Slip yoke boot

[SteveInNM]

At my first 6K checkup last week the dealer told me I had taken a hit to the rear driveshaft and said we needed to keep an eye on it while handing me a $2,000 replacement estimate. I crawled under today and found the slip yoke boot shredded, but other than some impressive scrapes the shaft itself (and the CV boots!) seem fine. There is an IG replacement part in the service manual, but I'm guessing it's not easy to get. Is there a generic replacement or do these tend to be specially designed?

 

[AztecGrenadier]

I believe you can find several complete rear drive shafts on eBay as well as car-parts.com.

 

[Tazzieman]

Generic split boot replacement?

 

[Dokatd]

Depending on construction and if the shaft is still straight, I would just cut it off and run without the boot. It's very normal for aftermarket shafts to not have a boot at all. But again I'm not sure how the slip joint is built on the Gren.

 

[SteveInNM]

I believe you can find several complete rear drive shafts on eBay as well as car-parts.com.

Yes, and at $400 on eBay a good option against a new one. But on mine only the boot needs replacing. This is all because I took my eye off the arroyo I was driving in just long enough to hit a rock in the wrong place. Rookie move.

 

[Shopkeep]

Yes, and at $400 on eBay a good option against a new one. But on mine only the boot needs replacing. This is all because I took my eye off the arroyo I was driving in just long enough to hit a rock in the wrong place. Rookie move.

I would first go to a drive shaft shop and see if they can repair it,

 

[SteveInNM]

Thanks @Tazzieman and @Dokatd: I can see a bit of the spline when I look through the remains of the boot. For an uncovered slip yoke or split boot I'd be worried about dirt getting in and grinding the mechanism. Too conservative? I'll post whatever price quote I get from Grenadier for the replacement boot, but I'm guessing it's in a warehouse in Hambach.

 

[Dokatd]

Thanks @Tazzieman and @Dokatd: I can see a bit of the spline when I look through the remains of the boot. For an uncovered slip yoke or split boot I'd be worried about dirt getting in and grinding the mechanism. Too conservative? I'll post whatever price quote I get from Grenadier for the replacement boot, but I'm guessing it's in a warehouse in Hambach.

Being a former New Mexican I can say most of us that wheeled hard in NM didn't have boots on our drive shafts. Just keep it greased. I would also assume there is an inner gland or wiper that keeps the grease mostly in and the dirt mostly out. You really would be better off cutting the boot off for now. That way you can see how it's made and not have an out of balance situation.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

At my first 6K checkup last week the dealer told me I had taken a hit to the rear driveshaft and said we needed to keep an eye on it while handing me a $2,000 replacement estimate. I crawled under today and found the slip yoke boot shredded, but other than some impressive scrapes the shaft itself (and the CV boots!) seem fine. There is an IG replacement part in the service manual, but I'm guessing it's not easy to get. Is there a generic replacement or do these tend to be specially designed?

Is your vehicle out of warranty?

stupid boots everywhere.. why did they design it like this?

 

[landmannnn]

Is your vehicle out of warranty

stupid boots everywhere.. why did they design it like this?

A couple of stupid questions.

It's done 6k, so of course it is in warranty.

Boots are placed over slip joints to protect against dirt and retain grease. Most people know that.

 

[landmannnn]

At my first 6K checkup last week the dealer told me I had taken a hit to the rear driveshaft and said we needed to keep an eye on it while handing me a $2,000 replacement estimate. I crawled under today and found the slip yoke boot shredded, but other than some impressive scrapes the shaft itself (and the CV boots!) seem fine. There is an IG replacement part in the service manual, but I'm guessing it's not easy to get. Is there a generic replacement or do these tend to be specially designed?

Generic boots such as this would do the job (shaft diameter would need to be measured)

 

[HereinDaRockies]

do we need to grease the slip yoke? I don't recall seeing any grease zerks on the drive shaft

 

[SteveInNM]

Is your vehicle out of warranty?

stupid boots everywhere.. why did they design it like this?

Not out of warranty, but this is totally self inflicted. Drove down an arroyo, didn't deflate because it was a short distance, sank a bunch, hit a rock and scraped over the boot. The driveshaft is scratched up but not at all diminished. Plan now is to cut it off per @Dokatd, get a parts quote from Red Noland, and check out generic boots. I have no IG compaints on this one.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

Not out of warranty, but this is totally self inflicted. Drove down an arroyo, didn't deflate because it was a short distance, sank a bunch, hit a rock and scraped over the boot. The driveshaft is scratched up but not at all diminished. Plan now is to cut it off per @Dokatd, get a parts quote from Red Noland, and check out generic boots. I have no IG compaints on this one.

i was saying why can't IG just have a slip yoke with a grease fitting?

for your damaged boot, how will you inject the lost grease?

 

[Dokatd]

do we need to grease the slip yoke? I don't recall seeing any grease zerks on the drive shaft

They are lifetime greased. But once the boots off you can grease the splines externally. A needle grease fitting will allow you to inject grease into the splines.

The slip joint is very low tolerance and don't get cycled enough to matter much.

 

[C-Mack]

Always appreciate options to save money on a repair but in this case I’d replace the shaft considering it took a hit as that would always be playing in the back of my mind it got tweaked whether you can feel it or not. Add to that the torn slip joint boot and worrying about the exposed splines wearing a bit faster. Sure it was a self-inflicted wound but I’d take it on the chin and spend on a replacement but that’s just me.

 

[Dokatd]

Always appreciate options to save money on a repair but in this case I’d replace the shaft considering it took a hit as that would always be playing in the back of my mind it got tweaked whether you can feel it or not. Add to that the torn slip joint boot and worrying about the exposed splines wearing a bit faster. Sure it was a self-inflicted wound but I’d take it on the chin and spend on a replacement but that’s just me.

Guessing rock crawling would not be your thing then

 

[Shopkeep]

Always appreciate options to save money on a repair but in this case I’d replace the shaft considering it took a hit as that would always be playing in the back of my mind it got tweaked whether you can feel it or not. Add to that the torn slip joint boot and worrying about the exposed splines wearing a bit faster. Sure it was a self-inflicted wound but I’d take it on the chin and spend on a replacement but that’s just me.

Driveshaft shop can inspect, regrease if required, rebalance if required, and reboot it.

 

[Dokatd]

Driveshaft shop can inspect, regrease if required, rebalance if required, and reboot it.

Not sure they can reboot necessarily, but hopefully they can. Maybe it's a standard boot.

Oh and not trying to be petty or annoying, but it's not a slip yoke. A slip yoke first has to have a yoke. And then the yoke and its shaft are typically inserted into a transfer case or transmission. A slip yoke is basically a Y shape. What the Grenadier has is a slip joint. Or at least that's the best layman term. I'm sure there is some special term used in the power transmission space.

 

[SteveInNM]

Just ordered the necessary parts from Arrowhead in Arizona. Parts are in a warehouse in Indiana and only takes 4 days to reach this dealership. The slip joint boot, part GRA-5D11-043970 is $69. The propshaft attachment bolts (GRA-5D00-019750) are $144 for 8 pairs of bolts, enough to replace both ends. I'll have a local shop that services G-Wagens do the work, paying attention to the multiple threads on CV boots that caution extreme care in removing the driveshaft as to not pinch those boots.