Driver's side front axle assembly replacement

[Turborave]

Good morning, my drivers side cv boot closest to the engine is seeping a bit of grease, you can't really see it, but if you reach up and touch around the edge of the boot, your fingers get a bit of grease on them. the dealer wants to replace the whole thing, for the cost of ~$1200. The quote is for 5hrs of labor and over 400 in parts, the assembly itself is $250 on parts.ford.com. i asked them what's costing 400? they said its for bolts and axle fluids (grease i guess?) what other parts need to be replaced other than the axle assy? what bolts are they replacing that cost almost 200? my dealer is generally pretty good but this seems excessive.

or why can't they just use the CV boot maintenance kit and just reseat it?

the reason the cv boot is seeping a bit is crappy as well, when i got my level done about 2 years ago, i guess they snapped metal band or the boot slipped off and they put a big zip tie on it and didn't tell me about it, didn't find out about it until a maintenance appointment a while later. its not horrible and i dont off road the truck and haven't used 4x4 very much.

I'm thinking about calling the place that did the level and telling them they need to replace it, i can provide the part if its just the $250.

for now i'm planning on putting a new metal band on it with a kit i got on amazon that includes the crimping pliers. its not slinging grease all over the place or something.

pic of the offending boot:

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[DukeCanBuildit]

I think your plan to crimp a new clamp on there is the right place to start and might end up being all you need to do.

Did the dealer say the parts were damaged and need to be replaced or are they just saying, gee there’s a clamp missing, let’s replace the whole darn thing?

 

[Rp930]

Dealer is marking up the part Above retail. Nothing new there. The metal band will likely fix it.

And I wouldn’t go back to the hacks that put a tie wrap on there.

 

[SDXLT]

I would bet that the lift shop separated your axle when they were installing the lift and had to open it up to get it back together. If the boot itself isn't leaking and it's just at the seal try a new clamp first. Doubt anything got in there to contaminate it since it's a minute amount - it may even be residual from the lift shop that you're just now noticing.

 

[JasonTremor]

New clamp will likely fix it all up. You could get some of the cv joint grease at your local auto parts store and add a bit to it before crimping the new clamp.

 

[Sleepy_Hollow]

Wonder if I can salvage my Passenger front. I hear a clunk and they said its leaking grease.

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