CV shaft dislocated when installing leveling kit

[RangerRick19]

Hi guys, I too did a suspension replacement on the front and had both of my CV axles come loose from the center connection (sorry if thats not the technical term). this caused both of my spindles to lock in a downward turn. I was able to reseat both axles spindles and got both CV axles in. The hub was moving fine and I’ve since buttoned everything up and have been driving fine. I guess my concern is that I’m just second guessing my work, and I’m worried i possibly didn’t reseat the CV axles far enough in, is that possible? Truck feels fine, maybe its all in my head.

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[RangerFD]

Hi guys, I too did a suspension replacement on the front and had both of my CV axles come loose from the center connection (sorry if thats not the technical term). this caused both of my spindles to lock in a downward turn. I was able to reseat both axles spindles and got both CV axles in. The hub was moving fine and I’ve since buttoned everything up and have been driving fine. I guess my concern is that I’m just second guessing my work, and I’m worried i possibly didn’t reseat the CV axles far enough in, is that possible? Truck feels fine, maybe its all in my head.

Go get it checked out somewhere. Doesn’t hurt

 

[cb4017]

This guys video helped me a lot.

One of the better videos. I'll definitely be removing the axle nuts.

 

[geophb]

Always remove the axle nuts and make sure its pulling the axle out of the wheel hub and not stuck, otherwise it will separate like the OP's.

This might help someone. Actual clips may vary, thats a generic pic. Sometimes there is a large wire lock that holds the cage/balls inside the housing.

 

[RangerFD]

**Update** 1500 miles later I got my oil changed at the Ford dealer with my points. I then got called and told my Cv axle is leaking (sounds familiar). They then quoted me $1,000 for the repair. First two pictures is what I saw when I got under the truck. The last picture is what I found after I cleaned everything and drove for a day and checked again. Going to take it back to the 3rd party who fixed it originally. They said it might be too much grease or not a tight enough clamp. I checked the boot and it’s perfectly fine so I’m not worried about that. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[Whiskeybilt]

I was a day away from doing this and then saw this thread, waited and ordered the nuts. Thank goodness.

 

[RangerFD]

Don't know if anyone is still following this but had the same shop that rebuilt both front Cv axles try and tighten down the right clamp again...still not working. Had to bite the bullet on this one and ordered a new right cv joint. Cost was $300 for anyone wondering. Im justifying it in my mind because even if they did fix the leak I would be under there every day re-checking to see if it had started leaking again.

I decided to put a strip of Flex Tape (I know sounds terrible) around the clamp and further onto the housing to see if I could catch where the leak was coming from. As you can see in the picture, sure enough the leak is coming from where this cheap replacement clamp binds together. Maybe buying the oem clamp and asking the repair shop to use it would of worked but the peace of mind from replacing the whole joint all together seems like the better option.

 

[KevinG]

Just did my Fox 2.0 kit, axle nuts come off, see pic.

 

[RangerFD]

Just did my Fox 2.0 kit, axle nuts come off, see pic.

yep learned from my mistake. should of removed it! nice job!

 

[tehschkott]

This happened to us as well but we didn't catch it in time and it tore the CV boot. Backed it out if the bay, heard a KUCHUNK and looked at each other and said, uh, that sounded expensive. Pulled it back in and this is what we saw.

CV boot ($60) is on national backorder with no ship date due to pandemic (aka Galactic Backorder). Ended up having to buy a whole new axle ($197) which has the boots.

Drove it for a week with torn boot until part arrived (undesirable but it was fine) and we could get back into the shop. Could have been worse I suppose but wasn't thrilled in the moment. But my guy is great, we got through it, no harm no foul, lesson learned.

 

[RangerFD]

This happened to us as well but we didn't catch it in time and it tore the CV boot. Backed it out if the bay, heard a KUCHUNK and looked at each other and said, uh, that sounded expensive. Pulled it back in and this is what we saw.

CV boot ($60) is on national backorder with no ship date due to pandemic (aka Galactic Backorder). Ended up having to buy a whole new axle ($197) which has the boots.

Drove it for a week with torn boot until part arrived (undesirable but it was fine) and we could get back into the shop. Could have been worse I suppose but wasn't thrilled in the moment. But my guy is great, we got through it, no harm no foul, lesson learned.

You drove with no grease in the cv boot like that? That’s crazy?

 

[tehschkott]

You drove with no grease in the cv boot like that? That’s crazy?

Aye well weren't a lot of options open. millions of cars on the road with torn CV boots. Not ideal but in a pinch it sufficed. Drive gentle, stay out of 4wd, keep the radio off. And at end of the week that axle and bearing joint was replaced anyhow. I'm not advocating for it just saying, that's how we got through it. Can't go a week without a rig.

 

[RangerFD]

Aye well weren't a lot of options open. millions of cars on the road with torn CV boots. Not ideal but in a pinch it sufficed. Drive gentle, stay out of 4wd, keep the radio off. And at end of the week that axle and bearing joint was replaced anyhow. I'm not advocating for it just saying, that's how we got through it. Can't go a week without a rig.

So if I’ve got a slight leak (about a pea size a day) coming out from under the clamp (no exposed boot or any rip) I should be good for a week? That’s what I’m looking at right now.

 

[tehschkott]

I think there are others better qualified to answer than me, but I'd wager yeah. Order the replacement and nurse it along. Someone please feel free to jump in and disabuse me of my lackadaisical approach.

 

[RangerFD]

I think there are others better qualified to answer than me, but I'd wager yeah. Order the replacement and nurse it along. Someone please feel free to jump in and disabuse me of my lackadaisical approach.

Haha I should be getting it fixed in 2 days so hopefully an hour commute to work for two days won’t be too bad

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