Went to replace front pads on my '99 TL and found that he CV boot had a tear. Big enough for grease to sling out on the rim bu tnot gaping. Based on the condition on the grease probably happened in the last couple of days. Car has 130K miles. Can I just replace the boot or should I have the CV joint replaced. If I can just replace the boot can I get that from Napa or Autozone and does it take any special tools to replace the boot.

Car is on jacks so quick reply appreciated.

 

I would take the old boot off and inspect it for dirt and sand ect. If its clean inside i would just replace the boot. Some stores carry the boot crimp tool. You may want to just bring it to a shop and let them replace i he boot as you will have to take the axle out of the car, unless you are confident in tackling this yourselt. Its not hard, just will take a little time.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I think I am going to go ahead and replace the axle. Oreilly's had a new replacement axle for $69. Any issue using their replacement?

 

Not on a TL, but on a camry the o'reilly replacement caused the car to vibrate like hell whenever using more than 3 horsepower, so cruising on the highway at 65 was like sitting on an earthquake...ended up having to replace with OEM axles ($$$)...apparently a lot of the o'reilly units come bad and you have to keep swapping until you get a good one