Blown CV boot from the factory??

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

Noticed a little muck in the wheel well when I picked up from the dealer. In my excitement, I assumed - rather stupidly - it was just a bit of tar spackle from nearby road construction.

1,500mi later, I went to install some RG mud flaps and noticed that the “muck” was not tar, but grease. Seems to be flung from driver front hub area, strangely only in the rear direction. Looks like it’s coming from CV boot, but I couldn’t find any damage on the boot.

I’ll be calling the dealer for an appointment tomorrow, but curious what others think it may be.

CV? Hub?

Edit: Hmmm, looking at my own pics more closely now, I’m leaning heavily toward hub. Damn.

Pics:

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[Badmommallama]

So, I have had my Bronco just under two weeks and my husband noticed the same while installing mudflaps for me. I took it to the dealer and have an appointment on Wednesday. I was told after a cursory look that I could drive it around town until they check it out. Hoping to have an answer by noon on Wednesday as to what needs to happen and how long it might take. Have seen multiple threads that have various situations similar to this. I am sitting under 1k miles. There was grease on mine all over brake and wheel well too. Luckily I work from home and don’t have to drive it daily, but it’s painful because I love it and don’t want to be stuck or without it for a while.

 

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

So, I have had my Bronco just under two weeks and my husband noticed the same while installing mudflaps for me. I took it to the dealer and have an appointment on Wednesday. I was told after a cursory look that I could drive it around town until they check it out. Hoping to have an answer by noon on Wednesday as to what needs to happen and how long it might take. Have seen multiple threads that have various situations similar to this. I am sitting under 1k miles. There was grease on mine all over brake and wheel well too. Luckily I work from home and don’t have to drive it daily, but it’s painful because I love it and don’t want to be stuck or without it for a while.

Yeah, I hear ya! I certainly hope it’s okay to drive! Been doing so for 1,500mi with several multi-hundred mile trips with this like it is. No discernible grinding to this point. Will def limit mileage until I get a firm answer and/or fix. Don’t want to diminish the life of those parts if they’re low on lube.

 

[Badmommallama]

Same & Exactly. Short trips around town for me for now. Good luck!!

 

[fzracer484]

It's a pretty simple fix, but annoying none the less. The splits that occur usually aren't noticeable at rest but open up under articulation. It's usually cheaper to replace the whole assembly rather than just the boot. You'll start to hear clicking and clacking when they get bad enough. If there's no noise or humming, it's not a biggie to keep going till it can be addressed but it does make a mess if you don't get to it quickly. I don't know that I'd recommend driving 1,500 miles with it that way though. I mean what's the worst than can happen? chuck a wheel and see your highway neighbor catapult through the after running it over and then having it smash back into it down the highway? That'll never happen!!!

 

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

It's a pretty simple fix, but annoying none the less. The splits that occur usually aren't noticeable at rest but open up under articulation. It's usually cheaper to replace the whole assembly rather than just the boot. You'll start to hear clicking and clacking when they get bad enough. If there's no noise or humming, it's not a biggie to keep going till it can be addressed but it does make a mess if you don't get to it quickly. I don't know that I'd recommend driving 1,500 miles with it that way though. I mean what's the worst than can happen? chuck a wheel and see your highway neighbor catapult through the after running it over and then having it smash back into it down the highway? That'll never happen!!!

Of course, exactly that vid is what came to mind when looking back over that 1500mi and imagining worst case scenarios!

 

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

It's a pretty simple fix, but annoying none the less. The splits that occur usually aren't noticeable at rest but open up under articulation. It's usually cheaper to replace the whole assembly rather than just the boot. You'll start to hear clicking and clacking when they get bad enough. If there's no noise or humming, it's not a biggie to keep going till it can be addressed but it does make a mess if you don't get to it quickly. I don't know that I'd recommend driving 1,500 miles with it that way though. I mean what's the worst than can happen? chuck a wheel and see your highway neighbor catapult through the after running it over and then having it smash back into it down the highway? That'll never happen!!!

Also, good point about the articulation, I think. Even during normal driving, angle of the axle means bottom of the rotation is where CV boot stretches, which would fling grease rearward as cut/split opens then closes on the way back up.

 

[Badmommallama]

Update: clarification, just the axle and dealer found part at another dealer who was willing to give it to them. So my repair will take place in about a week.

Any updates for you? My whole assembly has to be changed which is on backorder. Waiting to hear back from Ford on how long of a wait that actually is.

 

[BigHoof]

The boot could have been damaged somewhere in transit. Some sketchy hauling these days, might of tore it with a strap.

 

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

Any updates for you? My whole assembly has to be changed which is on backorder. Waiting to hear back from Ford on how long of a wait that actually is.

Not yet. Earliest appointment I could get was for 04/24. When I have a moment, going to shop around for something earlier. But, need a dealership that does loaners, as I have a LOT of driving to do this month.

When you say “assembly”, what are you referring to? Just the whole CV axle? Or are they talking more than that, like hub assembly and/or steering knuckle, etc… as well?

 

[Badmommallama]

Not yet. Earliest appointment I could get was for 04/24. When I have a moment, going to shop around for something earlier. But, need a dealership that does loaners, as I have a LOT of driving to do this month.

When you say “assembly”, what are you referring to? Just the whole CV axle? Or are they talking more than that, like hub assembly and/or steering knuckle, etc… as well?

Haven’t gone and picked it up yet, but this is what they sent me. Service advisor said assembly on phone to my husband. So we will get a more definitive answer when we pick it up this afternoon. This was auto-generated, so pricing is moot since under warranty.

 

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

The boot could have been damaged somewhere in transit. Some sketchy hauling these days, might of tore it with a strap.

Yeah, could have been anything. Who knows.

This forum has a tendency to amplify issues, given our enthusiasm for our current and/or prospective rigs. But, issue seems systemic, like there’s an issue that could be anywhere between manufacturing the part and shipping the vehicle.

Wonder if @Ford Motor Company has looked into this?

 

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

Haven’t gone and picked it up yet, but this is what they sent me. Service advisor said assembly on phone to my husband. So we will get a more definitive answer when we pick it up this afternoon. This was auto-generated, so pricing is moot since under warranty.

Yeah, looks like just the CV axle. The first two entries are probably labor to diagnose and then do a courtesy MPI.

Unfortunate to hear they're on backorder. Interested to hear how long the wait is.

 

[flip]

We've seen some that either had a defect in the boot with no signs of outside damage and two that have had the outer band clamp fail.

 

[Bronco_Buckeroo]

We've seen some that either had a defect in the boot with no signs of outside damage and two that have had the outer band clamp fail.

Yeah, in my first pic, you can see an abundance of grease built up right where the boot meets the outer band clamp. Probably where the failure is.

Such defect/damage could have been introduced anywhere, I guess.

Curious, from what perspective have you seen the incidence of these failures? Ford mechanic?

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