CV joint gaiter replacement?

fredsmith · August 21, 2023

Hi Everyone, can someone enlighten me here please? I am totally car-illiterate. I’ve owned my IS250 from new in 2008.

My wife had the AA replace my left rear wheel following a recent puncture. The AA guy told her: "the CV joint gaiter is leaking grease, so probably needs a new gaiter. The garage will need to take out the drive shaft to re-grease it before putting it back."

I asked a local garage about this (unfortunately no Lexus garage anywhere near me), and the guy sort of shook his head uncertainly and said I probably needed a special Lexus part. Is this true, and is a Lexus one easy to get hold of? If not, would a generic gaiter do the job? I have a service soon and would prefer to bring along the required part rather than ask them to source it for me (unless someone advises that this would be a better idea). Any other helpful comments for this car dumbo? Is it true that they have to take out the drive shaft? Sounds like that could be pricey.

Sorry for sounding so stupid, but a big thank you to anyone who might be able to assist.

Malc1 · August 21, 2023

I'd have thought with your 15 year young car that any competent garage would be able to source an appropriate gaiter and do the entire job BUT not the one you've just asked, clearly

Looking back at the old bills I've inherited with the " new to me " Mk1 Ls400, the CV gaiter cost £168 to fit in Nov 2018 ......... no indication of the cost of the gaiter itself .. maybe that was included !

I'd have thought a suitable generic gaiter would be fit for purpose BUT leave all that to a competent garage ........ where you get your car regularly serviced maybe ?

Good luck

Malc

ColinBarber · August 21, 2023

The gaiter itself isn't available from Lexus, only a complete drive shaft at the cost of around £850.

Over on rockauto.com third party complete drive shafts are between £65 and £80, but you have the extra cost of shipping and import to add. Not sure if there are third party or refurbished ones available directly in Europe.

fredsmith · August 21, 2023

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

I'd have thought with your 15 year young car that any competent garage would be able to source an appropriate gaiter and do the entire job BUT not the one you've just asked, clearly

Looking back at the old bills I've inherited with the " new to me " Mk1 Ls400, the CV gaiter cost £168 to fit in Nov 2018 ......... no indication of the cost of the gaiter itself .. maybe that was included !

I'd have thought a suitable generic gaiter would be fit for purpose BUT leave all that to a competent garage ........ where you get your car regularly serviced maybe ?

Good luck

Malc

Thanks, that’s encouraging. I’ve just moved back to the UK after >12 years in mainland Europe so I’ve no established garage here. From what you say, sounds like I should 'gaiter' another local garage and get another opinion. If generic is ok, I’ll feel happier. Cheers.

Malc1 · August 22, 2023

Do let us know your progress here

Malc

fredsmith · September 27, 2023

On 8/21/2023 at 8:53 PM, ColinBarber said:

The gaiter itself isn't available from Lexus, only a complete drive shaft at the cost of around £850.

Over on rockauto.com third party complete drive shafts are between £65 and £80, but you have the extra cost of shipping and import to add. Not sure if there are third party or refurbished ones available directly in Europe.

Thanks. I took the car to a Lexus dealership. They took a look and told me I need 2 driveshafts at a total cost of around £2,500 inc labour. Looks like I’ll be buying another car. I can’t justify spending £2,500 on a 15 year old car with a book price of around £1500. A shame. The car is in good nick and drives very nicely apart from this issue.

HPS13 · September 27, 2023

Hi

If it's just the rubber gaiters that need replaced then maybe use a good independent garage to do the work for you. Garages have gaiter kits that fit all makes and models of vehicles as they are fitted and then trimmed for neatness.

Unfortunately a lot of dealerships want to replace the entire unit rather than the defective part (I used to be a technician) which isn't customer friendly.

Malc1 · September 27, 2023

fredsmith, take Hugh's advice and get an indy to check it all over for you ............ and come up with a sensible solution that's viable .. a gaiter is summat of nothing and does not actually help drive the car . it's just some sort of " protection " and will last donkeys years when re-fitted . at a sensible cost

Malc

ColinBarber · September 27, 2023

2 hours ago, fredsmith said:

Thanks. I took the car to a Lexus dealership. They took a look and told me I need 2 driveshafts at a total cost of around £2,500 inc labour. Looks like I’ll be buying another car. I can’t justify spending £2,500 on a 15 year old car with a book price of around £1500. A shame. The car is in good nick and drives very nicely apart from this issue.

Yes that is ridiculous but it's the standard price a Lexus dealer is going to charge. You could import 2 driveshafts from the US and get a local mechanic to fit all in for under £400, and probably half that if a generic gaiter can be found that will fit.

Spock66 · September 27, 2023

There are also Split Gaiter Kits that can be fitted without removing the drive shaft which accounts for the high labour cost.

No personal experience of these but could be a low cost fix to keep your car on the road for a few more years.

fredsmith · September 27, 2023

Thanks for the additional info which is a bit more encouraging. This is a really great forum and you guys have saved my sanity several times over the years.

One thing though — before I took it to Lexus I did get a full service from a local garage (well, one of those Formula One Autocentres) and asked them to look at the CV gaiters. The guy seemed to know what he was talking about and said (I scribbled some notes at the time): 'the CV boots seem fine, but there’s a sort of metal cup that goes over the joint and there’s CV grease leaking from the metal cup. But I can’t get the metal cup off to investigate. It probably needs a special Lexus tool'.

Which is why I went to a Lexus garage. They didn’t take it apart either, just did an external check before telling me I’d need two new driveshafts which would cost about £2.5k (inc about £1700 for the parts).

They gave me two pictures which mean nothing too me but here they are:

is it the view of the forum that the work really does require special Lexus tools and knowledge, or should any decent local garage be able to sort this out?

A long shot — does anyone know anyone in the East Sussex area they could recommend? Otherwise I can try talking again to another local garage that might be more clued up.

Thanks people. Maybe I can avoid ditching my 15-yo IS 250 after all.

ColinBarber · September 28, 2023

The driveshaft is one piece from a Lexus point of view - the cup cannot be removed/replaced. This is a picture of a replacement shaft taken from Rockauto - about £70.

Malc1 · September 28, 2023

a simple local garage that's been around for a while . NOT a BIG national chain for sure . just your small local back street indy that's got some sensible years behind him . that's all I've used for the past 55 years of motoring incl the past 25 years with a Ls400 ......

9 hours ago, fredsmith said:

I can try talking again to another local garage that might be more clued up.

it's only a car you know !

Malc

HPS13 · September 28, 2023

fredsmith - the 'cup' you refer to in the photos are the C.V joints (constant velocity).

It can't be opened as it's a sealed component (the C.V joints separate from the driveshaft by means of a circlip). If you have any signs of grease around the driveshaft, it will definitely have been leaking from the gaiter itself, not the C.V joint. If the C.V joint has lost most of the grease and been running dry for a long time then it may have some wear and need replaced.

As mentioned above, go to a good local independent garage. They will tell you what is required which will be -

Option 1. - The C.V joints are deemed to be serviceable and just the gaiters need replacement.

Option 2. The C.V joints are worn and require replacement which means you can get replacements from RockAuto for £70 (this is a good price!) as per Colin's advice.

The main thing is try not to worry to much about it, the work required is not a big job. You want to keep your car on the road.

Spock66 · September 29, 2023

If the drive shaft is being removed also good practice to replace the driveshaft oil seals on the differential.

fredsmith · October 3, 2023

On 9/28/2023 at 8:40 AM, ColinBarber said:

The driveshaft is one piece from a Lexus point of view - the cup cannot be removed/replaced. This is a picture of a replacement shaft taken from Rockauto - about £70.

Hi Colin,

sorry to be a nuisance but can you provide a link to that part please? I’ve looked at Rock Auto and can’t locate it.

I've booked the car into a local garage for tomorrow and will see what they say.

Malc1 · October 3, 2023

Good luck with it all today

At least you should be pretty confident that there’s a more economic and sensible solution than the Lexus Main Dealer option

Malc

ColinBarber · October 3, 2023

2 hours ago, fredsmith said:

Hi Colin,

sorry to be a nuisance but can you provide a link to that part please? I’ve looked at Rock Auto and can’t locate it.

I've booked the car into a local garage for tomorrow and will see what they say.

Try this, there are a few to choose from:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/lexus,2008,is250,2.5l+v6,1441482,drivetrain,cv+axle,2288

fredsmith · October 6, 2023

Update: well, something unexpected has happened. I took it to a small local independent garage. When I told them Lexus had said I needed new driveshafts at a cost of £2K, they laughed and that was before they’d even looked at the car. Anyway, when I returned later on, the mechanic said he wasn’t sure there was actually anything wrong at all. He agreed there were signs of grease but saw no evidence of a leak or any damage to the CV gaiters. He even hoisted it up again and invited me to take a look around the underside of my car. (First time I’d ever stood under a car, and found it a bit unnerving!) He'd given the axle and driveshafts a thorough clean and rubbed off the surface corrosion that Lexus had presented me with photos of. He's asked me to bring back the car in a couple of weeks and he’ll take another look. If more grease has appeared, then we’d take it further. If it’s still clean he reckons there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll update further after that.

Once again, thank you everyone.

Malc1 · October 6, 2023

fredsmith hi . well then, that's a brilliant result from an independent sensible indy ........ hope you're doing a good on-line Review for them if they have a website

Also, is this one of the good'uns we should all now about in case we can use them at some future time ?

And your car " lives again " at comparative tiny ££££ cost

Thanks

Malc