I own a 06 Scion Tc It has a 10lb turbo and Tein Coilovers among other modifications. The car is never driven hard, never raced and has only 17k miles on it. During the last 16k mile we have replaced the CV joints on it twice and are looking at a 3rd time. To make a long story short, the mechanics have no idea what it is. Is there anyone with some ideas on what I can try or where I can start. Thank you for any help you can give.

 

How low are you. If you are slammed 1) the weird angle the joint is always at causes more wear and 2) The boot gets bent and doesn't make a seal with the axle and the grease leaks out.

 

ur lowered there is the reason

 

How do you even tell if your CV joint is bad?

 

Thank you for the help, it is lowered 3.5 in the front and i canot remember what the back is. I guess that is the price I have to pay.

 

You are horibbly over lowered from a handling standpoint. A stock tC would outhandle it. But.. if you just want it that low I guess. I also question whether you actually could lower it that far with what you have. Are you sure about that number?

At super low ride heights you are probably putting the CV joints in a bind. I cant imagine why anyone would leave a car like that knowing you are going to go through parts, handle like box of bricks, etc just to look a certain way. Even 2 inches is lower than the optimal handling point, but at least it is safe on the CV joints.

Can say for sure if you are really as low as you say you are and if that is binding them up, but to keep going through them without pounding on it, then that is definitely a possibility.

 

At first, if the boot is bad, you will start seeing grease around it.

When the joint starts to fail, then it usually will start popping/clicking when you take off, especially when the wheels are turned.

When it finally lets go, you will be sitting on the side of the road

For him, I doubt he is losing grease, just wearing out the joint. If you have a cracked boot and grease is escaping you can just replace the boot. But, with the fairly low cost of the whole shaft and the extra time to disassemble the old shaft to replace the boot, it is usually just easier/better to replace the shaft. But again, in his case, he is tearing up the joint, so he has to replace the shaft.

 

thats not normal. my car was way lower than yours for 20K miles, i just raised it up the other day, turns out both of my inner boots ripped and there was almost no grease left in them and the joints still appear to be fine.

 

They wont stay fine. The joints will fail after the boots do.. every time. Grease gets out, crud gets in. Most of the time the failed boot is the cause for the failed joint later on.

 

well im in the process of replacing the boots, everything is getting a thorough cleaning and fresh grease.

 

I wouldnt replace them. I would replace the shafts. More for the part, but a lot less labor. And if it has gone very long with the boots cracked and the grease is gone like you say, there is already damage to the joint, so it will wear out sooner than it should and you will be working on it again.

I priced a drivers side shaft for the tC through my dads shop once and I could get it brand new (not rebuilt, no core) for $65.00 . That was his price, so you should expect to pay a markup on it from that price range. But still well under $100 for sure if you look around. I think I have seen people get them for about $80.00 as well. New boots, fully greased, put together, and a cinch to replace. The boot kits usually run approx. $40-$50 I think.

 

if you need the outer boot you have to buy a kit with the inner and outer, but if you need just the inner boot you can buy just that. Cost about $15 per side.

 

Rockauto.com - I picked up driver & passenger side NEW not rebuilt for $141 including shipping.