So, for those of you that have broken a CV on the trail, were you able to get it home without significant damage to other components? Is it unsafe to drive home?

Besides having a spare axle and the tools/knowhow to replace it in the field, is there anything that can be useful to have to help limp a broken CV home?

John

 

as long as nothing else is torn up. unlock hub and 2wd.

 

with the 4runner he most likely has ADD.

 

The newer truck/4runners don't come with manual hubs - so unlocking is not an option - unless yuo've added them aftermarket.

John

 

John, you can do some things to limp it home, depending on where the break is.

You do not have the luxury of a FF front, like the early trucks do, so you MUST have at least the outter part of the axle in the hub to drive it, no matter what. without the axle in the hub holding the bearings in, you WILL destroy your bearings and likely the spindle and hub.

As long as that part is in, you can cut the boots away, and remove the center portion of the axle. If you have to, you can plug the diff, and remove all but the outer axle section. If you break inside the hub, you will need to replace the axle on trail.

 

I made it off that nasty trail in 2WD with the rear locked and Warn power. The noise sounds bad and the turns worse, you will make it home.

 

spare cv assemblies are small and cheap. just keep a spare handy, with tools. one fits either side, they are the same.

 

I have broke 2 CVs and driven home both times. Please note I got off trail and on road as soon as possible. One drive home was about 1 hour, the other was about 3 hour drive home. It is so much better doing the swap at home rather than on the trail. When I broke an outer joint (closer to the wheel), the axel kind of lodged it self up high and did not really interfere with anything. When I broke the inner joint and drove home it was a tad more interesting. Since the wheel was spinning, so was the axel. I used a coathanger to position the axel in place as best as possible. This allowed the axel to stay positioned as if it was not broken. It would pop out when I made sharp turns or when the coathanger came to loose. Both times I caused slight dents to my shock.