Flat tire caused torn boot?

[axgutt]

My wife drives our 95 Legacy LS wagon, 2.2, AWD, automatic. She got a flat (front right) on a dark, no shoulder road the other night. (She's also pregnant and had our 5 year old in the car). She drove it about 1/2 mile to get to a lighted restaurant parking lot, and by then the tire was half unmounted. I drove there and put on her full-sized spare, in the cold, while she and my daughter ate pizza inside. (poor me). The car sat for a day, and she drove it just a few miles yesterday. Going up a hill under load she noticed a hard click coming from the front right. I looked at it this morning and the boot is torn right by the wheel.

 

Two questions. 1. Could that have happened from the flat, or was it probably already torn? 2. The mechanic I totally trust is about 15 miles away. Am I risking anything else by driving it that far?

[johnceggleston]

Two questions. 1. Could that have happened from the flat, or was it probably already torn? 2. The mechanic I totally trust is about 15 miles away. Am I risking anything else by driving it that far?

 

probably not caused by the flat. and it usually takes a while for a torn boot to damage the CV enough to make it click.

 

no problem driving it to the shop, 15 miles is nothing. some would say you can drive it 5k miles or more, but your wife, if she is like mine, will appreciate having it corrected sooner rather than later.

[axgutt]

Any driving tips? Should she accelerate more slowly, coast through turns, etc?The forecast (we're just over the mountain in Staunton) is pretty yucky for the next few days. She drives up and down the valley. I have to cross the mountain to Charlottesville. Our backup vehicle is a 2wd Tundra, which isn't the greatest in the slush.

 

probably not caused by the flat. and it usually takes a while for a torn boot to damage the CV enough to make it click.

 

no problem driving it to the shop, 15 miles is nothing. some would say you can drive it 5k miles or more, but your wife, if she is like mine, will appreciate having it corrected sooner rather than later.

[johnceggleston]

Any driving tips? Should she accelerate more slowly, coast through turns, etc?The forecast (we're just over the mountain in Staunton) is pretty yucky for the next few days. She drives up and down the valley. I have to cross the mountain to Charlottesville. Our backup vehicle is a 2wd Tundra, which isn't the greatest in the slush.

 

just drive it and forget it. this will be hard to do with it clicking and reminding you it is there but give it a try.

 

most shops will install a reman-axle. and some folks have had trouble with them right out of the box. i have one that was replaced last spring and one of the 2 is making noise now. i'm not sure if it is the replaced one or the older one.

 

if you do your own work, or if your shop will let you buy your own parts, good re-built axles can be purchased at mwe. you will have to search to get the link. they are located in colorado and shipping will make them cost a little more than the ones at your local parts store, but they are better.

 

a second alternative is to buy a used one and have it re-booted before you install it. but that will end up costing more than just swapping it out with a reman.

 

but if you trust your shop and have a good relationship with them, just have them do the work and trust that they will re-do it if there is a problem. if they are trustworthy, they will not install a part that they know will cause trouble. they do not want the headache. they want you to keep driving your older car and to pay them to repair it when needed.

 

so you can drive it in the snow and fix it when you can. eventually it will either lock up or fall apart and leave you stranded, but that could be a long time down the road.

 

a napa reman-axle cost about 90$ (others are less) and the labor is about an hour, maybe more. so for 200$ - 250$ it's done. but i would not be surprised if they want 325$ to do the job.

[idosubaru]

i've put 50,000 miles on torn boot clicking CV's - 15 miles is a drop in the bucket. it would probably last a couple years if you kept it out of sand and grit.

[GeneralDisorder]

My '99 Forester has had both front axles clicking (OEM Subaru axles with good boots) for at least the last 20k miles. Whatever - I'm not replacing them till they blow . Only takes about 15 minutes to change an EJ axle anyway.

 

You've got a lot of life left in it - you could probably just reboot/regrease it and be fine for another couple years at least.

 

GD

[Fuzpile]

Axgutt. You've received good advise already. I wish you and your wife the very best with the new blessing. It's great she had a Man to rescue the situation. Along that line, i wonder why it has such a Strong click allof a sudden.:-\ maybe something else got moved or damaged. it's worth checking while on the lift. Also those steel belts are nasty when they go flailing around they cut stuff up like a saw blade.

[ShawnW]

Axgutt. You've received good advise already. I wish you and your wife the very best with the new blessing. It's great she had a Man to rescue the situation. Along that line, i wonder why it has such a Strong click allof a sudden.:-\ maybe something else got moved or damaged. it's worth checking while on the lift. Also those steel belts are nasty when they go flailing around they cut stuff up like a saw blade.

 

I would tend to agree. There could be debris in the outer axle bearings.

 

I think something blew the tire out and either hit the boot as well or something else.

 

Either way I think it would make it 15 miles.

[Buick350X]

i've put 50,000 miles on torn boot clicking CV's - 15 miles is a drop in the bucket. it would probably last a couple years if you kept it out of sand and grit.

 

DITTO

 

We have had a torn boot on the front of our Sub for a good 5 years now, has yet to make any noise.

 

Waiting for the axle to fail, reman one is only $100 or so and it would cost more then that just to take it all apart and change the boot.

 

Only thing I do is once a year I squirt a bunch of grease into the hole, though most of it flings back out

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

... I drove there and put on her full-sized spare, in the cold, while she and my daughter ate pizza inside. ...

 

I Know that Feelin' ...

When you take your Subie to the Shop to Change the Axle and Boot, I Kindly Suggest you to ask them to Check the Other Boots / Clean & Refill with Fresh Grease the Axles; that will make your Subie's Axles to Last Longer...

 

Kind Regards.

[Rooster2]

DITTO

 

We have had a torn boot on the front of our Sub for a good 5 years now, has yet to make any noise.

 

Waiting for the axle to fail, reman one is only $100 or so and it would cost more then that just to take it all apart and change the boot.

 

Only thing I do is once a year I squirt a bunch of grease into the hole, though most of it flings back out

 

For what it is worth........someone wrote on this forum not that long ago, that they add grease to a torn boot, then wrap the entire boot with seran wrap. Yea, seran wrap clings to itself, but who knows, this band-aid approach might just work to stop the grease from flinging back out. It is a cheap and easy "worth a try," can't hurt to try this.

[Buick350X]

For what it is worth........someone wrote on this forum not that long ago, that they add grease to a torn boot, then wrap the entire boot with seran wrap. Yea, seran wrap clings to itself, but who knows, this band-aid approach might just work to stop the grease from flinging back out. It is a cheap and easy "worth a try," can't hurt to try this.

 

Not a bad idea, but id say the whole problem is on our Forest the one cat is right under it. [right front, pass side] Which I bet caused the original to break down and crack [heat].

 

I then tried to do a home made split boot, some guy said that is what he does at his shop. Buy a new boot, slice it open, install and glue it back together with some special black goop. Didn't work great. One thing that does help keep it 95% closed is I put a zip ties all down it, in the valley of the boot. But when the cut side rotates on top, it flexes open, just enough to shoot out the grease onto the cat, so it smells good.

 

 

I just wasn't going to pull it all apart to change just the boot, more cost effective / easier [lazy] to wait for the CV joint to go bad