I have a 2007 Toyota Corolla that I bought thanks to Scotty's advice.
However I live in Arizona where it is super dry and hot and my CV boots have torn and I am leaking grease. My cousin owns a Big O Tires and is willing to replace them for about $700, but he says that I could drive it for 6 months and 5,000 miles or so without doing any damage.
Is that true?
Is it dangerous at all?
Should I just bite the bullet and replace them now?
I was driving with torn boots forever, without even know it. Grease was all over the undercarriage. There were no symptoms.
The only reason I found out, was because of an unassociated oil leak picture I posted online. And someone noticed CV grease in one of the photos.
I went back to check, and sure enough, boot was torn.
I think you will be fine driving for a bit. But definitely get them replaced sooner rather than later.
Probably true. When you hear them clicking while driving with the window down and radio off it is for sure time.
You could drive it a little longer while it's still torn, but it's best to replace it sooner than later. You don't want dirt and road debris getting stuck in there and make the CV joint start clunking - that can cause more problems. I believe you can just replace the boot if the axle is still good, or you can just buy the whole axle assembly for like $100 - whichever is easier.
I would consider getting a replacement drive shafts: new rubber boots, grease and all that. Cheaper than have someone do just a rubber boots replacement.
Now, … if you drive with ripped rubber boots, constant velocity joint will simply fail as quickly as it gets contaminated with dirt and grinds itself to oblivion. Could be a bit of time, but could be rather quick. Get a bunch of sand and other grit in sticking to that leaking grease and it will be quick.
Anyway, … just get a replacement assemblies. It does not have to be OEM.
F.S.
Kaizen is right. They can go like that for a long time. Save your $700 and just replace the axles when they wear out and start making noise.
