opinons on mini trip

Hey all.

My wife and I are going camping next weekend and I would really like to take the VX. My problem is that the tranny is shifting hard and the noise I got after my lift is getting louder. I don’t have a place to work on it since we now live in apartments.

Basically I am after opinions as to whether I should take it or leave it until I get the stuff done. The lake is only maybe 60 miles from here.

What do yal think?

BTW: NFP and Ascinder you are more than welcome to join us we are going to Lahontan. We leave Thursday afternoon til Sunday.

Have you considered taking it to a shop in the meantime to try to determine the problem? I've had car trouble on the road before, and the anxiety of possibly being stranded somewhere has usually had the effect of me not enjoying my trip as much. I guess it just depends on your comfort level and familiarity with what could possibly be causing the problem.

How many miles since you changed the trans filter?

I'm not on the site all that much, so I'm not aware of your noise-after-lift problem. Is it possible that the lift has caused a cv or u-joint to start binding somewhere? Have you lubed those joints recently? Lubing all the cirk (sp?) fittings I could find cleared up a noise I had on a Toyota 4x4 I used to own. I think it was a slip joint on the drive-shaft that wasn't being properly lubricated that was causing that problem/noise.

Sixty miles isn't all that far away, but it can sure seem like a lot farther when problems start popping up.

Hey, if you are shifting hard, i would have your trans looked at. When was the last time you did any trans service? My VX shifted like crap when I bought it, but after I changed the tranny fluid and filter, its nice and smooth, most of the time. The noise from the lift, I know nothing about....

Bart

PS - Where exactly are you going again? I never heard of that spot.

You might want to do a search on "mode switch" as well.

I can't speak to the potential tranny problem - But...

My CVs are shot. I replaced the boots because they were torn. While I had them apart I noticed the wear but it didn't look too bad. I get a loud 'tapping' sound when decelerating but it's not bad enough to feel it.

I found a place online to purchase rebuilt axels (as near as I can tell, you can't get the parts you need to just replace the CVs) and I'll be ordering them later this week. They are about $75 per side with another $75 core charge.

Look at your boots. If they are torn, you probably won't be fixing it by Thursday. If your boots are OK and you can get the tranny serviced then you should be all right for your trip - it just depends on if you are a gambling man.

Well since I have owned the Vx I have never had the tranny serviced. I plan to do it, just no where to do it.

I lifted it then got a kinda grinding noise. Mostly at 50-60 MPH when I let off the gas. The sound goes away once I give it gas and used to go away when push the breaks. Now it continues when I’m on the breaks.

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Originally Posted by nfpgasmask

PS - Where exactly are you going again? I never heard of that spot.

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We are going to Lahontan lake. Its by silver springs.

I would be willing to bet a fluid and filter change would do your VX a lot of good. It is kind of a pain in the nuts to do. I am going to do mine again when I hit 60k. I'm at 52k now so probably only a month or two away from doing it. If you can wait that long, we can get together and do it at the same time.

Bart

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Originally Posted by CrnCnn

Well since I have owned the Vx I have never had the tranny serviced. I plan to do it, just no where to do it.

I lifted it then got a kinda grinding noise. Mostly at 50-60 MPH when I let off the gas. The sound goes away once I give it gas and used to go away when push the breaks. Now it continues when I’m on the breaks.

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I will take it this week its not that far. I will do a service and tune up next week or the following week when I get paid.

"I lifted it then got a kinda grinding noise. Mostly at 50-60 MPH when I let off the gas. The sound goes away once I give it gas and used to go away when push the breaks. Now it continues when I’m on the breaks."

It's your CVs son. Those are the exact same simptoms as mine. Your tranny is probably fine although a servicing never hurts.

You'd probably be OK for the trip - you can't hurt the CVs any more than they already are unless they get bad enough to actually bind up. Right now the noise you are hearing is probably just the balls popping in and out of grooves that have worn into the joints. Are the boots torn? The joints are probably running dry. Get some grease in them before you drive it any further and replace the CVs ASAP.

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Originally Posted by tom4bren

It's your CVs son.

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Great... I find it funny that they didnt make this noise until I lifted it. I am hoping that no one turned the torsion bars before i did, that would explain it maybe. I will try to back them down another turn to see if that does anything.

Too late. Once they start making noise, the damage is done.

When you lift a vehicle it puts the CVs at a sharper angle (they don't like that). It's not uncommon for them to act fine but as soon as you lift - instant noise. It's almost as if they've broken into a normal wear pattern and when you change the angle they begin moving outside of the broken in pattern and make noise.

I didn't notice my torn boots until the noise started (I guess I don't spend enough time under mine). I gambled and just replaced the boots and overpacked the joints with grease. It didn't work. I should be ordering the new axels tomorrow & I'll let you know how it goes.

be weary of places that that sell parts so cheap it seems too good to be true.. i believe bimati ordered some axles from a place for an amazing price.. and got burned..

I remember. In fact I tried to order from them at first but they were out of stock. I found another for the same price. Keep your fingers crossed.

I talked to my boss about diff. brackets and he sounds like he want to make help me make them. I think I would do that before I replace the CV's.

For the grinding , try greasing the 2 u-joint zerk fittings and fill the 1 on the driveshaft, total of 3 zerks.