This Jeep Cherokee shows how long term neglect of busted axle boots can lead to a more serious and costly repair. On one side, the broken axle boot is completely gone, having busted up and flown away from the vehicle. This allowed all the grease to fly out of the bearing assembly which caused the CV joint (axle) to break, creating a dangerous driving condition and mandatory repair. The other side of the vehicle shows the axle boot busted but still intact; even with a boot replacement, this axle will also fail soon since audible CV joint noise is present, indicating excessive wear and damage to the parts that were left unprotected with the busted axle boot. Both left and right axles are needed at this point. This damage could have been avoided if the boots had been maintained. Replace cracked boots before it’s too late. Note: Because this was an all-wheel/four-wheel drive Jeep, this customer was not stranded when the axle broke; however, a two-wheel/front-wheel drive car would have been immobilized.
Video provided by Forest Automotive: Complete Auto Service and Repair in Lynchburg, Forest, and Bedford VA
