Cv shaft popped out of diff on highway

I have a 01 Tacoma trd 4x4. It has a old man emu 3in lift from what the previous owner told me. I was driving down the highway (about 65 mph) tonight and hit a dip in the road (I drive this road often, not a massive dip). The cv shaft came out of the front diff and made some horrific sounds. I spent 30 min getting it partially popped back in and creeped home. But it appears the diff has some damage. I will post pics when I can. Just wondering if anyone has ever had this happen? and what should I expect to pay for a used diff? I saw some good sized chunks out of it.

I haven't been out jumping this truck or doing anything stupid to cause this. However the cv boots had been ripped for some time. I was not in 4x4 either. Also the driveshaft and both wheels spin freely. Any ideas as to how this happened would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Physically impossible for the cvs to just pop out.

 

Would be worth inspecting for any other front end deficiencies on that side - balljoints etc. The suspension should allow enough travel for the half shaft to come out of the front diff unless it just the wrong size axle, crazy

 

This is going to be interesting.

 

You mean "shouldn't"????

 

I haven't touched the suspension for the ~8k miles I've had it and I've hit bigger dips in the road so I don't think it's the wrong shaft. I'm wondering if the diff could've locked up and snapped the end of the shaft off. I can't pull it out of the diff enough to see. But it is for sure is out of the diff and still in one piece. The other tire/shaft and driveshaft spun free though. I'll dig into it tomorrow. Until then it's relying on my 85 yota.

 

Pics?

 

I'll get some when I dig into it hopefully tomorrow. I'm busy getting transportation now.

 

Very unusual. Sub'd for pics of the diff and the axle.

 

Also both ball joints and the tie rod looked fine. It's got 165k miles and drove straight and tight.

 

Sounds like side gear wanted out.

 

Unusual. Typically the lower ball joints are the first to go, causing the front suspension to fall apart...

 

How long was your CV boot ripped for? Curious to see what the drive side end of the half shaft looks like.

Also a question for others - can you pull the half shaft and drive home in 2wd? obviously not ideal to do, but if you covered the openings with some macgyver fix, is this okay to do on these trucks?

 

It was ripped when I bought the truck so Probly quit awhile. Didn't click or anything so I was waiting till I had some downtime to do it. Hindsight 20/20 shoulda done it when I bought the truck.

And from what I saw on the front end of mine the cv nut holds the hub together so you couldn't just pull it and drive home.

 

You would need to split the cv half shaft and install the outboard end back through the wheel bearing in order to support the wheel bearing pre-load . Then use the other half of the cv joint going into the front differential to prevent all the oil from dripping out . It can be done but would be much easier just to replace the cv shaft with a new one

 

Mansmission - Yeah you would have to get the axle nut off also, which now that I'm actually thinking about it sounds like more work than I'd be up for in the same situation.

Thx gearcrunch for answering on that. Sounds like a pain in the a**! Was curious as it is good info more for trail repairs than the OP's situation.

 

Subd

 

my dad got this shade tree mechanic to replace the cv shaft on his geo metro... one of them popped out and he lost all his trans fluid. I sold it for him and some guy showed up and popped the damn thing back in in my drive way and left grinning from ear to ear... good for him, I guess. I was pissed, myself. Never used a shade tree mechanic again, that's for sure. If I had known that was the problem I would've kept that little POS. got like 50mpg in the city.

 

Lol, back in my extreme mpg days (commuting days) I had a Geo Metro XFI. I rebuilt the engine and afterwards averaged 52 mpg every time. 75% freeway driving. I miss it.

 

Okay, got it all apart and the cv shaft fell in 2 pieces and the diff has chunks taken out of that bushing. Is that a serviceable part?