Car info: '03 S, manual, 72k miles

So I'm an idiot and when I was replacing my inner tie rods I started to pull the boot back on the AXLE shaft by mistake... it wasn't until the grease started oozing when I realized what I was doing!

Anyway, I put the boot back into position and replaced the clamp (that was a PITA!!) and went about my business replacing the tie rod.

Fast forward 4 months to today and I'm pulling the tire to make sure my LCAB needs to be replaced (it does) and I see this:



So I crawl under to take a look and I can see that the grease(?) is leaking out from right here:



The boot looks fine otherwise, no tears or other signs of leaks.

So I obviously did something wrong when I put it back on... but I have no idea what. Is there some trick to getting these to seat properly?

Also, it would seem I've lost most/all of the grease, so what do I use and how much should I put in there?

The axle is not making any strange sounds and everything feels fine ... I'd really like to be able to just slap some grease in there, seat the boot properly and call it good!

Thanks for the help!

 

Not sure but I just replaced mine bc my passenger side cv went at 100k miles.

I know that they sell boot kits online for like $35, so it might be worthwile looking into that if you want to try to save it. Gonna be a hell of a mess of a job though. Everywhere I was reading was just saying to drive it until it gets too bad to drive and then buy the new driveshaft. I got DriveshaftShop ones for $400 for the pair, and they have been working great.

 

Just a quick follow-up on this: I read elsewhere that the steal band/clamp I had inadvertently removed is NOT reusable. So I was replacing my LCABs and ball joints a few weeks ago and I went ahead and pulled this axle (driver's side) and replaced the boot. I cleaned all the grease out, rinsed with warm water, dried with compressed air, then repacked with grease, filled the boot with remaining grease, reinstalled and put in a new band/clamp and crimped it with some wire snips till it was quite snug. Seems to be holding up fine, I cannot see any signs of leaks since I replaced the boot.

Rock on.

 

Got this same problem, noticed grease coming out of the boot when replacing my belt tensioner. I think mine has a tear though I really didn't take the time to inspect it because of the task at hand. Will take a better peek at it this weekend, where did you pick up replacement boot ?

 

Sorry, missed this question, I bought it from new-part.com, something like this:
http://www.new-part.com/product/mini...front-inner-mt

 

Its hard to work in there due to lack of space.
Drain the transmission oil and pull out the shaft.
(reuse the oil to refill).
Then work on it on the bench.
Your problem will be evident and you will be able to fix the leak permanently because your previous repair did not work well.
Its easy to do and don't be afraid.
However, since you lost most of your grease, you will need to refill it.
Otherwise buy a new shaft.
Ask as many questions a you like in your attempt to resolve this.

 

I just discovered that the band clamp came off the passenger side inner boot and threw all the grease everywhere. Has to have been like this for a couple months now. I had a shop replace the boots for me a few months ago so would they be at fault for this an the possible damage the the cv joint? I'm guessing I should pack with grease and reclamp just incase.