My wife's '97 Expedition now has 180,000 miles and the driver's side ball joint has been making a fuss so I have disassembled the whole knuckle assembly to R and R the ball joint. Since I've got it apart, I'm thinking now is a good time to do some preventative maintenance.


My question is: what is the expected lifespan of the CV boots and wheel bearings. This is a 4WD truck so I am hearing the bearing is a sealed unit and big bucks. The existing bearing are quiet but the driver's side did show a little grease around the seal. Also, the CV boots still look pretty good but seeing as how they have 180,000 miles on them, they must be ready to give up the ghost. Should I replace just the boots or opt for reman 1/2 shafts? I would prefer replacing the boots but I know it's a bee-otch to replace the boots. Anybody with personal experience?:

 

inspect and determine the condition of everything. if everything looks good, like you said it does, reassemble and let it go until a problem arises. if you haven't gotten any complaints out of anything yet then i would say everything is good.

as far as wheel bearings go, you can get them for around 160 dollars and have both switch out in a half hour with hand tools.

with the cv axles it's best to replace the half shaft. if the boot is compromised then there is no telling what condition the actual joint is in.