Ford Can't Fix It. Wow.....

[Roughstock]

My CV axel inner boot has come off and grease is everywhere. We managed to get the boot temporarily on to drive home but that is it.

Two different mechanics looked at it and cannot understand how the boot twisted off. It should stay with the axel and not twist.

The CV axel is on National Back order with NO ETA. What? NO ETA? I would expect more from such a great vehicle.

1st pic, boot off. 2nd pic boot temporarily on large end. 3rd pic, couldn't get small clip on so a zip tie was used which you can see is off. Thanks to Jake and Bart at Foutz to get it temporarily fixed. I was there getting underbody protection.

Foutz protection pics to come. They did a great job. I am also going back for some lights and rock rails. Details to come.

 

[Roughstock]

Update and new axel.

Well I have learned a lot about CV axels. Being a bike guy I really didn't understand CV axels. Great news, I got my new CV axel a few days ago.

It was a journey since the boot came off. I've been under the vehicle every day I drove it since. My Baja racer friend said from the pics I had he didn't think there was any dirt in there. He said he's driven a 100 miles with one off. The issue is when you get rocks or real dirt in there. We could have duck taped it and that would work, totally covering the entire boot. Also, sometimes you can use an inner tube patch if the crack is in the right area.

What was determined was grease was going to come out of the small crack and that is OK. Rory thought they probably did not put the clamp on right at the factory and the crack in the boot was when it was off an whipping around and there is a large nut close. There are other scratches on the boot as well. I tried to glue it with real rubber glue and the grease comes out of the weakest spot. It was also coming out from underneath the clamp on the large end. It seemed like the boot wasn't going to come off again so keep checkin it and we would do something else if need be. Plan B was to change the boot (try a universal split boot) or remove the axel, clean re grease and put on a new boot. Interesting side note Ford does not sell the boot only. They con only provide the entire axel. Dealer don't seem to want to do the above operation. They just want to change the axel.

We have another friend who is a good mechanic. Rory wasn't available so I went to see him. Quite a bit of grease was coming out from under the boot and clamp. He tightened the clamp and determined, as mentioned above, that it should be fine and after the grease stops, if it does, then glue the crack.

After a month I was comfortable with the situation and had a back up plan if need be. A couple of days later the axel came in and we got it in the next day.

I guess I needed to learn about CV axels. As well, I miss being under the truck almost everyday. I've been under there a couple of times admiring the new axel. it is great to have it working like new!

 

[TurboS]

Update and new axel.

Well I have learned a lot about CV axels. Being a bike guy I really didn't understand CV axels. Great news, I got my new CV axel a few days ago.

It was a journey since the boot came off. I've been under the vehicle every day I drove it since. My Baja racer friend said from the pics I had he didn't think there was any dirt in there. He said he's driven a 100 miles with one off. The issue is when you get rocks or real dirt in there. We could have duck taped it and that would work, totally covering the entire boot. Also, sometimes you can use an inner tube patch if the crack is in the right area.

What was determined was grease was going to come out of the small crack and that is OK. Rory thought they probably did not put the clamp on right at the factory and the crack in the boot was when it was off an whipping around and there is a large nut close. There are other scratches on the boot as well. I tried to glue it with real rubber glue and the grease comes out of the weakest spot. It was also coming out from underneath the clamp on the large end. It seemed like the boot wasn't going to come off again so keep checkin it and we would do something else if need be. Plan B was to change the boot (try a universal split boot) or remove the axel, clean re grease and put on a new boot. Interesting side note Ford does not sell the boot only. They con only provide the entire axel. Dealer don't seem to want to do the above operation. They just want to change the axel.

We have another friend who is a good mechanic. Rory wasn't available so I went to see him. Quite a bit of grease was coming out from under the boot and clamp. He tightened the clamp and determined, as mentioned above, that it should be fine and after the grease stops, if it does, then glue the crack.

After a month I was comfortable with the situation and had a back up plan if need be. A couple of days later the axel came in and we got it in the next day.

I guess I needed to learn about CV axels. As well, I miss being under the truck almost everyday. I've been under there a couple of times admiring the new axel. it is great to have it working like new!

Really good to hear Ford has resolved and your dealer was quick at getting the axle replaced once it arrived. I've also seen this occur on GM trucks and Corvette transaxle drive shafts. I'm guessing it could happen on any vehicle with CV joints, but it really sucks when it's your own vehicle. Good job with your daily monitoring and continuing to drive your Raptor.