Burning through CV boots

I have the icon dynamics stage 3 lift set at 2-2.5 inches. I seem to go through CV boots every few months. I have the RCV orange boots and the All-Pro off-road 4Runner High Angle Outer CV boot kit. I know when the ribs touch, they wear through very quickly, but I can't seem to stretch them out enough for that not to happen. Any suggestions on making these work or different boots I should look into?

 

OEM

Whats your CV angle look like. 2 - 2.5 should be no problem.

 

Hopefully this pic helps. I keep getting told it should be fine, but it keeps not lol

 

You sure you only got 2.5" of lift?

I had damn near 3 on mine and was no where near that bad. I forgot my measurements but this was my CV.

 

I’m pretty sure I have 2 1/2 inches or so. My kit only goes up to 3.5 maxed out and I still have some threads left on the shock body. So worst case I would imagine it’s three.

is there a way to measure lift without a stock tire size? I’m on 35’s.

Yours is definitely at a less severe angle than mine! That’s very weird. Did you do a diff drop?

 

No diff drop.

I measured center of hub to fender before and after the lift. Let me see if I can find those measurements.

 

Thanks brother!

 

JYou need to take a new pic with all 4 tires on the ground. That appears to be at full droop, even if the tire is on the ground still.

 

Heres what I got out of mine this was same time I took that pic of the CV angle.

Measurements Before Lift (Center of hub to fender)
Both Rear's - 22"
Passenger Front - 19"
Driver Front - 19 3/4"

After
Rear - 24”
Front - 22”

 

Yikes, I’m at 25 & 1/4”. If anyone has an icon set up, can you tell me how many inches of threads are exposed above the upper spring mount? Maybe I’m at the full 3.5, but it still seems like a big difference over the 3” pic posted.

 

25 1/4" in the front?

For sure more than 3".

I don't have the 4R anymore to measure but something is off.

 

I guarantee yours had that. It's not a spacer, it's how the shock is bolted into place. The shock itself is universal and requires that adapter plate to bolts into the OEM shock tower.

 

Yeah I looked again its there.

Heres what mine was set at.

 

It might just be the angle in the pics, but it looks like I have significantly more coil above my control arm than you do.

once I finish my rear springs and air bumps, I’ll get my truck back on the ground and see if that changes anything.

 

You can't determine CV angles being too high without the truck on the ground.

 

If I want to keep the same amount of lift and don’t want a diff drop does anyone have any other ideas?

 

If I had an extra 10 grand, I would have long traveled already lol. I think the truck rides great! Does awesome on and off road.

 

The front tires are on the ground, and the rear of my frame is supported by jackstands, basically at ride height, so I can’t imagine it changes the CV angle that much. But even if it does, it does not change the fact that my boots keep tearing apart, and I would like to remedy that. I would like to keep the same amount of front lift as I have so I’m hoping for a remedy to that.

 

Hey, a lot of great help already replying here, but your angle does look pretty steep. I'm running 33's with 3" lift and a diff drop mind you, but diff drops have been proven to barely drop your angle. I've never had a boot tear. I suspect it's something to do with your geometry via lift & 35's?
Goodluck!

 

His truck is on jackstands, so of course the angle is too steep. This is why I keep repeating that he needs to have all 4 wheels on the ground and the full weight of the vehicle on them before posting a picture like that.

 

Everyone seems very concerned that my truck is on jackstands, which makes the CV picture not accurate. I understand that, but it doesn’t change the fact if it was not on jackstands, it keeps ruining boots.

And like I mentioned , although the back is on jackstands, it’s within an inch of to a ride heigh.

 

Just based off this picture, you have WAY too much preload on those springs. Take a good inch out of that, at least. Ride height in the front should not be set with spring preload.

The back being on jackstands, whether within an inch of ride height or not, changes the front geometry enough that your pic is useless to determine the actual angles. If you're saying that the CV angle showing in that pic is the same as normal ride height, then you have the suspension setup completely wrong or have extra lift stuff in there that we aren't seeing, like spacers or something. Your first pic, I see something that appears to be raw aluminum near the lower ball joint. Are you also running some kind of spacer lift?

 

What is this?

 

This is my 4runner, running ADS suspension which is 2.5 to 3" of lift over stock. Virtually no preload on the springs either.

 

Good eye! That is actually a billet ABS sensor cover. I’m not sure if ripping out the sensors are actually a problem, but I thought they looked pretty cool, and couldn’t help myself lol.

If I lessen the spring preload how can I recover the height I lose. Is there a way I can keep my lift height but lessen the CV angle?

 

I see your inner boot ribs are actually touching a little. Do yours blow out?

I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m doing something wrong, I just don’t know what it is yet lol

 

No, those boots have been on for close to 50k miles since I replaced them. I should have installed the small ends a little further out to prevent that rubbing but it really hasn't been an issue.

These are the inner boots I'm running - https://www.offroadsolutions.com/products/high-angle-inner-cv-boot/

 

Again, never use spring preload to make up ride height. You can use a little extra preload to level out the truck side to side, meaning one side might have slightly more preload than the other. Front to rear ride height should be done with small spacers or shims that go between the upper shock mount and the shock tower.

If you are trying to maintain the clearance for the 35" tires, then you need to either do some cutting of body parts to make that clearance or install a 1" body lift. Or a combination of the 2. I've done a combination of the 2 and have also adjusted the front caster so the front tires are as far forward as I can get them with my current setup. I also have a body mount chop and have new front body mounts to weld in that will give me more clearance between body mount and tires up there.

Keep in mind that burning through CV boots is bad, yes. But you will also end up burning through CV axles faster because of those angles. The CV joints are also wearing out at a faster rate due to the angles.

 

I’ve done everything you mentioned aside from the upper strut, spacers, and the body lift. How difficult was the body lift? And is there one you would recommend?

 

I went with the Toytec lift - Not hard to do as long as you have a floor jack and a couple pieces of 2x4 handy. I did it in my garage without any help.