ok, bring on the i told you so's.....

i cranked the t-bars (4) on driver (6) on passenger. the fender lip is 32 inches off level ground. and 19 inches +/- an 1/8 to hub center.
saw warnings about going more than 1.5"...so i thought i was safe.

this was done about about one month ago.

was under blazer last week all was fine.

during oil change today i noticed that driver cv inner boot has blown greenish chunks all over.. passenger has slight leak some chunks not much.
looks like boot is intact at both ends...guessing a seal at inner on both (engine side)

ok, so i know the cv axle total job is the way to go.
can i wait a week give take? no noticeable signs off problems in handling or noise.

my question is this...i am guessing the t-crank has accelerated an already failing cv?

and by accelerated cv wear what is typical with a t-bar crank? it cant be 1 month can it?

don't know how far off of stock height my ride was before i cranked...i had some sagging and was not level at all.

dont know what stock is to fender lip???????

i am planning to back the t-bars down very slightly...of course having complete confidence that i wouldn't have this problem ( last words) i have mounted some 31X10.5X15 so going all the way back is not an option really.



any advice is greatly appreciated at this point....

 

Lol thats to funny, That exact thing happen to me last week. I was down there looking at something and noticed green gunk all over. So i drove it for about a week and this past weekend changed the cv joints Ball joints and brake pads. When i was taking off the joints i noticed the boots were fine and what not they had come off the end of joint thing. This also happened after i had done about an inch Tbar lift. So i am kinda thinking it just accelerated the death of the cv joints. Dunno if they were orginal to but my upper and lower ball joints were and i have 200,000 miles on my 2000. How do your tires clear your fender did you just do a tbar crank or a tbar crank and a body lift?

Matt

 

i have pics in my album of the 31's, they fit fine... just the crank and shackles.
yeah i was thinking maybe i could check the clamp on the boot maybe...doubt it though...
yeah i have 160,000 mi on mine....not like its fresh off the floor.

i just wondered how bad the life span really gets on these parts.

if you dont mind me asking....were did you get parts and what was the total damage...minus breaks did mine this spring.

thanks

 

I got all my parts at autozone. Just go to their web site and find your parts for me the the parts were high but i am just a poor pesant

Cv joints 70.00 a peice
ball joints were like 25.00 a piece

So your looking about 240.00 Plus tax.

I wanna do exactly what you did with tires and a lift. Do you have any rubbing issues? Why tires do you have?

Matt

 

no rubbing at all...can turn it as tight as i want.
tires are pathfinders 31X10.5X15
wheels are off a zr2, just painted them myself.
the album pics show close ups and you can see its a snug fit but no problems.
i think i can safely take a turn or two out of crank job and still be good, will see soon enough.

i really want to know what lifespan to expect on these cv joints...i too am a poor peasant and this is not helping at all.

man all i wanted was a hobby, so why not turn my ride into one....how bad could it get?????

 

Yeah i understand ya on the peasant thing mine is like my hobby also. umm all the parts i replaced on my front end have a liftime warrenty which is good news to my ears. do you think your tires would rub if you had rims that stuck out. LIke i have eagle alloys and they stick out a bit. What do you think?

Matt

 

depends on backspacing...
i think member Bigringtravis just did his and he had 4.5" backspacing and no issues.
cant say for sure . would have to look into it.

hey mav06,

outside of ball joints upper and lower and the cv-axles both sides was there anything else you had to get?

seal? special lube?

wanna make sure i am not making trips half way into the job.

if boots are intact and look good is it possible to just get new clamps and refill with lube of some sort?
i have had no problems with the axle mechanically other than the leak.
found this

http://www.s-10crewcab.com/phpBB2/vi...highlight=axle

 

Hey there,
Umm i ddin't have to get anything special. umm maybe a torque wrench. ball joint seperator, and just sockets. Nothing major. You might be able to get a new clamp not to sure. I think you have to have a special tool to reclamp them. I thought about that but i decided to just replace them since i was going to do my ball joints now i wont have to get back in there anymore.

Thanks for the website.

Matt

 

ok, update....

the hose clamp on the boot seems to work great....bought 4.5" clamp.
popped (slide off) old clamp.
wiped down
opened up and repacked with lube ref. in link.

the hose clamp is a snug fit, but like i said 1 full day of normal driving and still dry.
3.99 for a pair....worth a shot.

if status changes for any reason i will pass it on.

will have pic later.... a little dark here

 

Yea, I hear your pain. I have a Zr2 and put 2" shackles in the rear and cranked the t-bars 1.75", and within 2 months, here is what failed:

2 blown cv joints
upper & lower ball joints
pitman arm
idler arm
both hubs
rotors
.....

I know not all of this isnt directly related to cranking the t-bars, but my bill from the mechanic was $1000 even and I bought timken hubs separatly, so $1300 total. Thats gunna delay getting my 33" mudders.... And yes I could have done it myself, but I have a full load of engineering courses which = no time.

And after all that, I still wanna crank my t-bars =P