Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

front dif rebuilt due to lift

Something not working right?

by mk3smitty » Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:30 pm

ok so i lifted my pass tire off the ground and it spins just fine
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by Trail X » Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:43 pm

Do the lift-n-spin test to be certain on both sides (remember, lift by the frame, not the LCA). I cannot really advise you well without more information about your lift (at least how tall it is exactly).

We always caution people away from purely outside-the-strut spacers for this reason. But I don't want you to purchase a new lift, spend money, and not have it solve your root issue.
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by mk3smitty » Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:47 pm

ok they are about 2 1/4 to 1/2 tall and drivers wheel spines just fine
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by navigator » Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:41 pm

just make sure you didn't miss the comment James had.
You must jack up from the frame so the wheel will droop all the way down before trying to turn.
If you jack from the LCA as is common you mask any problems you might have with CV binding.
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by mk3smitty » Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:45 pm

i jacked both sides 1 at a time from the frame the wheel was about 4 inches off the ground the i turned the tire and they turned fine
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by mk3smitty » Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:47 pm

i guess when i go back home to NC no more mudding lol
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by OregTrailBlazin » Thu Jan 12, 2012 8:17 pm

I would lift both sides off the ground at the same time, to make sure your sway-bar isn't holding it up from full droop.


Also, you said you put it in 4wd because of snow everywhere.... Are your tire tracks going down to black pavement, or is there white under you at all times?
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by bdp1978 » Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:00 pm

I'm looking at this on my phone, so maybe the pic appears different but I'm wildly confused by that swaybar setup in the first 2 pics. I never knew TB's came like that?

I'm running virtually the same setup as you and the only time I had issues is when I tried to add spacers inside the strut. I got binding when I would accelerate hard on uphills at a standing start. Without the added spacers I've never had an issue. I just got done replacing my diff seal about 15 minutes ago and repacked my disconnect 2 weeks ago. My bearings and diff. Are in excellent shape after 20000 miles lifted. I've replaced both front hubs and cv axles since the lift but I kind of expected that.
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by mk3smitty » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:21 am

the sway bar does have a weird set up i have been unable to find replacement links so im not really sure what to do about it
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by KE7WOX » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:43 am

bdp1978 wrote:I'm looking at this on my phone, so maybe the pic appears different but I'm wildly confused by that swaybar setup in the first 2 pics. I never knew TB's came like that?


Image

That's janesy86's (a 2007), looks fairly similar to me, so my best guess is that the change happened in 2006 or 2007.
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by DirtyBacon04 » Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:28 am

i was just thinking the same. Never seen LCA or or links like that...
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by djthumper » Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:55 am

KE7WOX wrote:That's janesy86's (a 2007), looks fairly similar to me, so my best guess is that the change happened in 2006 or 2007.


The change happened on the 2007, I just had to run out and check. That is also definitely a ReadyLift kit that he has installed on there.
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by janesy86 » Fri Jan 13, 2012 7:50 am

His endlinks tho are funky. Mine were normal. SO changed for 08'+ Obv now I got the quick disco's...


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by bdp1978 » Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:28 am

janesy86 wrote:His endlinks tho are funky. Mine were normal. SO changed for 08'+ Obv now I got the quick disco's...



Looking at your pics and his, GM must have changed the LCA on the '07's and then made a Swaybar change on the '08's.
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by Trail X » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:23 pm

Back on topic...

OregTrailBlazin wrote:I would lift both sides off the ground at the same time, to make sure your sway-bar isn't holding it up from full droop.

:Iagree:
I sometimes forget about that swaybar, and didn't really state that well in my post. Lift the entire front end off the ground by the frame, try the spin test again. That will be the definitive answer to the binding issue.

OregTrailBlazin wrote:Also, you said you put it in 4wd because of snow everywhere.... Are your tire tracks going down to black pavement, or is there white under you at all times?

Good point, smitty needs to really define what he meant by "stiff". It could be a normal side effect of using 4WD with too much traction.
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by mk3smitty » Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:08 pm

I did the spin test both wheels spin just fine. The stiffness is from the extreme cold up here after I got my truck home it stoped and didn't happen agin to the other morning when it was -17 * outside. I and just worried that I will tear it up agin I'm a little hesitant to put my truck in 4x4 I just don't want it to happen agin I just put it through some thick fluffy snow so I could check all 4 wheels spin and check my turning and it did fine other then a little bit of binding about a half of a turn from max. If there is any possiblity that it will happen agin I will just take to off and get different lift so please tell e what you thank.

Thanks for all the help
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by Trail X » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:12 pm

Seeing as you have effectively provided us zero information about what failed in the first place, and zero information on your diagnosis, we can't really advise you on much right now.

Do the test we suggested (both front wheels off the ground, lifted by frame). That is the only way to determine if you are binding up your axles, which could indeed cause issues in your diff and disconnect.
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by mk3smitty » Mon Jan 23, 2012 12:56 pm

What info did you ask for did I not give I gave you the lift messurements I took the pictures you asked for and I did the wheel spin test I lifted both wheels at the same time from the frame and they both spin fine. The stiffness I figured is from the extreme cold weather up here what else do you need.
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by mk3smitty » Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:04 pm

From what I have been reading I am starting to thank one of the main reasons for the failure of my dif is I use to use the auto setting on my 4x4 because of all the snow I thought it was better then just useing 4x4 after reading I realize now that its is a bad thing to do
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by Trail X » Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:19 pm

mk3smitty wrote:What info did you ask for did I not give I gave you the lift messurements I took the pictures you asked for and I did the wheel spin test I lifted both wheels at the same time from the frame and they both spin fine. The stiffness I figured is from the extreme cold weather up here what else do you need.


Sorry if I missed where you said you lifted both tires and spun. Overlooked it!

Saying something is "stiff" really is not a good way to describe your front end. It is very ambiguous. We need better descriptions of what is stiff... steering? wheel spin? is it pulling in one direction? is the suspension stiff? (see what I mean?)

We need to know what failed on the diff in the first place. All we know is that "it failed". We can't help you diagnose what could have caused the failure without knowing exactly what failed in the diff.

So asking if we think 'it' will happen again, we have no clue what 'it' is exactly. Understand where I'm coming from?
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