Hi All!
Last Friday I noticed a greasy mess coming out of front driver outer axel boot. The mechanic who I brought it to this morning suggested I needed to replace the whole axel since it was hard to get the single boot to replace it and the amount of work was similar to replacing the whole axel (he quoted the job a bit shy of $600). Shouldn't this be just a broken boot replacement? or indeed the axel replacement is the correct procedure?
I've noticed after it rains or have driven over wet roads an occasional metal clank every now and then when turning or going over bumps, again mostly when or after it rains. I do not feel anything on the steering or moving forward or backward, just hear that clank some times -on very rare occasions have I heard it during dry sunny days.
I also noticed that I need to replace the Differential bushing, since I can see it actually gone. I feel he is trying to avoid this bushing replacement job since has told now twice that I may have to go to the dealer for that, but I see plenty of kits sold online. Any thoughts on these 2 issues? Single FD Outer Boot replacement vs complete axel; and Diffs bushings replacement. Thanks in advance!

Some pics below.


FRONT VIEW DRIVER SIDE.

FRONT VIEW DRIVER SIDE.

FRONT VIEW DRIVER SIDE.

REAR VIEW DRIVER SIDE.

FRONT VIEW PASSENGER SIDE.

FRONT DIFF BROKEN BUSHING.

 

How many miles on your truck?

First, if you replace the CV (Axle Shaft), use only a ACDelo GM15886012 Axle. There are lots of cheap Asian repos out there, all of them are junk, some are actually too short and can pop out of the Front Diff. Yes the GM will cost $325+ but you get what you pay for.

The mechanic is saying to replace just the boot you have to basically remove the Half Shaft from the truck to get the new boot on, so why not just replace it. Replacement boot $35 with all the work for a replacement. Do the work yourself and skip the mechanic then you could replace the Half Shaft and keep $$ in your pocket.

No you do not need to go to the dealer for anything, including the front diff bushing.

 

Thanks for your response Doc Olds; truck has 166K miles, and note taken regarding which axle to purchase if needed.
I will not be able to do the boot replacement myself -I do not have the knowledge, the tools, nor the time to do it, so I will need to rely on a mechanic to do it for me ...but I need to decide if I should just replace the boot or the whole half shaft, considering is just the boot that seems to be damaged; if it is just the boot, maybe you can point me towards the right part number and perhaps which to avoid just as you did for the shaft; the same for the bushings.
With the parts in hand, I'll find a mechanic that can do the job for me. Thanks again!

 

Check the axle bracket end bushings. More than likely those are gone also, and some axle bushing kits ask you to take the CV axles out to replace them. You could do both jobs at the same time. Depending on what replacement bushings you get, a hydraulic press is really the only special tool needed; if your mechanic does bushing he'll be set up.