Hey guys, i am swapping over to 4.88 factory thirds and already pulled my stock 4.10 front third to do some other stuff in preperation of the new one. Anyways, i ordered the wrong seal and also had to order some shims to make my Aussie fit so i could put the new third in yet and need to drive the truck out of town this weekend. I have lock out hubs and have tied up the insides of the cv's so they hang about where they normally do. Hung the cv's with 5 different pieces of wire each side in case one were to mysteriously break. Also bolted up the front braces that hold the lower control arm mounts so that is all solid. Is this safe? Can i drive the neccessary 200ish miles? I already took it for a spin around the block and everything seems fine so far. Let me know what you think or if anyone has had any luck with this before. Thanks ahead of time.

 

I would try to cover the opening for the 3rd with maybe a garbage bag, and duct tape around the edge of it; you don't want any dirt, dust, or anything else accumilating in there

otherwise, I don't see the problem

 

You should be fine. Is the front driveshaft still bolted on? If it is, pull that off. Out of curiosity, if the wire holding you CV up breaks, how far will the axles drop? you might want to get some heavy duty nylon twine in there also, just to be able to say you went overboard

. . . oh yeah, and I'd skip jumping the truck for now

 

why dont you just pull the axles out.

 

yeah, x2..
or, use some lockwire. that stuff is strong

 

when i did engine work on my 22r i pulled out the front diff and the one unbroken cv, and nvr put it back it in. hope to chop it out soon enough

 

So, if you pull the axles out completely, what keep the dirt/moisture out of the bearings?
I understand the CV goes through a tube into the hub, but wouldn't bad stuff be able to get through that tube and into the outer bearing?

 

Thanks for the advice guys. The third is out of the truck and sitting on my garage floor so no worries about wrapping it up, it'll be fine.

Quote: "So, if you pull the axles out completely, what keep the dirt/moisture out of the bearings?"
-Agreed, thats why i didn't want to pull them.

I'm using a heavy tie wire and on the driver's side was even able to bolt the cv to a mount that helps hold the third normally. I will get some zip ties today when i get off work just so i KNOW its solid, i would hate for one to break loose, drop and start whipping around.