Why did my CV joint disappear?

[LittleBeast]

So as some of you know I had my passenger side CV joint blow on me a while ago while mudding, well, I needed to remove the green CV cup to fix it, so I just took the passenger side CV joint off of the VX completely and was driving in 2WD until I had the time to drop the front diff and fix the problem correctly. Well I crawled under the VX today to lube some squeaks and what not, and to my surprize I was missing my driver's side CV shaft!!!!! The one that I had just left well enough alone. The outer cup had everything in it but there was no boot and the shaft was missing, and the inner cup had a torn up boot with the ring clamp severely bent 4 of the 6 ball bearings and the outer cage of the joint, the inner cage and shaft were no where to be found. The other day on the high way I heard a bit of a pop, but it really wasn't that loud and I assumed I ran over something, was that really the CV shaft breaking in half and pulling everything out? Is this what happens when you run 1 CV joint only? I just assumed that no power would go to that driver's side since we have an open Diff, did it break because of vibrations? I don't get it. I just checked everything 6 days ago when I did the oil change and other stuff..... What gives?

[Riff Raff]

What gives?

Apparently, the CV joint.

[Ldub]

Did you notice any bending of the diff drop brackets?

Unless the diff deflected sideways enough for the shaft to drop out, it would almost have to break in half, or have an end come off, for it to be "just plain gone".

Good luck getting things back together....

[samneil2000]

Those darn CV Joint Gnomes at it again!

Something must have flexed somewhere to give it wiggle room. Weird. Be sure to check underneath for damage, make sure it didn't rip a brake line or pop a hole in a pan or anything.

[crotchrocket]

Very strange, if anything the diff drop brackets shorten the distance between the diff and wheels ?? can't figure how it could have popped out?

[Triathlete]

I know VX parts are getting hard to find and expensive...but now your Texas VX bro's are stealing your axle shafts...Wow!

For a shaft to break in half while driving something (the CVs) would have to bind up. I have heard axle shafts snap before. It is pretty loud. I would expect if your CVs bound up that you would have felt it in the steering...espescially with only one. Keep us informed on what you find. Be sure to check everything out well for any type of damage that may have happened when it let loose.

[tom4bren]

Are all the bolts tight on the diff brackets?

I may still have the shafts from the set I bought from the boneyard. Lemme know if you need them. The shafts should be good to go but any parts from the CV will have to be reworked at your local axle shop.

[Marlin]

Maybe the ORW stole it for her new "significant other".

[SPAZZ]

you need some AISIN Manual hubs so the next time you decide to do something like that you can just turn the dial to FREE instead of LOCK.
Stock VX's have locked all the time flanges, with no moving parts.
This was done so TOD can do its job without delay.
It also makes your front axle spin all the time and prematurely wear out.

I found a pair today. Only one complete side wanted to come off and only the outer of the other and 3 of the allan head bolts.
I'll go back and see if I can do the Gnome thing and get the rest of the second side. Just 3 more allan bolts & a snap ring.

The bone yard charges $40+tax per hub.
Yes.
Thats not a horrible price as they have charged more in some places.
So, If you want this set I'll sell them to you LittleBeast, but please wait till I'm able to go back and get the rest or not.
Then we'll talk price.
It seems you need em bad.

I also found about a dozen Isuzu Dana 44's too

[PK]

Only guessing here, but I think it is time to check your diff.

With one shaft out, anytime you had rear wheel spin, TOD would have sent power to the front diff.
The side gears would have just let the diff internals spin, possibly causing premature wear to the diff.
Perhaps a combination of things allowed the good shaft to pull one end out of the socket. After that it would have thrown itself out fairly quickly.

Would have made a lot of noise though - do you drive with head banging music turned up so that half the city can hear it??

PK

[pbkid]

pics or it didnt happen

[Marlin]

As for the hubs, you can get brand new superwinch hubs for 110 or something like that from indy4x. I am installing mine this weekend with the new front Aussie locker.

[SPAZZ]

yep, and with those brand new bling cheepo week superwinch hubs sticking so far out they get bashed on anything and everything unless you offset your wheels so rediculously its sickening.

Plus, with those superwinch hubs and others alike with the 6 to 8 little tiny outer allan heads, they fall out all the time with vibrations.

Every time you stoip somewhere after losing a pair or two you will be using the little allan key tool you made for your key chain to tighten those little bolts all the time.

Or

Just go AISIN...DONE!!!!

The Isuzu AISIN's are made of steel where as the other import AISIN's are made of alluminum or sheet metal.
Plus, they stick out the least.

Don't buy cheep.
Buy better.
Sometimes you can go "least expensive"
but cheep is cheep no matter what sticker or price or advertising you put on it.

I'll sell you my Used set of AISIN's for $150 + shipping which is at cost for me.
New try $500 each I've been told.
Used AISIN's are far more "functional" than Superwinch or warn lockouts for an Isuzu hands down.

[Marlin]

yep, and with those brand new bling cheepo week superwinch hubs sticking so far out they get bashed on anything and everything unless you offset your wheels so rediculously its sickening.

Plus, with those superwinch hubs and others alike with the 6 to 8 little tiny outer allan heads, they fall out all the time with vibrations.

Every time you stoip somewhere after losing a pair or two you will be using the little allan key tool you made for your key chain to tighten those little bolts all the time.

Or

Just go AISIN...DONE!!!!

The Isuzu AISIN's are made of steel where as the other import AISIN's are made of alluminum or sheet metal.
Plus, they stick out the least.

Don't buy cheep.
Buy better.
Sometimes you can go "least expensive"
but cheep is cheep no matter what sticker or price or advertising you put on it.

I'll sell you my Used set of AISIN's for $150 + shipping which is at cost for me.
New try $500 each I've been told.
Used AISIN's are far more "functional" than Superwinch or warn lockouts for an Isuzu hands down.

I would rather replace a cheap hub which is easy to do, less than 15 min or so and very trail friendly, than a PITA CV joint which could take hours. If you had problems with the allen screws, how come you didn't just use blue locktite? I think that is about 3 bucks a tube?