CV Axle 3rd time replacing
 

CV Axle 3rd time replacing...

My Cv axle boot shoot grease out when I cranked my TD bars...so i decided to do a Rough Country 2in lift and buy new CV Axles form advanced auto part (brand GP). Drivers side shoot grease out the inner and outer boots in about a month. I had a lifetime replacement from advanced so i pulled it and swapped it out for another new one. About 2 weeks later (this weekend) when a 4 hour highway trip and the driver side inner (next to the diff) boot shreaded apart and pass has shoot grease everywhere.

I put them in by putting them straight in line into the diff and hitting them on the end with a mini sledge, they went right in.

What I'm I doing wrong installing them???? or is it the quality on the part??? or is it the lift????

Quality of part coupled with the lift. The best thing you can do for the boots is condition the rubber with a silicone spray before you put it in, and again after a few miles. Repeat as needed.

Ive seen plenty of threads around the interwebz about the decrease in quality on aftermarket replacements. But those usually involve the axle itself failing, not just the boot.

Remanufactured OE is where its at.

You also are not helping things with a 2" lift regardless of the choice of components.

Cool thanks guys! So i'm guessing I installed them right, wasn't sure hitting them with a hammer was the right thing to do... but the only way I could see how to do it...

I saw cv axles on JCWhitneys website (dorset brand) and it stated they used neoprene for the boot, Do you all think these would be better? link below

Also, what about the 6in lifts, what do they use for cv axles? maybe I could use those?



http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...003650/c-10101

I could be wrong, though I'm 95% certain I'm right, but the 6" suspension lifts also lower the front differential, so the angle of the CV joint is closer to the stock angle than what you have with the lift you've got installed. No differences there. You probably just need a higher quality CV. Or, keep changing out yours with the lifetime replacement. After a while you'll probably master it....:D

Sucks doesn't it? I go through this about every six months or so. I buy them in sets and change both cv axles at the same time. I am pretty good at it now.
The 2" Rough Country suspension puts the cv shafts and inner boots at quite an extreme angle. This causes the inner boots to fail soon thereafter.

My latest solution... I have installed Cordone cv shafts and backed the t-bar adjuster bolts completely out, then installed them at just 2 turns in. My sig below is how it currently looks. So far so good.
Yes, a 6" lift would solve our problems because it lowers the front diff to keep the cv shafts at near factory angles. I cannot find anyone who makes a front diff lowering kit for a 2" lift.

Adjust front chassis ride height back to factory specs and then get a front wheel alignment. Your CV problem will be solved... along with all 4 ball joints, both outer tie rod ends, and all of the universal joints. (Cranking the torsion bars up or down affects all of them.)

Kinda hard for them to set the ride height to factory specs with a 2" suspension lift installed.

This sucks...I spent the money on a "real" lift to not have any problems!

bandidolenny: I was thinking the same thing, maybe lower the diff an inch or 2, I guess something custom. Also lowering the tb's and adding a 2in BL.

This sucks I'm out of money, this started with a leaking cv boot, so why not upgrade! I've got other things to fix.

Exactly my point, and that's what's causing the excessive wear. A suspension lift is NOT the way to accomplish whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. If it's just for "looks", don't worry about it, but if you intend on driving the vehicle, be prepared for expensive on going problems. Just because some company makes a part, doesn't mean it's going to work without consequences.

Soo...I can lower the front, put new cv axles in, coat the boots with silicone, then probably have the tires hit, so install a body lift.

or Sell it....For sale 98 Chevy Blazer with 2in RC lift $4000.00!!

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/1135287718.html

I am a commercial parts pro at Advance Auto Parts and have seen quality go downhill the past few months. My question to you is, are you getting new axles or remanufactured? The new axles tend to hold up better which is what I replaced with on my 87.

brand new

Since I cranked my t-bars all the way down I have not had a vibrations or problems like in the past. My front tires rub a little on the rear of the front fenders when hitting a pretty big bump at full crank. A sawzall would solve this but it really doesn't bother me all that much. I believe a 2" body lift would solve your problems.

New, used, remanufactured, rebuilt, it doesn't matter; If front chassis ride height is out of factory specs, (too high or too low), the joints will wear out prematurely, guaranteed!

You are sorta right... CV shafts are designed to operate within a range of motion. It is possible to operate in the "upper" range of intended motion on IFS trucks without undue wear and tear. The longer the shaft the more range of motion that can be achieved, hence the wider track on the ZR2's.
The proper way to lift an IFS truck is to lower the front differential so as to stay in the proper "range of motion" with the CV shafts. Therefore it is possible for the ride height to be "out of factory specs" and still operate as intended. Or better depending on what you are trying to do with it.

Or get custom CVs made ;)

I actually checked into custom made CV shafts but the price was gonna be around $1300 each with no guarantees.

What about all 4 ball joints, both outer tie rod ends, and both differential pinion angles? All of them are adversely affected when ride height is out of spec. If you want your Blazer to look bigger, park it next to a Chevy Tracker, or a Kia Sportage ;)

You haven't been around lifted four wheel drives much have you? That's exactly the reason for the 6" lift. Tie rod angles and ball joints are easily addressed, this is not rocket science. Differential angles are not adversely affected by this lift.

I think he was referring to the angle on the ujoints which would be affected. Every action has a reaction if you can't afford to drive a lifted truck then lower it back down. For a 2" lift your 100million times better with a body lift, you might not have that little extra ground clearance but you can use your skinny pedal more and not worry about toasting your axles. I'm going SFA soon to get rid of the lift choices for our trucks.

I have a 2000 ZR2 and have a leak where the cv joint meets diff (seal) and I believe my cv joint has gone bad on the same side. I see grease coming out of both boots too. Would you reccommend an entire axle swap? If so, what's a good source for rebuilt half shafts? Can't seem to find one for ZR2's. Thanks!