UCA touching tire while still after CV Axle swap

Hey guys,

Recently I had to swap out the passenger side CV, while I was at it I went ahead and swapped the driver's side as well. I know that the Cardone Axles are much debated, but that is what I had to go with for budgetary reasons. After swapping them out I drove it less than a quarter mile and noticed a grinding noise which turned out to just be the brake shield rubbing the rotor. I never hit above 10MPH but i began hearing a subtle pop / ding sound. I stopped and took a look around and everything seemed to look fine... Except for the UCA on the passenger side which is fully touching the tire (285/70/17) When I installed my 3" Daystar I installed quarter inch wheel spacers to prevent that. Before the CV swap the tires were close but not that close.
Any suggestions?

 

.5 inch spacers?

 

I am considering that, my only concern is that I had been running the 1/4" spacers for a few years with no issues until I swapped the CV. It also has me puzzled because the drivers side is close as usual, but not touching

 

Swapping a CV alone should not effect anything related to the clearance between your tire and UCA. If the CV is the only thing you changed I would check to make sure everything was re-assembled properly and is torqued to spec.

 

you get 2 rights?

 

2 Right CV?

 

Maybe a bent spindle.

 

CV axles are not side specific, even though some auto parts stores like to say they are.

 

Well that's what I was thinking, just confused by the question.

 

He may have asked that thinking that they are side specific, a lot of times when you go on websites to order them they will list them as right side/left side, but they're really just the same thing. Common misconception.

Like mentioned above, swapping the CVs out for new ones should not effect how your tires clear your suspension components...I would go back over your install and make sure everything was put back together properly the same way it came off. Something has to have been done differently cause the axles shouldn't cause that to happen. Especially since it's just the one side, something on that side must have been re-installed differently

 

Well stupid question / statement on my part buy would bad tie rod ends and or sway bar links contribute to this at all.

I have a fairly good knowledge about my truck and i do all the work on it that I can. I noticed that my end links and tie rod arms bushings were not exactly in good condition, but that wasnt the largest of concerns while replacing the CV.

Also, the axle snapped when pulling out of the driveway and at that point the UCA wqa touching the tire. It sat for about 3 weeks before I replaced it

 

The axle snapped pulling out of the driveway, was it in 4wd when this happened? I can't see why a CV axle would break if it wasn't in engaged in 4wd, but maybe it's possible.

Sounds like something else is amiss here TBH...you might want to limp it over to a *good* alignment shop/tech and have them look it over. If there's something wrong with the spindle or tie rods, steering, etc they should be able to let you know.

 

Nope it was in 2WD. I'm afraid that is the case. I have just been a stubborn cheap ass that is trying to avoid paying an arm and a leg

 

My first guess is that you didn't torque your top ball joint on the side in question. That might allow the spindle to tilt in enough to cause the problem you're having.

 

Some kind of upper ball joint/UCA issue is my bet too. Maybe something bent/broke/took a shit when the CV gave out

 

I didn't mess with the UBJ during the swap. Considering replacing the UCAs all together to find something with more clearance. Figure that would be an easier DIY then just replacing the UBJ. The strange thing is the UBJs don't look to be in that bad of shape.