Hi all -

I just picked up my VX this past weekend and I am loving it. I own a Honda s2000 and a Lexus sc300 and this ranks right up there in the fun to drive category. I don't even mind the fact that I am on pace for about 10 mpg out of this last tank (I have been having fun tearing through the roads after the ice storms we have been getting this week, hopefully the novelty wears off before it gets too expensive).

Anyway, she needs a little work to get back to full strength, and I was hoping you guys could help me figure a few things out. Just to get everyone grounded, it is a 2000 VX with ~90,000 miles on it, 3" lift, superwinch hubs on the front.

First, the front passenger CV boot is torn. I'm getting a little steering wheel shimmy and I have no idea how long it has been like that before I bought it, so I am planning on replacing the entire joint. I'm new to lifted vehicles, so I was wondering if a 3" lift necessitated a custom CV joint, or if I can just use a stock replacement. Can anyone suggest a place to get them from?

Regarding the TOD, I *think* it is working correctly, but am not entirely sure and wanted to see what you all thought. For the most part it is showing no power to the front wheels when stopped and at very slow speeds. Anything over about 5-10 mph has the first bar lit up for both wheels. Every once in a while I can get it to show all three bars on both wheel, but usually only for a split second after a sudden acceleration. I have never been able to get one front wheel to receive different power than the other, they are always the same. I also don't seem to be able to get any more power out of the front wheels once I am moving no matter what stupid things I do, and believe me I have been trying. I have been trying to slide around in the parking lot at work, driving through an icy patch on one side of the car, etc. and nothing seems to change it.

That said, the performance is about what I would expect, it grips pretty well and recovers quickly when I try to slide it around. There was only one time I was worried, which was when I drove it back this weekend through Indianapolis during the snow/wind storms. The roads were terrible, and I was in the far left lane which was very close to where the roads hadn't been cleared at all. I must have caught the edge of the deep snow or been pushed into it from the wind, but I completely lost steering and was dragged to the left further into the deep snow. I would have expected it to redistribute the power at this point to help me get some control back but it didn't. At the same time, once I noticed that I was sliding I immediately let off the accelerator and coasted without hitting the breaks until I could regain control.

So I'm not sure if that is normal operation or not. I initially thought that it should have applied power to the passenger side since that had grip and could have given me steering, but when I was discussing it with my friend we decided that probably just would have torqued the entire VX to the left. So I am a little at a loss. But my thoughts are that feedback is there for a reason, and it just hasn't been lighting up as much as I would expect.

The last question I have is regarding a "clunking" that I feel intermittently when stopping or accelerating. Right after I come to a complete stop the car will sometimes jolt forward just a tad, almost like the back tires are slipping. Sometimes it makes a similar clunk when I first hit the accelerator. It never does it both times, just one or the other. and it doesn't occur too often, maybe about 10% of the time since I have been driving it this week. Any thoughts on that? FYI my ABS light is on and I haven't diagnosed that yet, it also seems to work intermittently, so I don't know if that is somehow related. The wheels and tires are all the same on it, and from what the previous owner said, were all changed at the same time.

Sorry for the novel of a post. If any of you can help, I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks!