In Western Mass. Not too much time to take photos. More coming soon.

Ma Bell



Got up some rock faces that some of the other vehicles had a lot of trouble with. Got as far as the Jeeps (locked and or lifted) on the steepest face (my camera was full, and Norman didn't know it.) so no pics of that one. All in all, a very techical rocky trail with some deep water sections, but most really tough sections have go arounds. I got winched up one section after making it 50% up, then took the go round on a really hard wall. I did my first major trail carnage trying to crawl around a sheer wall, I was crawling over a rock, when I slipped off to the side, sliding my passenger fender into a tree. Ouch. Had a Jeep towstrap me over away and I went at it from a different route. I can't figure it out, I was at least 6" from the tree then screeeee!!!!! Not too bad. It's the last photo in the batch.

So, now that I had a bit of damage, it was Norman's turn.... I was a little squeamish after that one, and I got up a tough chute that is offcamber and turns sharp to the left at the top of a steep hill. Big rock on the inside of the corner you need to get your rear tire over. I got up and over, then grabbed the video camera to go get Norman coming up, as I ran back to the hill, I heard a loud BANG!!!! I was not 4 seconds from getting it on video. He blew a U-Joint on his passenger front axle. ball bearings, half the U joint housing, and sections of his bearing housing and the boot band were in the dirt. We towstrapped him up to a level point and removed the halfaxle, 6 12mm bolts. pulled it out, stuck it in a bag, and strapped Norman up the next hill. H was able to traverse most of the terrain in 2LO. We got out unscathed (well, any more) and aired up and started to cruise home. A bit o carnage, but a really fun trail, with some insane challenges for the ballsy.

Ouch on your fender, and double-ouch on Norman's CV joint (not U-joint). That's the second blown CV joint I know of, Pikachu was the first.

Sounds like a great trail though. Take it in stride...

Brent

Nice pics, too bad about the damage.

How did the TrXus tires do on the rocks and how much did you air down to? I have the same tires but never tried them on rocks yet.

Thanks

The friggin thing exploded... The guy behind me was about 100 yards back and he heard it loud and clear.

Anyone know the chances of this passing for a warrenty fix???

They did great. I aired down to 14 psi. Seemed to work very well.

Here's the photo's of the CV...
This is what it should look like...

Here's the damage...

Here's what's left of it...

Stormy

I don't think your chances of a warrenty fix are too good. iirc, Pika paid for his. AgXterra has t-case damage and the dealers he went to all said no, 3 total I believe. One even photographed all his mods before telling him no.

Good luck with the fix, sorry about the damage

I thought my chances weren't good but I still have to try...

Will they pound out a fender under warranty?

I don't think they will...

Was the suspension extended when the break happened ?

And here's my dumb question, why are you guys running trails like that with the front sway bar on ?

What, it wouldn't have broken if he was disconnected?

Goliath, what kind of transfer case damage?

Brent

Thanks Stormy.

Excuse my ignorance, but what would cause a CV joint to blow?

That wasn't why I was asking. Just curious why no disconnects on a trail like that, they make for much better traction and a comfy ride.

As for why a CV joint blows, it's as simple as applying power to it when it is beyond the limits of its travel.

I don't think Stormy has the diff drop kit from SLR, and if his suspension was at full extension (he was going up a hill I think) it could cause the CV joint to exceed its angle limit and break.

Anyone with a lift can check this out.
Jack the front of the Xterra up so the front wheels are off the ground.
Try turning an axle by hand (hubs unlocked).
Feel it bind.
Add power and it will eventually break.

Ditto, damn it's like you were just asking for trouble.

Matt and I talked about that the night before. We decided to leave them on.

I think it was...

What do you mean asking for trouble? Please explain...

I think he's a little.

It wouldn't have saved the CV joint. A diff drop kit probably would have though. That's two blown CV's I've heard of now, both similar.

Were the wheels steered straight ahead or crossed up ?

They were steered to the left. I had traction and the wheels started to hop. I kept the gas steady when I should of backed off and tried a better line. I wasn't far enough to the right of the trail

I agree with his last statement. Instead of going around the rock with his front, then popping over it with the rear, norman tried (or more appropriately miscalculated) to go over the rock. Once you got on the hill, you had to make your shot. it's a steep one, and it was loose dirt. any loss of momentum meant you were back at the bottom. I don't think he was blasting up the hill, I think he just got unlucky, hit the rock on the left, it made his wheels bounce and turn, and he dropped that wheel back into the dirt. I got up it, but I was being pretty careful, as it was after my bit o damage. Norman jinxed himself. He said "nobody's broken anything yet!" halfway through the trail.

That will do it every time

You had to bring that up didn't you! I got what I deserved

Matt, does the wift know about the dent yet?

Doh, That's the most painful part about trail damage. It's much easier to deal with the repair bill and time spent fixing it than the wrath of the wife.

"Why in the hell would you WANT to do that shit to a $25,000 vehicle that you've put a bunch more money in?"

you crazy? I'm waiting for her to drive it to the store, then when she gets back say what did you do to my baby!!!! there is no evil smiley. I always want to use an evil smiley.

I told her about Norman's damage, when she notices it, I'll just say, oh, yeah... looks like I got a scratch....

Looks like I'm ordering one of these .

streched chain in transfer case. chain now slips over gears when power is applied.

Hey Ag-xterra, How the hell did they not cover that in the warranty? You have 37 inch tires or something?

I just saw the video. You can here the CV pop. Then you here Matt say "That didn't sound good". I think he's going to post it when he gets back.

Stormy rebuilt complete axle shafts are available from Autozone for $99 + $80 core charge, they also come with a lifetime warranty.

Ian with him being connected whether or not he had the diff drop it was going to break in that situation, Pikachu broke his any he does not have a lift installed. Two failures with all the 4 wheeling all of us have done in almost three years is not bad at all....we all know the truck has limitations and we are slowing finding out what they are.

ok, here's the video of the snap. turn up the volume, and listen for the snap while I'm running. It's kinda funny.

Snap!!!!! WARNING! 4 MB file. But worth it if you've never heard an axle snap before.

some other videos from the day... smaller, better compressed, I left the snap!! hi res, the rest are more compressed.

Me and copilot George W going up CV hill. Late in this video I ask what that bag is, it's an army sand bag, we later used to carry Norman's axle bits home in.

Just a red CJ going through a puddle and up a hill.

Me after getting the dent, and a Jeep to the rescue

My copilot again, hanging on for dear life, and then kicking up tunes after we clear the obstacle. Can you guess the artist?

Matt

That dollar bill is too funny!

The dollar bill on film cracks me up. Is that Gorillaz?
John

Ouch!
Wheel hop is always a bad sign.

When you have a wheel spinning in the air and it comes down that CV gets quite a shock.

A new sig quote for you Matt...

"You've got parts..."

Give that man a prize!!!

I called Team Nissan in Manchester NH for the shaft assembly. The price they gave me was $450. Went to www.nissanparts.cc and $342.06 + $34.21 shipping is what they were asking. I called Team Nissan back and asked if they could match that price. The parts guy said he would sell it to me for 331.03 (25% off). Not too bad! The kit that autozone has is just the axle shaft.
BTW - 98'-02' frontier and 00'-02' Xterra's have the same axle/cv setup.

About the AutoZone cv half-shaft did you talk with someone there? You are looking for the axle shaft what is it missing since it says it's rebuilt and the only parts to rebuild are the cv's/boots?

so why not check out the junk yard ?

i think 98 frontier would be much easier to locate on a junk yard, then 00 - 02 X

I think it's called the spindle. The part that the cv and boot connects to on the wheel/hub.

I really don't have to time to locate then remove the axle. The bone yards around here are self serve and close at 6pm.

See , I knew there was an advantage to having RS9000's with my lift! They'll run out of travel 1/2 inch or so before the CV. I knew it!! (JK) :p

Ok, I just got back from Team Nissan. One of the guys came out and inspected the damage. He looked at the shaft and said there was no damage. The part I was trying to think of the name that blew up is called the outer cv joint. So I ordered that and a cv boot kit totaling about $140.

I also talked to the Service Manager about a warrenty claim. I think I have a 50-50 chance of getting them to pay for the repair but I'm not banking on it.

the rebuilt axle shaft from autozone comes complete with inner and outer CV's and entire axle shaft assembly.

and to answer that question on the transfer case, nissan wont warranty it because i'm running 32's and i wheel my truck.

Does anyone have a valid link to this axle shaft at AutoZone ?

Considering a relay rod is $140, I find it hard to believe AutoZone could sell something as complicated as the axle shaft for less. Throw in the fact that the outside (wheel) joint cannot be rebuilt, and it makes me wonder even more.

BTW, Nissan cannot deny your warranty for driving off-road, they advertise the vehicle as off-road capable, and the 2002 SC model has a tire almost the same diameter as a 32".

Keep hassling them.

You can't directly link to the autozone part. You have to set up a vehicle and then search for CV half shafts. They are there. OEM shafts are simply expensive. For instance, on my civic the shafts were $300+ from honda, but $60 at Autozone. The dealers simply charge out the ass for the parts. It is so much easier and cost effective to simply get the whole half-shaft assembly aftermarket.

I bet the OEMS source their remanufactured half-shaft assemblies from the same source that Autozone does.

On the autozone site, I find this:

CV Half Shaft, remanufactured, $80 core value, $99 unit price.

FSR,

Did you end up getting yours from Autozone?

nissan said i have to go thru the dealerships to get it looked at or fixed. all three of the dealerships said that the problem wasnt caused by a faulty part but rather the abuse offroad driving offers. if my mechanic tears it apart and finds that it was a faulty part i'm sure he'll warrant it but i doubt that was the cause of the Tcase failing. The cause is plain and simple....driver error.

Just to clear up my issues. The problem is that I broke the outer cv joint. I also might have torn the cv boot.

This is what needs to be replaced:



The cv boot is just to be safe.

Yeah, and what I am saying is that the half-shaft assembly that autozone sells includes that part, and the shaft and the inner CV joint. This way all you do is replace the whole thing instaed of taking twice as long to rebuild it. Not only that, but it is cheaper.

I have had outer and inner CV joints go bad on my Hondas. It is 10 times out of 10 cheaper and easier to buy the whole shaft assembly remanufactured than to rebuild the outer CV joint yourself. Plus the parts are sourced from companies that all they do is rebuild these things.

Like Ian said earlier in the thread it takes much longer and is much harder to replace the joint than the whole shaft assembly.

The boot is purely a dust cover. Typically in front wheel drive vehicles the part that breaks is the dust cover. This allows grime to get into the joint and causes it to fail. In your case the joint busted causing the boot to fail in the process as well as the joint itself.

I have replaced 4 CV halfshafts in my lifetime. 3 on my current honda and one on my last honda. The reason for my last change was actually a faulty part. I came around a corner just afterinstalling it to the wonderful sound of a driveshaft exploding. Just so you know, Hondas eat CV boots faster than other cars for some reason.

Again, all of this is moot if the dealership covers it. Otherwise buy the part at autozone and pay someone at a Les Schawb or something to do the work if you don't have the skills to work on it.

Well, I've gotten 3 different answers from AutoZone about this. The first guy said just the shaft, 2nd guy said shaft and boots with no outer cv, third guy said it's a complete kit with inner, outer, boots already greased and ready to install. I ordered it and will let you know what I get...

Did nissan not cover it under warranty?

Bryan

I'm still waiting to here back from them. I ordered it incase it's not covered. I should know today.

If you have alternate means of transportation, I would drive around to some auto parts places and see if anyone has one in stock. Unfortuantely, I think that this is not a commonly stocked CV half-shaft, but it might be worth a try. It makes it easier to return the core for a refund.

It's not driveable? Should be OK to drive, in 2WD or 3WD right?

Brent

2WD yes, 3WD no.

Norman, are you running Warn hubs? You may already know that there is a 'fuse' option for them. It is designed to 'blow' before other, more expensive parts like CV joints blow. The Land Cruiser guys were discussing it, said it blew too easily but if it is the same part as for the Warn Xterra hubs, think how much more a LC weighs
http://www.xterraparts.com/html/offroad.html
(see the Warn Hub Fuse link on their page)

yeah, but they don't allow you to push the limit, just THEIR limit, which I guarantee is a 5 on the wussie scale, just so they don't get sued.

Norman normally wheels beyond that point. They are a PITA to change too, and they sound like an O2 sensor on an old VW, just another thing to replace and keep the money coming in...

First, Thanks wq! for the info. I didn't want to order a part if I was unsure of what I was ordering.

The half-shaft came in and it's exactly what wq! said it would be. Total cost was $99. To clear up any confusion I might have caused, here is a photo of what you get...

Very cool Stormy...I guess I will just have to find some time to order and replace mine(I have a torn inner cv boot and the dirt/grit entered the boot so i am replacing the whole thing as a precaution). Did you order it locally through Autozone or through the website? I know the ESM says you need an end dial guage to measure the play of the shaft and then you adjust this by different thickness shims that Nissan is supposed to have, figured i would give you a heads up so you have all the right parts/tools before you start.

Thanks Stormy.
It's nice to know it's rather cheap to replace.

Is the end cap installed on the diff side ?

I got it at autozone. Got it in a day. The dealer said no go on the warrenty claim... Kinda figured that. The reason was the lift and the altered shaft angles.
I take a look into the tools I might need. Thanks for the help on this.

Yes, I think you need to drop the lower a arm and remove the shock to get it in though.

No problem! I hope everything goes well. In the past I have found that the splined end on the hub side were a bitch to get into the hub. However, this is was on a different vehicle.

If you are moderately mechanically inclined, it is not a tough job. I always had a mechanic friend with me guiding me when I was doing mine.

Sorry, I meant the "end cap" as in a plug. There is a dust cover plug on the diff side of the axle. I was wondering if it was part of the assembly.

Did it come with the bearing and spacer for the spindle too, or do you have to reuse the ones on your truck ?

I'm not sure what you mean. If you're talking about the bearing and spacer for the spindle inside the hub, then no it didn't. What you see in the picture is all of it.

Yes it did come with the cover.

seems to me that would be a good part to bring to GoneMOAB. did you have to give em the old one for the core charge? did they care HOW MUCH of the old one you gave them?

Matt

The core charge is $80, I am not sure how long you have to return the damaged one but I am sure it is not several months. For less than $180 you can carry one on the trail, well worth it for trips where you plan on wheeling for several days and you know the local Nissan dealer does not stock them.

it's a heck of a lot better deal than a $120 tie rod adjuster....

For $75 you get two EOE HD tie rod adjusters shipped to your door.

from where?

it should have the dust cover and all the small spider gears already in the complete assembly.

dude what's your problem and why are you getting off the subject?

Just order it 2 days before you leave. That should be plenty of time to get one in. I'm sure they give you at least a month on that kind of stuff.

Spider gears ?

No spider gears in a CV joint, just bearings.

Wow. Is your front diff locked? If it isn't, I don't understand how you blew that CV joint. What were you doing? I'm locked front and rear, and I've never blown a CV (knocking on wood).

Then you should stop driving in Parking lots.

How much HP does your Pathy have? Just wondering if it's one of the old 140 HP ones.

As you have read, it doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen. I have never blown a diff, but I ripped something up in my Rover's transfer case, which should've held out and let a diff or a half axle go first.

I imagine the halfaxle contacted the outer CV Joint, causing it to deform, and therefore fracture. the angle of the halfaxle (at full droop) and the wheel being turned, probably gave him the most extreme angle available, either binding up the function of the CV joint (they lose power as you move farther away from 0 degrees) or damaging the outer CV joint to the point of failure. I actually think the first is the case. try sticking a ball hex driver into a hex nut and turning it. first straight on, then at 10 degrees, then 2o, then 30, until you can't anymore. I am sure the joint was not made for such extreme angles. the Hummer, which has CVs capable of such angles have a 2 pivot CV in them.

also, having the front locked would've saved him. his left tire was (probably) not moving and his right was probably going close to twice the speed of the rear tires. when it came down, it blew. had he had a locker, it would've at least been going a similar speed to the rears, therefore not applying as much force as was needed to blow the CV.

Ok, It's fixed... I'll have some photo's up in a bit.

on the drive side of the half shaft there is a spider assembly. that is what i meant.

Ok,
The whole install of the half shaft took about 2 hours.

Tools required:
· 17mm socket for removing/installing the shock.
· 12mm for removing/installing the 6 bolts on the diff.
· Snap ring pliers
· 19mm for torsion bar bolt.
· 19mm box wrench for locking nuts.
· 6mm hex head wrench for hub removal
· Grease

The first thing I had to do was remove the hub. I just removed the 6 hex bolts, pulled the hub off to expose the snap ring.

Took the snap ring off and had to figure out how to remove the outer CV joint. I think the proper way is to drop to lower A-arm. What I ended up doing was just cranking down the torsion bars. As you can see from the photo the lower A-arm is in the way.

I lowered it as far as I could to get the best possible angle to take out the cv and install the new shaft.

Here it is removed.

Here it is installed through the hub not connected to the diff.

I then connected the other end to the diff.

I figured since I was taking apart the hubs, I ordered the Warn manual locking hubs and installed them.

Cranked the t-bars back up and I was done.

I would rate it moderately difficult but is all basically bolt on.

Thanks Stormy, it's good to know it can be fixed without dropping the lower arm. That would be a bear on a trail.

Could you post a closeup shot of the surface where the CV split ?

I'll get some better shots in a few minutes...

Stormy,
Good to hear you got your X fixed up. The Warn Hubs kinda look cool with your new rims. I'm just wondering where you picked up the hubs (did you get them at Autozone as well?), and how much they cost?
I'm going to have to check Ma Bell out with you and Matt when I get home (with my new Tires, of Course ).

I got the hubs at www.Elias4wdcenter.com . They were $120 to my door.