I have a 95 4runner with bj spacers and zero torsion bar crank. The issue is that since I installed the spacers I cant keep cv boots. They fail within 50 miles.I have searched and searched and searched and found only threads that dont really answer anything. Saying that the issue is the cv angle. I already know that. What I dont understand is why its only the driver side. Pass side is great. No issues at all. They are both the same brand axle. both sides have the same spacers and the T-bars are at the same level. I just ordered the 4crawler spacer kit for the diff. but im not sure its going to help enough. I measure 16" from the top of the wheel to the fender on the front. 16.75 rear.

I live in the mountains and rarely do I see straight road. I can hear the cv when I make left hand turns at speed (55) or even if Im going at a much slower speed with throttle in the turn. Also going over humps in the road causes this sound. Might have to adjust bump stops as well.

Also after about 200 miles I notice major grooving on the axle shaft (where the boot is torn)

 

I dont have the spacers yet but when i cranked my bars on my 95 4runner the lip to fender was 13.5 and it was most definetly stock so adding 1.5 in we get 15 lip to fender. which i think is just under the limit for dd with add for not killing cv's, a set of hubs and dropping your lift a little should solve most of your problem if you can lose the clearence. Are your droop stops stock and in good shape?

 

Diff drop will help, i also modified the front mount so that i was dropping the entire diff by an inch rather than just the back half of the diff by an inch. Basically, you are going to run into problems with CV boots when you lift because of the angle. Mine don't tear but they spit grease where the clamps are, I ended up replacing them a couple times now (new cv's are lifetime warranty from napa, but it is a pain to do). I haven't really looked into this idea but if somebody makes a high angle CV boot that fits, that would solve a lot of problems.

 

are you driving around with your hubs locked or is this from normal street driving? do you have auto or manual hubs? what brand CVs are you replacing yours with each time? what is the measurement of the distance between the bottom of your fender and the CENTER of the hub (for most accurate measurement)?

IIRC, stock ride height for t-bar adjustment puts the distance from bottom of fender to top of 15" wheel at around 13.5-14" - so if yours is 16", you've got some t-bar lift in there and your CV angles are most likely steeper than normal, which results in your torn boots. if you could show us a picture of your CV angle up front it would greatly help.

if you have manual hubs your CVs shouldn't be turning when you drive, so you shouldn't be tearing the CV boot on the street when in 2wd. if you have auto hubs/ADD, your passenger side would be turning any time you drive and the driver's side will be "free" until you activate the system by putting it in 4wd. I don't know why your driver's side would tear first if you had ADD, as it would be the other way around unless you had it in 4wd the whole time.

 

^ with ADD BOTH CVs are spinning with the tires. Check the ADD thread for a detailed explanation.

 

that's correct, sorry. i think i was thinking the driver's side axle shaft instead of CV.

 

thanks for the replies

It is ADD and I have triple checked the t-bars. they are as adjusted down. after looking at the spacers they seem to be 1.75-2" . From the center of the wheel to the fender is 25"

 

it is normal street driving. I switched out the cv axle and within 50 miles it was making noise

 

You should get your hands on a set of manual locking hubs, they should solve your problems if you don't need 4WD on the street. I have my hubs locked for 6 months of the year so my cv's are never happy, whenever i'm in 4WD there is grease spitting out, so i try to keep it in 2WD on the road as much as I can. I've modified my front end A LOT to get a killer IFS setup that works nicely.

 

Sounds like a good idea. What brand should I go with? in your opinion

 

Stock Aisins are good, usually a rebuild is a good idea if you get those. Warn premiums are good too, some people don't like them, not really sure why, I've run both and either brand is good in my opinion. Warn premiums are easier to work with and have lifetime warranty.

 

check out the warn hub thread. The reasons people don't like them is explained there.

 

Yeah i haven't had any problems with them. I don't think they're a bad way to go if you install them properly.

 

I'm in the same boat as you. Don't have many miles on the rig since the BJ spacers but already one of the driver side boots has been destroyed.

I plan to install Aisin hubs as a bare minimum resolution to the problem but I'm also considering doing the front diff drop as well. You can get the diff drop kit at 4crawler:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/DiffDrop.shtml

You can pick up some swaybar drop brackets too which really you also need with the BJ Spacers.

 

I dont get it.... I took the 4runner to Toyota for the steering rod recall and it fixed most of the problem. I can go around turns as fast as I want without any sound. Only if i go over a hump in the road to fast do I hear anything. What would "cure" this.