Front Axle Question

[2TimingTom]

With the truck completely off the ground, transmission in neutral- how easy should the front axle be to rotate?

And on a potentially related note, what would cause 3 areas of significant resistance while rotating the front left wheel which also cause the corner (upper/lower control arms, axle, brakes...) to rise about an inch? I removed the brake pads and it remains the same. The right front doesn't rotate as smooth as the rear wheels, but it rotates with much less resistance than the front left.

Any ideas?

I've also been having an issue with a weird smell that seems to be originating from the left front.

Also when turning, I can't tell if it's the BFG All-Terrain T/As being loud or there's another issue.

Got a front axle starting to crap out on me?

 

[IZwack]

...also cause the corner (upper/lower control arms, axle, brakes...) to rise about an inch?

Can you elaborate on this more? I ask because if the vehicle is sitting under its own weight and you turn the steering wheel (with the engine running), one corner should slightly rise while the other one falls due to the caster angle - which is natural.

 

[2TimingTom]

Can you elaborate on this more? I ask because if the vehicle is sitting under its own weight and you turn the steering wheel (with the engine running), one corner should slightly rise while the other one falls due to the caster angle - which is natural.

I was just rotating the tire- as if it was rolling normally down the road.

 

[IZwack]

Ah okay. Well the culprit is probably the axle shaft's (aka "half shaft") CV's (there are two per axle shaft). That's the only thing that can cause the hard spots during rotation (as it binds internally), and cause the entire suspension to move vertically when rotated - that's gotta be a really bad axle shaft to cause that much movement BTW

 

[2TimingTom]

There is some noise associated as well, but I thought it was just the rubber of the boot squeaking as it rubbed against itself. And maybe it is just that.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[IZwack]

If you pull the axle shaft from the vehicle, you should be able to flex each CV joint by hand w/o much resistance.

 

[corkey]

x2 on the cv going bad, it has 3 bearings on it and if one is going bad it will get tight and bind,,
not a great pic, but inside it looks like this,,

 

[2TimingTom]

^^Is that after severe bindage (ie it locked up)?

 

[corkey]

no, that was after the wheel hopped a bunch off road and a limit strap broke, allowing the cv to overextend,, pulling the bearings out of the stub,

 

[2TimingTom]

You guys recommend any particular good brand of replacement?

 

[IZwack]

You guys recommend any particular good brand of replacement?

I'm sure they'll all last at least 50k miles so pick whatever is available locally.

 

[KingTriEye]

I'm about to do CV joints on my 2000. The last time I did them, I jsut replaced the CV's, but is there a gasket or anything else that should be replaced to prevent leakage from the transfercase? I've noticed that the transfercase has a slow leak and wonder if i need to consider it being another problem. Also, where do you check the fluid level and fill the transfer case from?

Thanks!

 

[2TimingTom]

Well, the CVs don't go into the transfer case- they go into the front axle/differential.

This will be my first attempt at CV replacement on a 4wd vehicle, but I've done several FWD CV replacements. On a FWD, the CVs go straight into the side of the transmission. There is an oil seal that the CV goes through. These can be replaced- but are finicky to get right. I did one where if I parked the car on level ground, it wouldn't leak- park it on the driveway that was sloped, and it would leak.

I'm assuming a 4wd replacement is very similar to a FWD replacement.