CV Angles with Frankenlift

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:17 pm

I have a 05 Liberty 3.7L and installed the Frankenlift II Premium around Dec 25, 2008 when it had 65K miles on it. I took measurements from the ground to the pinch weld on both front and rear before and after the lift and got 4" of lift. After reading the boards I figured the reason for so much lift was because the suspension was new, unsettled and its possible that my original springs were sagging. The only real method I used to break the suspension in was interstate/city driving. I took it out in a field to shake the suspension but not for any long duration. I have now put on about 4k miles since the lift. On Feb 8th I noticed the drivers side had grease sprayed around the inner CV boot and the passengers side CV boot was completely ripped.

I sent Quinn, at All J, some photos and he had said the angles were with in limits and it is possible that the boot was damaged during install or just old and broke like many people have said on the board. I ended up taking it to a lift shop to repair because the dealer didnt want anything to do with the car saying that the angles on the CV boots were too extreme. Once the lift shop got into it they told me the drivers side outter CV housing was cracked and probably caused by too much stress. They also felt the angles on the CV joints where higher then they had seen before with previous lifts.

I am now looking for axle shaft assemblies that will be durable for this application. I only intend on using this vehicle as a daily driver along with using it to drive on the beach and dunes. I dont have any plans to buy an ARB bumper , go rock climbing or do any heavy 4 wheeling. I do believe I have a enough people agreeing to stay away from Advanced Auto axle assemblies.

I am looking for some input on how others feel about the angles of the CVs and recommendations on what I should replace this axle shaft assembly with. I am also looking for some input on how others are doing with their Frankenlifts and axle assemblies and see how mine compare to others.

Vehicle Pics
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3244177

Thanks

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:27 pm

Mine have been almost like for over 75000 miles now and not one tear or problem?
Did you do the install or someone else?

daspes · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:30 pm

They look like a better angle than mine, and I wheeled mine hard for over a year, and 30,000 miles. Not one problem.

Guest · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:51 pm

Any lift will put more stress on your CVs and they will wear out faster. If your CVs were already on the way out it is possible the lift pushed it over the edge. That is the price you pay to play. :wink:

Also you should see the frankenlift settle half an inch or so once it breaks in. Mine settled at 3.25" of lift. I haven't yet measured it since i put my arb on.

LIV42DY · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:11 pm

Mine have been at the same angle for as long as I can remember, tom has a valid question on who did the install. when you install a Frankie, you need to watch the lower portion of the shock and the fork, when forcing the lower bolt onto the LC outer bushing the lower part of the fork and shock will deform the CV boot, at times they can put a small rip in it and you will not notice it untill you start spitting out grease. the drivers side is always the worst. If you did the install and you noticed this issue you would have known to handle it. If a shop did the job and was not aware of it this would be your problem. The other as stated you could have had worn boots and the extra angle finished them off.
It looks like both sides are gone. Im I right?

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:57 pm

tommudd wrote:

Mine have been almost like for over 75000 miles now and not one tear or problem?
Did you do the install or someone else?

My friend and I did the install. He has 20yrs experience, all the tools and shop to get it done in. It was hard getting the bottom of the stuts bolted in but we did pay close attention to not over strain the boots. Obviously something went wrong. I would have thought that if I did pinch the boots or damage them during the install that I would have seen the problem sooner. Any recommendations on what I should replace the drivers axle assembly with?

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:10 pm

LIV42DY wrote:

It looks like both sides are gone. Im I right?

Yes both sides were damaged. The drivers side inner had a hole somewhere and the passenger side inner just ripped in half. I just got the Liberty back tonight with the boots replaced but now need to address the lift shop's finding that the drivers side outer CV housing is cracked. I need to get under it tomorrow to see if I can see anything from the outside. I figured if I did something wrong during install to cause damage to the boots then so be it. I am having a hard time understanding how I could have damaged a housing though?!?!?! We didnt use any hammering to get the clevis bracket in. I am hoping that this will just be bad luck and if I replace the drivers assembly I will be okay. If I find that I have to replace the boots again after another few months I am going to be concerned.

I am just going through the board and reading about the option of shaved axle shafts for those with more then 2.5 inches of lift and not sure if that is overkill for my application. I see everyone says stay away from Advanced Auto assemblies. Any recommendations?

Another question for everyone.......

Do you think I could have caused more damage by not driving the vehicle hard after the install and just doing city driving?

KJ04 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:12 pm

gmoney2626 wrote:

tommudd wrote:

Mine have been almost like for over 75000 miles now and not one tear or problem?
Did you do the install or someone else?

My friend and I did the install. He has 20yrs experience, all the tools and shop to get it done in. It was hard getting the bottom of the stuts bolted in but we did pay close attention to not over strain the boots. Obviously something went wrong. I would have thought that if I did pinch the boots or damage them during the install that I would have seen the problem sooner. Any recommendations on what I should replace the drivers axle assembly with?

NAPA Auto Parts has replacements for around $75.00 with core trade.

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:16 pm

Not sure where you live but if its anything like most towns then there are enough potholes, dips etc to settle it in after a few thousand miles. I would say the boots had a very small tear in them and it just kept getting worse until you saw it finally. You should not need the shaved CVs with only a Frankenlift. Many people and thousands of miles on their KJs without using them.

Check NAPA thats the only place I would trust for replacements

Tom

Darn Nick beat me to NAPA :wink:

LIV42DY · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:28 pm

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:34 pm

thats how mine was with my steering rack. it was perfectly fine, but then started leaking on the passenger side as soon as i lifted it.

it was dripping out of the boot, down the tie rod onto the lower a-arm

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:36 pm

tommudd wrote:

You should not need the shaved CVs with only a Frankenlift. Many people and thousands of miles on their KJs without using them.

Check NAPA thats the only place I would trust for replacements

I did do a lot of research before buying the lift. I got quotes from local shops that were selling Skyjacker and then came across Rocky Road and was about to pull the trigger when I did one final google search and found this forum which enlightened me to the different types of lifts and downfalls. I changed my mind and went with the Frankenlift because of the huge number of positive experiences I saw. Hopefully this is just a fluke thing and I wont experience any more issues.

Thanks to all for the feed back. The lift shop also mentioned NAPA. They are refurbs though right?!?!?! Do you think they would have less life span then new? My issue is that I dont have the means to perform the work myself so I will have to take it back to the lift shop. I am looking to try and get good quality.

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:43 pm

RAYMAN975 wrote:

thats how mine was with my steering rack. it was perfectly fine, but then started leaking on the passenger side as soon as i lifted it.

it was dripping out of the boot, down the tie rod onto the lower a-arm

Did you replace the boots or the whole assembly? How long has it been since your problem?

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:48 pm

i got the whole assembly replaced, under my aftermarket warranty i bought when i got my jeep used, the rack replacement with labor was 1200 bucks, i paid 50

im not sure how long its been, im going to guess maybe 10k miles ago?

XC204 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:31 am

Does nobody own an angle finder on this site? why not post a cv angle list for the various lifts? stock ,1" etc. not using the lift size but the actual amount it went up axel center to lower "A" frame pivot center.

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:02 am

no angle finder here

KJ04 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 11:02 am

Quote:

I just got the Liberty back tonight with the boots replaced but now need to address the lift shop's finding that the drivers side outer CV housing is cracked.

I just reread your post this morning and am somewhat puzzled why the shop proceeded to reassemble the axles with the new boots and reinstall them knowing the CV housing was cracked.

It seems to me that they should have contacted you immediately, before installing the componets and advised you of the crack. Then they could have simply repaced both axles with NAPA replacements which would have had all new boots for a cost of around $150.00.

As it stands now, you have two old axles with only 2 new boots and a cracked CV housing to show for the parts and labor charges. Not to mention, more parts and labor charges, to now replace the the driverside axle.

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:03 pm

KJ04 wrote:

I just reread your post this morning and am somewhat puzzled why the shop proceeded to reassemble the axles with the new boots and reinstall them knowing the CV housing was cracked.

It seems to me that they should have contacted you immediately, before installing the componets and advised you of the crack. Then they could have simply repaced both axles with NAPA replacements which would have had all new boots for a cost of around $150.00.

As it stands now, you have two old axles with only 2 new boots and a cracked CV housing to show for the parts and labor charges. Not to mention, more parts and labor charges, to now replace the the driverside axle.

They did call me to inform me of the situation while the vehicle was apart. I asked if they had access to new parts and they told me no. At the time the only local source I was aware of was Advanced Auto (got the impression to stay clear from that), the dealer (would have had to order and wait days) or order online which would have involved waiting as well. The lift shop was not able to offer storage of the vehicle and wait while the part came in and I needed the vehicle to get back and forth to work. They did tell me that as long as I only use it around town, take it easy and dont 4 wheel that I could get away with a couple of weeks of usage without causing harm to anything else. Again, the CV's werent clicking at all.

Unfortunately due to this being the wife's daily driver and the lack of time to research the best efficient way I will end up spending a few extra dollars. I was under the impression that a new axle assembly was going to run $250 to $300 per side for parts only compared to just replacing the boots for $150 total parts.

Hindsight is 20/20

I just looked online and found NAPA has them refurb for $75 and new for $120. What is your opinion on new vs. refurb?

KJ04 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:57 pm

Quote:

I just looked online and found NAPA has them refurb for $75 and new for $120. What is your opinion on new vs. refurb?

The refurb. are fine.
I went with the refurb. and just replaced both sides at the same time, so I would have a fresh set, instead of one new and one old. I would advise replacing the axle seals and outer bearings too while it's all apart.

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:31 pm

KJ04 wrote:

The refurb. are fine.
I went with the refurb. and just replaced both sides at the same time, so I would have a fresh set, instead of one new and one old. I would advise replacing the axle seals and outer bearings too while it's all apart.

Thanks

CV Angles with Frankenlift

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