Nissan XTerra Forum banner

4wd problem, feels like I'm driving with square tires

3K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  jrekiel 
#1 ·
So a few days ago I popped the X into 4wd and it felt like I was driving with square tires. After I got home I jacked it up and found that the Passenger side CV Axle boot was ripped open and rubbing against the frame.

It seems as if the passenger side got pushed forward toward the front of the vehicle. the CV boot was tight against the frame and wouldn't turn by hand. The drivers side has somewhere between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch away from the frame. If you were to look from the top down it would look like this... \ ... I'm not sure what to look for. I was going to take the front diff cover off to see if there are broken teeth on the gears but figured I would ask if anyone knew what I could look for instead.

Any help would be much appreciated.
 
#3 ·
The CV was bad, I replaced it already this morning. Found it cheapest from NAPA auto parts ($60 plus core) not bad at all. So now that the CV is replaced, there is still no clearance between the boot and the frame. Like I said it seems like the whole front end is on a big angle toward the front of the vehicle.

It's like something is bent on the passenger side of the axle causing it to be pushed forward.
 
#5 ·
just an fyi, there is no diff cover on the front, you need to take out the whole 3rd member
I'm not sure which front diff you have but mine certainly has 8 bolts holding it on, how else would you get to everything?

In other news, I disconnected the CV from the final drive and no more clunking. I'm now thinking I have my T bars cranked too much. The CV's must be on too much of an angle for the knuckle to turn the whole way.

But... Still have the problem of CV boot hitting frame...
 
#6 ·
Alright, good news.... The CV is no longer rubbing on the frame, the T bars are cranked where I have 3/4" above the bump stops and the 4wd is running smooth.

I ended up unbolting the front diff from the front crossmember, adjusting the bushings so that the hole was toward the bottom and back, clamped down with a big C clamp to hold it in place and tightened everything down. The hardest part was figuring out what to do, but then common sense kicked in and after lots of wrenching everything is back to normal. I'm not sure what could have caused the problem but I am very happy it's fixed.
 
#8 ·
Check to see if the front diff is mounted properly to the x-member. There are 2 bolts forward. One of them is missing on mine and my diff is at a super sweet angle now. It's bitchin.
 
#9 ·
That was one of the problems, when I did the SLR diff drop I didn't have it as low as I should've, I ended up just turning that bushing so the hole was toward the bottom and used a C clamp to pull the bracket to the crossmember, works good now, just have to get an alignment then it's time for wheeling.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top