Hello again everyone. This is project installment number 2 for my blazer. It will be a two part fix, but the fuel sending unit is pretty heavily covered here in these forums, and I'll omit that.

The project that could pose some problems is the clicking noise I hear from the front left wheel. It only does so when in 4x4, and gets worse when turning. I immediately suspected the CV joint under the boot... and when I looked the boot's grease was all over the vehicles frame.
So... I'm assuming that its probably a bad CV joint or something else in that general area. Any tips before I start ripping things apart? I know it has to go on a lift, but is there anything that's really important I'll need to know? I was planning on taking alot of pictures, but my camera decided to take the route of the Blazer and not operate at 100% capability.

*Update*
Was driving it home from work and threw it in 4x4hi to see if I could hear the noise. I did, and its more of a random rattle that increases with acceleration and fades in steady motion. It gets louder depending on the amount of acceleration.

 

this happen to my old fourwheeler once and your talkin BIG $$ if like you said the cv boot it already torn and grease is already leakin and your heard a clickin noise from my past experiance you will probably need a whole new joint the piece that runs from the front pumkin to the cv boot...or vise versa you may need the piece that runs from the boot to the wheel...or i may be wrong and you may only need some fresh grease and a new boot...hopefully thats all you need!

 

to me it sounds like the joint is gone or soon to be gone. it wont be a real cheap fix, but i believe you can replace the whole axle shaft without having to ask the government for a bailout, lol, a haynes or a chiltons manual covers the DIY pretty clearly.
Replacing a torn boot is worth the money if you wont to keep the joint in good working order

 

Definitely a CV joint failure. Grease all over the place is a clear sign. If it was caught soon enough, you could have just put a new boot on the shaft, but once they start clicking, the joint is worn.

As far as tricks... Not really too much to it. Getting it out of the differential will be a challenge. Use a block of wood and a mini-sledge hammer and you will be able to coax it out. The axle nut will be fun if you do not have air tools.

 

i didnt think they made replacement boots for cv joints anymore??

 

Learn somethin` new every day don`t ya?

 

Luckily most all military bases have a Auto Hobby Shop with lifts and tools for rent that is really inexpensive.

What kind of parts do I need to get prior to ripping this apart? I figure a boot, a joint, some grease, anything else?

(My manual is at home... otherwise I'd be looking there first )


Another edit: was curious to know what you guys think:
Cost effective to buy just the worn part, a complete drive axle assembly replacement, (if yes to the assy, where do you guys buy em?) or bring it to a service shop and have them do it? (Many sites say this is inexpensive)

 

Bumping this subject, cuz this weekend I'll probably tackle the project, but just in case anyone has any other words of wisdom, or answers to the questions inthe previous post,I'd like it higher up in the forums for a couple more days.

 

i dont know wher you live or if you have any mecanical skills but in nh it cost me 99.99 then a 30 core. it took me 2-3 hours youtake out the 6bolts that hold the axel to the front end thentake off the axel nut its a 35mm then pop the upper balljoint take the front skock out then slide out the axel its not all that hard the only special tools you need is a ball joint splitter a 35 mm axel socket and a breaker bar let me know how it goes. but you dont needtoknow expertice in mecanical skills

 

I'm confident that I can do the maintenance. I'm just having a hard time finding the parts... After doing some research online I found that some shops can do it for a decent price, though I haven't looked personally. Another thing I'm having trouble with is where to find the parts. I'm still up in the air if I want to change the whole front left drive axle; or to just buy the pieces and rebuild the CV Joint with a new boot. I was going to do it this weekend, but things came up and its getting delayed again.