Hey all,

I have a slight problem. I had my car at the shop today getting it tuned and when it was up on the lift, I noticed some grease leaking from a boot on the inside of the wheel. It appears to have been leaking slowly and has been collecting on the inside of my wheel. It is coming out of a rubber boot on the drivers side, to the immediate left of where the strut bolts on to the A-arm. Does anyone have any idea what this part is? I figured I'd ask you guys before I go to the dealer and get the part..maybe someone else has had this problem. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow. Let me know if anyone has any ideas!

 

Leaky ball joint perhaps? I know the lower control arm ball joint on my passenger front side is leaking out of the rubber boot. I've not noticed any serious performance issues with it or vibrations, but plan on replacing it eventually.

 

Looking at the service manual, I'm pretty sure that is what you are talking about as well. Its a thick, light brown/clear grease that is coming out. Like you said, I have not noticed any performance issues, noise or anything but it still worries me, and I have grease on the inside of my wheels (it wipes off, but still....). Any idea what it would take for a fix? Would it be just a new boot?

 

You gotta change if the leak is the CV boot. No way around this... new CV boot. Now ways around this this is a $$$ repair. But its important and needed. You can't just spackle a temporary superglue on this one.

 

^What he said. I plan on changing mine, but I'm lagging only because my leak isn't that bad. Yours sounds like it is leaking worse. It will get worse over time from what I understand, and once the lube is gone... bad **** happenz. I don't intend to find out exactly what that bad **** is.

 

How can I be sure its the CV boot so I can order the part? I just looked it up, its around $20, but is this a DIY job or am I going to have to take it in? I will take some pictures today at lunch and post them up, then maybe you guys have a better idea.

Edit: Just found this thread:

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...1-spindle.html

and this one:

https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...all-joint.html

Looks like the whole spindle needs to be replaced as they don't sell the part separately. Dammit! A $300 part for a freakin torn rubber boot? It doesn't make sense to me...

 

Yeah, it sucks.

The problem is that if ANY dirt gets into the CV joint, then the CV joint is living on borrowed time. If you have grease leaking out, you can bet that dirt is getting in.

After the CV joint boot fails, it is not a matter of if the joint will fail, but how long do you have before it fails.

 

How will I know when it fails? I haven't noticed any irregularities with anything as of yet..

 

is this the front or rear wheel?

if its the front, its not a CV boot, thats on the rear driveshaft.. if its the front, its a ball joint and not that big of a deal to fix...

 

Its on the front left, right behind the rotor...Here are some pictures

 

I am replacing my steering knuckle today, so I'll let everyone know how it goes. If you get a rip in the boot, like I did, you need to replace the entire knuckle.

For a good used one, call up www.turbotoys.com and save some money. They are $428 through a dealership, yikes.