LUVTruck.com

Hello all, I did a search for CV, CV + Axle, etc.. and came up empty, so I guess I'll post my question and see what happens.

On my truck, (80 4x4), at low speeds I feel a sort of wobble sensation in the front end. I'm not sure if it is the CV or something else, so I am throwing it out there. At speeds of under 20mph, it is very noticeable, but over 20 it is not as noticeable, I can still feel it, but not to the extent of lower speeds. I know on a previous truck I had, I had a similar problem. When I took it to the shop, they said something about some bearings that were bad, (forgive my lack of description, it was about 7 years ago and I can't remember anything but bearings and front end). Any who, because of the age of the truck and the fact that both the inner and outer boots on the CV joints are no longer sealed, and I don't know how long they have been that way, I figure I need to replace them. Any thoughts?

I do have an 80 shop manual coming I bought off ebay so I'm sure that will help, but just wanted to know if anyone could shed some light on how much of a PITA this is going to be.

Thanks in advance.

Chad

yup, i think your right.
how about a reman..http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroke ... PageSync=1

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1980 luv sport 4x4 Just a memory now
Frame rusted from the inside. Truck stripped and now looking for a new donor in southern ohio

Thanks B. I was looking at Rockauto.com and they have 2 types, can anyone tell me the difference, one says w/inboard housing and the other is w/o inboard housing, I just don't know what that means. The one w/o inboard housing is about $25 cheaper. The ones at Autozone are almost $60 more expensive per shaft.

Thanks,
Chad

CV problems will only show up with the hubs locked in on a LUV. (at least from my experience) If you unlock the hubs and the problem goes away or vice versa, then you could hace CV or axle shaft issues. They are a gigantic pain to replace, so this is one of those areas I'd want to be really sure on before tearing into them.

A wobble could be wheel bearings or some problem with the rotors. I had a sticky caliper problem on my 76 way back and it sorta behaved like a wobble, but the giveaway on that was hard pulling to one side when I hit the brakes. The dragging side didn't brake anywhere near as well as the normal side so it would send me for the ditch at the slightest attempt to use the brakes. Wheel bearings would show if you jack up the wheel and try to rock it top to bottom and side to side. If it "wiggles" a little and perhaps clunks in both directions it is probably time to replace the wheel bearings. If it just wiggles top to bottom that could be ball joints or control arm shafts. If it just wiggles front to back look at the steering linkage. Just be careful because you'll be pushing and pulling at something sitting up on a jack.

Basically, I'm thinking you need to do some looking around hard before you jump into replacing the CVs. If the boots are torn or no longer sealing then there is a pretty good chance the joints do need replaced or at the least repacked with grease and sealed back up. I'm not sure on the two types at rockauto, but it sort of sounds like the cheap ones leave off half of the joint where it connects to the axle. My take on it, if you are getting into it that far, you might as well get the more expensive ones and replace it all, but again I'm not certain on the difference.

You might take a look at the Isuzu forums over at http://www.4x4wire.com and search around in there. (Look at the "advanced search tips" link, it really helps get better search results) They should have more info on Isuzu CVs in general. The 88 and newer stuff will not be exactly the same, but very similar. The stuff for mid-87 and older will be just about exactly like the LUV parts.

Thx 800, didn't think of that. Sometimes you get focused on one thing and well, that's why I put it out here, just to help get unfocused.

Chad

I just tried to put myself in your shoes. It would take a lot for me to want to tear into replaceing CVs, so I would do a lot of work to make sure that is what I needed to do before going that far. Hopefully you will find it is something simpler to fix. If, in the process of fixing whatever is the problem, you get close to pulling apart the CV shafts, replacing those boots and repacking the grease in them would be a good idea to add to the list.

I had something like that happen to my old Crown Vic. Back when I know abslutely nothing about cars. It would wobble like crazy at low speeds but when you got up there it would smooth out.

Anyway, I learned one day on the free way that it only seemed to smooth out cause the wheel was spinning fast enough to turn the wobble into a vibration that I didn't notice. I had some tread seperation and it decided to come apart on the free-way on my home from a job interview.

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Richard Barnes Salt Lake, Utah
1980 Luv Mikado 4X4
http://geocities.com/luvtruck2004/

Yeah that is a good point. I've had a sidewall seperate on me and it did have sort of an uneven vibration to it. Tire had a bubble on the inner side when I stopped to look at what was wrong with it. Might not hurt to take her in to have the tires rotated and rebalanced if its not too much. I have Les Schwab tires on so they give me free rotate/balance for the life of the tires, which makes the price right. If you know where the tires came from you might have a similar deal. They'd find any damage or deterioration of the tire that could cause your trouble during the process I'd think.

Ok so now it looks like it is pointing towards the wheel bearings. I jacked it up last night and the wheels do move a little top to bottom but not side to side. So now my question is this, I can live with the wobbliness (is that a word) for awhile, (cuz in research looks like it's gonna be probably around $200-$300 if I do the cv boots at the same time), what is the worst case scenario if I continue to drive it like it is? I drive about 100 miles a day to work most of it highway at 60 mph or so. I know I should get it fixed as soon as possible but as always I have more time and ambition than $$$, plus the wife is really getting tired of hearing I need to fix this or that.

Do I need both inner and outer bearings, should I replace both or would just the outer bearing be sufficient. I know, without having it apart to look at can't really tell. Best guess would be great. Also, what is the difference between these and do I need the spindle hub bearing?

Chicago Rawhide BR32007
Front Outer Wheel Bearing: Front Wheel 4 W/D; Outer; Qty Req: 2

Chicago Rawhide BR32007
Front Outer Spindle Hub Bearing: Front Wheel 4 W/D; Outer; Qty Req: 2

They also list inners of both. These are from Checker and you can order online and pick up at the store with no shipping charges

Thanks to Narc and 800 for their help and thoughts.

Chad

man thats the bad parts to deal with the luv the front axle the bearings are so expensive and then cv joints and boots my boot is torn and i am jus goin to wait till i swap it for another axle thats my fix lol their is no noise when turnin the wheel yet

hope you best of luck

James