cv axles=crap
 

recently got stuck on top of a snowy mountain overnight due to a broken cv axle,which i was barely even baggin on!suspension was drooped and i have lift keys so the cv joint angle was extreme.anyone know of aftermarket axle brands that are beefier than stock or can handle extreme angles?

Hey Mike, I dont think any of them are good for extreme angles. You might have to look into a lift kit to drop the differential down a hair to help keep the CV's happy. Lets see if any of the vendors can chime in and offer some advice.

It looks like he just needs a bigger lift...or smaller tires. Tuff country made some for a while, I don't believe they make them anymore. You would be better off getting some 35's and turning down your t-bars. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Just FYI, I can launch at 20 psi and around 530 rwhp and not break anything, as long as my t-bars are not turned up. I have seen many more higher hp trucks CV's survive over 1000 hp, it's the angle that kills them.

RCV PERFORMANCE - CUSTOM HIGH STRENGTH CV JOINTS AND AXLES - DRIVELINE SOLUTIONS - HIGH ANGLE CV JOINTS

They are expensive.

alligator your killin me!lower suspension,smaller tires!lol yah its definately the angle that makes them dangle(out from under the truck!)cognito axles anyone tryed with a lifted truck?so its not true that only the passenger side breaks...usually?

Yes, they are.

I never said lower suspension:moon:, I said you need a bigger lift to run 37's than a 6". Hell, my old 03 had an 8" turned to 9" and it still rubbed with 37's but I had acceptable CV angles. I beat the living hell out of my truck, 4x4 launches, off road in sand, snow and mud and never broke anything. Stock CV's are still in the truck and it has almost 90K on it now.

Not sure about the Passenger just breaking, I've heard of them breaking both sides...

Drop the tbars and get cutout flares...

x2 ... Over working the CV angle. You might find a mfg that has a stronger CV but really if the CV angle is that harsh then all the other IFS working angles match witch means wear on other parts. So dropping the suspension down alittle would help all around.

Just a thought, but if you're going to keep wheeling it, you might want to consider a solid axle swap with either leaf springs or a four link with a track bar. It's not necessarily a "cheap" alternative, but in the long run, you'll be much better off with fewer broken parts.

well its time to do it! been going back and forth over solid axle swap, or beef up the ifs?i need advice from people with experience with both.its seems like for about $2500 i can buy rcv extreme angle cv shafts and cognito everything(tie rods,idlers,gussets etc.)or for $4000-$6000 i can do a nice proper solid axle swap.axle swap is way more work,and money for a truck that still has a plastic transfer case(haha that'll be the next thing to grenade)or build up that ifs as good as i can, i would love to trade my 6" front bds lift kit for a 7"-8" lift so i could straighten out my cv angles a bit, but then the amount of work and money would be similar to the axle swap!does anyone have rcv xtreme ange cv shafts???does the dodge front axle that they use in the swap still use the push button 4wd hubs?and i know the abs works with it.any opinions are greatly appreciated.i know solid axle is the way to go but this truck will never be cut out for the 4x4ing i would be doing with a dana 60(to many other weak links):argh: so its almost not worth the price...but on the other hand i could sink the $2500 into the ifs and still spit out cv's...

The $6000 solid axle swap is a hell of a lot of work. I saw a complete conversion a guy did on a 98 3500 with all home made parts with the exception of the axle. It was an amazing swap in the end, but very involved. I can't remember what site it was on, I know I saved it somewhere. I could post a link if you want me to dig it up. I'd love to see it done on an 01+. The ORU swap is a :edit: rip off. I wouldn't pay $17,000 for a damn conversion...and I like leafs rather than control arms.

No matter what you do to that IFS, it's still GM IFS...and it just can't take the off-road abuse that a true 4-wheeler can.

Why not just make/get a bigger drop bracket for the diff to flatten out the angles? shouldn't be to hard.

Or you could just buy a set of these for 1000.00......

RCV PERFORMANCE - CUSTOM HIGH STRENGTH CV JOINTS AND AXLES - DRIVELINE SOLUTIONS - HIGH ANGLE CV JOINTS

Promo Code here....

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...=ifs+cv+joints

Or you can buy a dodge and get rid of the POS. Then you will have an indestructible SFA and tcase apparently...

ive straight axled 4 of these trucks it isnt 17000 or 20000 dollars. it runs 3-4 grand depending on how you want it. you can do a nice 8" lift or so for a decent price tag. if you want my advice on the straight axle conversion prefab brackets, offroad direct makes the best kit for the money. and i can say from experience, the 600 bucks for the SAS kit is worth waaaaaaaay more money than the headache of the prefab.