Replaced The CV Boot on the Highlander

I noticed this fall that I had a split in my inner passenger side CV boot. After a visit to Toyota I found that they only had this inner boot and not the set of two. I was going to replace both. With just the inner one available and at over $50 I decided to just take my chances and go aftermarket for about $13+ shipping at Rock Auto. I ordered inner and outer but ended up just doing the inner as the outer looked original and in good shape. The inner for some reason had been done. This is an 01 and we have owned it since early 08. I want going to swap my original Toyota axle for some piece of junk $50 axle.

There was very little to almost no wear on the joint that I could tell. Pretty amazing for a 300k mile axle.

 

Did everything come off the axle to simply slide the new one on or did you have to use a stretcher of some type? This post takes me back a few years. I remember doing quite a few of these. Been many years since I've had to. Owned my 95 Integra since new and my Tundra is an 03 w/ a little over 200k and all boots are still doing their job.

 

Yes it all that to come off on that side till it's just the axle shaft. Once it was off it just an easy stretch with some grease and the boot slides up the shaft. That one piece with the puller is all you have to use a specialty tool for...well if you call snap ring pliers specialty you need those too. It's a mind and dexterity trick on this kind to get the balls back in the joint. But just on the Highlander alone there is at least two different types joints used. Mine had balls the other has a spider that sits on the splined shaft that's more like a u joint than this set up except the cap ends have a rounded ring that is on the ends with needle bearings they ride on. So I'm not sure what your actual axle may contain.

Here is the pic of the part that is contained with a snap ring and needs pulled off. I thought I had a picture up of it but I didn't . It's what the balls ride against on the inside.

 

I think this might be what The Wood Wolverine was referencing. Would've saved ya a little time and effort. Obviously not cost effective when only doing one boot.

 

Wayyyy back in the day, I used one of these a couple times.


Complete pain in the azz and no way I'd try it again. If I could borrow one of those stretchers, definitely looks like the quick route. Hope I don't have to for a while though.

 

No way that was going over that CV assembly! Pulling that end piece took longer to get my puller out and set up than to pull it. You have to go from like 1" to probably over 3" in diameter. Can't be good for the boot!

 

I use CVJ for Toyota axles and boots. Last dealings I just bought boots and took the shaft to a local place to have them replaced. Guy at that shop said they fought pretty hard, confirming my choice to let them handle it. I believe Toyota is offering OEM reman shafts now. If you drive an IFS Toyota, you only want Toyota axles under it. The joints hardly ever go bad, but the boots will die like any rubber eventually. The stuff from auto parts places is not if, but when.

CVJ will take your cores. Dealing with them got me a Toyota axle with Toyota boots for much much less than purchasing a new Toyota axle. No complaints. A spanky new Toyo shaft for my current truck would be $470. CVJ reman is $266. Of course you have to foot the bill for shipping on the core axle back to them, but still a ton less than oem new.


CVJ Axles - CV Axles & Steering Racks for all your needs (cvjreman.com)

Side note...if you grenade a front or rear pumpkin, East Coast Gear Supply has a similar deal for Toyota 3rd members. They ship them in 5 gallon buckets. Never needed them thankfully.

I know this crap because I used to be an 'offroad enthusiast'. lol

 

Hadn't seen that style yet. Probably gotta use your whole weight to get it on all while trying not to get stabbed in the gut?

Can't be good for it in my opinion either but that's how the pros make their money. They charge the amount of time it takes to do it the way you did but use a special tool like i showed to shortcut it. All while probably shortening the life of your new part. Oh who am i kidding. They're just parts chargers anymore, they'd replace the whole shaft.

 

This is not a hard job. Other than having to hold my mouth right for 30 minutes or so assembling the joint...did it over two days , the first night I just put it down and went inside, the next day second try and 5 minutes had it back together. This literally is NOT a hard job? A few hours total labor maybe . That's me being anal and cleaning things and fighting a tie rod and stuff that you would be doing anyway swapping shafts or paying someone to reboot. I wouldn't pay $270 for a reman axle... knowing I still have to swap it out anyway so all that work is identical on these jobs. Pulling the joint down and doing it is not really hard? Cant imagine a pro saying it was .....I'm about as shade tree as you can get .

 

Yep and use a garbage part unless you told them you wanted a Toyota one!

 

Shop told me that it did not want to seperate. Said they worked harder on it than any in recent memeory in fact. Money well spent on my side.

 

I don't think there is anyway I could push with my hand that heavy duty rubber that's 1" in diameter big enough to go over that cone. I really don't see how it could be done. Maybe it's because I have never tried to stretch one. I have the outer I ordered but don't use, I'll see if it will stretch but I almost guess do you need a special"stretchy " boot to use with this not the normal one? I really don't see how even if I put it in boiling water to warm, use grease and all my 200 pounds would it go that big?

Side but related note. I remember when I worked at a auto parts store we had what I believe were called spending boots. They were split and you used like a glue to glue it together. I heard they didn't really work well but honestly have no idea. This was 25 years ago so it was a different era as well.

 

Must be some totally different style than this one? Because the balls and the stub end literally just fall apart...you have to be careful till you get the stub shaft on it that holds it together cause if you let it move too far one way or the other the balls fall out and it falls apart. That inner race for lack of a better term that the balls ride on the collar on the splined part. Literally took me longer to go to my cabinet select the puller out of the box and adjust it and hand tighten it down than it did to pull off. I put the impact on it to run it off fast. It's not really a press fit it's just an interference fit so it's not tight really. But it's not like your pulling it off by hand or knocking it off with a deadblow.

But I. Glad you didn't have to deal with it.

 

Yep, they made (or maybe still make) split boots. Never went there, seemed like a dumb idea to me. And the fight to get the boot over the cone was real, lol. Everything was greased up to make it slide, then you have to grip it strong enough to get it to go. But I didn’t have to go over such a large diameter like yours. On the shaft I had, it was about the size of a fist. No way I’d do that these days anyway. I’d disassemble like you did too.

 

I had to look it up. Scroll to 2:00 and it was only :30 before i said no way would i use that tool! Wonder if the dude even had a face mask on.

 

I’d just get an aftermarket cv shaft!

 

And you'd probably be replacing it again, if not immediately, within a short time. Unfortunately replacement parts arnt what they once were. Idk how many auto parts in general I've installed that were bad outta the box. Remanned stuff was worse. That was probably 5 years ago before covid so I'm sure it's gotten worse.

 

The deal with that is most of them are crap, and the components are inferior to OE Toyota and many say often not balanced and will give a permanent vibration. Those who know tell you to reboot your OE Toyota ones. Me I'm cheap and I like Toyota stuff so I would of done this anyway .

 

I know you could do it differently but that guy didn't clean that joint! My anal retentiveness wouldn't have let me put that joint back together like that without cleaning it and to properly do it you would need to disassemble it. Reason being that boot was cut dirt was in that joint and he just refreshed it with dirt all inside it which will be a grit to wear it out. Even if you don't drive on dirt roads which I do there is all kinds of dirt on roads that will find it's way into that joint .

That book was SKF so it's a quality brand.

But I would still say I can't say I have ever seen or heard anyone do it like that. That video is European and I think Russian if I had to pick a nation...or possibly some other slovic nation.

 

I went since I am curious now about that tool, not that I would use it. I took the new boot I have in the box. It's a Beck Arney brand. It put my fingers in it and pulled as hard as I could. I am no super strong guy or anything but probably average strength? The small diameter is I think roughly over 1". I could probably stretch it with my hands to about 1.5" in diameter. With air pressure or whatever that tool used I guess you can stretch it to over three...but again I'd worry about the boots longevity.