so, i am going to do them soon. Boots look good, no grease flung around, but, they are 15 years old and I am going UCA, lower ball joint and struts. Might as well do them at the same time.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Just replace the boot. Or have it done. Factory axles should be fine if the splines are semi-tight. OEM axles are generally the best anyway. Most aftermarket axles you'll be replacing them again in a few yrs. I just put new outer CV boots on a couple weeks ago. Mine have 175k miles on them...they're still great and tight. Not that difficult to do ...just takes about 50 easy steps... LOL. But none difficult. Here are the basic re-do steps:

- Assess the 'health' of your inner CV joints/Splines. If the inner CV's are pretty loose, then you might want to buy new inner CV joints ..or some used Mopar axles. If they're snug, then proceed.
- Purchase a boot kit from Mopar online or parts. Or RockAuto. I would buy Mopars b/c ...although pricey, the new boots are a high-quality thermo-plastic which lasts longer than rubber. You wouldn't think so, but that's the concensus. All the high lifted Toyota guys assess the thermoplastic boots as the ones to use. The ones on a car of mine are 24 years old and they are a thermo plastic. How many -25*F winters did they survive through?? The original Ram ones were more of a rubber which reacts to UV and ozone, get stiffer, and crack. Mine weren't cracked "apart" but I could see they were close. Put good quality new boots on your tk and you should never have to touch them again. Use cheapies and you might get 3-5 years.
- Remove CV shaft from truck. Rent a front-end Service kit (pullers) from the parts stores and then you don't have to hammer and bang (and swear!) at the ball joints ...easy and painless way to get joints released. Probably your truck's lower ball joints are either toast or getting there. They don't last all that long on these Rams. So remove the upperr/lowers (just remove the whole darn knuckle! from the tk). Then check the lower B-J's with your FINGERS. And Press in a new TRW (zerked) bj if it need replacing. TRW was the OEM supplier of most front end parts on these tk's. Prices are good, might as well stick to OEM quality instead of some of the crap out there nowadays.
- Cut metal boot-retaining bands with a cut-off tool/grinder, etc
- Find/unclip that hidden clip in the slimy grease. It's at the base of the axle (see first pic). Spread it open with a snap ring pliers (while tapping the end 'off' with gentle hammer blows. Helps to have in a vise. Once you get it the CV started off the shaft you don't need to hold the clip open.
- Remove outer CV end
- Soak in a bucket of gasoline for a while. The grease is synthetic so soak a while.
- Brush all the grease off with a clean bristle brush and re-rinse.
- Let dry completely
- Cut corner of bag of new grease and hold open corner of bag tight against the splined hole and squeeze hard ...squeeze all the grease into the hole (it'll squeeze out the bearings).
- Install new boot and small retaining ring.
- Slide CV assembly back onto shaft and clip will automatically snap onto axle groove.
- Clamp down retaining clamps with a special pliers (Amazon sells them).
- Reinstall CV shaft/axles. Put a daub of grease on the inner splines.
- Reassemble the front end. Like I say...check your tk's lower b-j's...
- Should take about 25-30 minutes per side.

That's it BOOM!! You're done!! Treat the Mrs (and yourself) to a good supper for a good job done ....with the $$ you saved!!

 

[Wild one]

Just to add to JeepWalkers post,there's quite a few video's on youtube showing how to replace the boots. The principle is pretty well the same for the majority of CV's,but there are even Ram specific ones if you go looking.

 

[Jeepwalker]

It does seem pretty pre-mature for a 2021. My strategy on really cold days is to make wide turns and NOT turn the wheel real sharp ...to full lock (preserve the CV boots). Not sure that helps but ...that's my strategy on most of my vehicles. Normal winter days ok. Just when it gets well below Zero...is when I try to take it easy.