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Leak

193 views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Chrisss2019  
#1 ·
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I have a chocolate oily fluid pooling and the dipstick shows black oil. Could this be water pump?
 
#3 ·
That certainly looks like a bad boot. That side boot is the most common to go bad. It can be replaced easily on the car without having to remove the axle. Dirty job however and you need the right tools like a C clip pliers.
If you take it to a shop they will charge you more because they will do it by the book which means a transmission fluid change and possibly a new axle seal.
 
#4 ·
How does one replace the boot well the axles in the car? Are you going to use those half boots that kind of snap together? Or you taking part of the hub off and sliding it out and then sliding on a normal boot.

I've done a lot of boots in the 80 when axles were expensive. If you want then in the last 20 years axles were cheaper than just buying the boot. I find now that the aftermarket axles just make noise and vibrate I think we're past the time it was cheaper to just buy a new axl. So for the future how do I actually just replace the rubber boots without taking it all apart.

Last song should I just do it the right way and replace the seal in the fluid if I'm pre-planning just rolled over 80,000 miles and the 24-year mark
 
#7 ·
How does one replace the boot well the axles in the car? Are you going to use those half boots that kind of snap together? Or you taking part of the hub off and sliding it out and then sliding on a normal boot.

I've done a lot of boots in the 80 when axles were expensive. If you want then in the last 20 years axles were cheaper than just buying the boot. I find now that the aftermarket axles just make noise and vibrate I think we're past the time it was cheaper to just buy a new axl. So for the future how do I actually just replace the rubber boots without taking it all apart.

Last song should I just do it the right way and replace the seal in the fluid if I'm pre-planning just rolled over 80,000 miles and the 24-year mark
It’s very simple. You need an OEM boot kit and a c clip pliers.
A brief synopsis.

Remove the control arm attachments on the hub.
Cut the old boot and separate the joint by moving the hub outwards.
Remove the old boot and clean up the grease.
Add new grease from the kit and fasten the new boot.
Push joint back into place and use the provided clamps to secure the boot.

Thats it. No need to pull the axle or even undo the axle nut. Can be done in one hour time, maybe a little longer if you are not in a rush.

The axle seals last a long time as long as they are not touched. I’m on the original ones from a 2001 Celica transmission.
 
#5 ·
Clean and inspect the boot. If it is damaged, replace it. If not, it may just be the clamp that loosened over time. I had this happen on my vehicle and it was just a loose clamp from over 20 years of normal use. All I did was get new clamps from amazon and use the proper tools to tighten it down. I replaced all 4 clamps for piece of mind, since it was about a 5 min job for each clamp.
 
#8 ·
Looking at the photos here, I just realized I replaced my passenger side with an Trakmotive one from rock auto. The housing on the inner boot side is completely round and not triangular like the oem one. The oem inner boot wont fit on it when it comes time to replace it. I'm hoping its the same diameter as the outer boot.
 
#9 ·
Might I add, I did it the way I did because I caught it right away and it hardly had a chance to spew out a lot of grease. What I did was a "patch" at most and I wouldnt recommend it for longevity. Ideally you would want to remove the boot, clean the joints, inspect, repack with the right grease and so on. A leaky boot can allow moisture and road debris in and cause headaches down the road. I hardly drove my vehicle and noticed it right away so the chance of moisture and debris was very very low.