Found a VX in OK. I'm in TX. I talked it out with the guy, hired a mechanic made a deal. Flew a Cessna 172 up with my bud to get it. The drive back is where the problem were found. KBB 5700, bought 6000, mechanic said everything was perfect. This is what it's doing.
Major
-loose bearing in the front during deceleration
Bearings are fairly easy to repack/replace (I've done repacked mine twice now) Kenny (member here) did a pretty good write up that I followed for both my repacks: http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...front+bearings
-popping when TOD tried to put torque up there
This one could be as simple as needing to replace the CV's or as bad as the third member being wonky, won't really know until you get in it. If the CV boots are torn then the CV joints have likely gone dry and could be damaged. Just crawl under the front end and take a look at the boots. Let us know what you find. Another member here (JoFotoz) has found some replacement axles for the VX: http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...threadid=24109 Again, relatively easy to replace and should be done when you're under there replacing/repacking the bearings.
-front wheels don't engage
This one's a little tougher. Could be something in the transfer case, or maybe the splines on the front axles are stripped and they may need to be replaced. Again, can't really tell until you get into it.
- pops louder in turns
Sounds like the CV joints are bad - see above.
-engine lifter problems? Can't tell but it's a rpm driven tick
Our engines are notoriously loud and sound like rabid sewing machines sometimes. Might just be the normal sound of the engine. We really don't have lifters in our engines. The valve is a self contained thing. I just took the heads off of my old motor and would be happy to send you pictures of it so you can see what is going on in there without having to tear yours down. The noise could also be a timing belt tensioner going out. Some have reported a knocking sound when theirs was going out. Do you know if the timing belt has been changed?
-exhaust leak
Structural
-calmini lift with no drop diff
Diff drop isn't manditory, but it does ease the angle on the CV joints and helps them to last longer. This fact could explain all of the noise up front, meaning that your CV's could be shot. I've been lifted for years now with no diff drop or ball joint flip and I haven't had any issues.
-tires rub on the big plastic molding( ball joint flip for that?)
If you have a lift and over sized tires it could be just as simple as needing to trim the cladding. There is a little "point" of plastic at the front of the front wheel well that most of us have to trim off in order to get our over sized tires to fit. Look at the fifth picture from the top in this post: http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...+cladding+trim There isn't a reference picture (I know Sue has one somewhere), but if you compare it to yours you might see that your cladding comes to a point right in front of the front tire whereas Sue's does not anymore.
Minor
-stereo is busted
-blown speakers
-both windows fall forward when rolling up
This is a pretty typical problem with our VX's. A member here makes a kit to help alleviate this problem, but as a simple fix you can get into the door and pry the front window track wider so the window doesn't bind in it as much. You can also spray some dry silicone lube in the front track to help the window slid up and down better.
I need a pro to give me a little game plan on those items. Thus far I was thinking, ball joint flip with spacers, then alignment shop, they can help me diagnose the front diff problems, then front diff, install new gears(is the pumkin gear the one that needs to be installed for new gears for big tires anyway?). Thanks for reading, thanks to the ******* who ripped me off, **** you mechanic who put his shops reputation on the line lieing to me about a damn car.
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, but the search function will be your date for the day as many of these have some good, extensive threads already. Would love to help out with the search/links, but I just got to work and need some coffee....
Originally Posted by Vinnybin
As for TOD issues, it could also be a dirty sensor, I got mud up all in there, on turns, it went crazy, hosed it out, no problems after that. 
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