CV Joint Boot.

I was working on my other Ford (2005 Escape w 90,000km) yesterday, and when I inspected the CV boot, I noticed some "scuffing" on a small section of a couple of the outer folds. This is just scuffing, not tears or holes. The scuffing isn't deep, just surface. The boot appears intact.

My question is, should I leave this alone and do periodic inspection, or should I replace now? Would the scuffing cause the boot to fail/crack prematurely or is the material on these boots resilient enough to be ok?

I know this is more of a gut decision, but I'm curious what you guys would do.

Thanks.

I would leave it alone until it splits open. Good that you are inspecting!

ditto on the inspection...if we replaced all the parts that are showing wear...well.. you get the point.

I have made it practice to make sure when the boots or any rubber part get really dirty to wash them off and I also use some 3m silicone weather stripping/gasket lube spray. I think it helps to keep the rubber a bit more supple and seems to have helped since replacing the boots on my PS rack. You might try that.

Sounds good. Thanks for the advice.

All the years I've owned and maintained my cars, I've been lucky never had to deal with a CV boot. They've always lasted the life of my cars.

Thanks Guys.

Northen Piper, the 3M silicone spray you use, is it one of these? I'd like to start applying them to my CV boots. Where do you buy it? Thx.

http://3mcollision.com/products/mechanical-repair/cleaners-and-lubricants/3m-silicone-lubricant-dry-type-08897.html

or

http://3mcollision.com/products/mechanical-repair/cleaners-and-lubricants/3m-silicone-lubricant-plus-wet-type-08877.html

the stuff I use is the top link (the 3M silicone.. not the plus) though they both look pretty similar. I wouldn't hesitate to use either. I buy the spray cans in boxes of 12 which I use at work to lubricate plastic sheeting before I heat it for drape/blister molding. Just fyi, this silicone stops the plastic from sticking to the teflon sheet I have in my pizza oven.

Anyway, I think you'd be safe to use either and if something that your local auto parts place has for lubricating auto weather stripping is available, it'd equally work well. Silicone spray (almost) is silicone spray. Just don't use something gucky like white lithium lube.

Excellent. Thank you Northern Piper.