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Front CV shaft replacement


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My MJ has a front axle out of an '87 ZJ, and the CV shaft is blown. I have never heard of a CV shaft, only the joint. Is the CV shaft really the axle shaft? and how hard is it to replace, will I need a new front axle?

here is a pic of the blown CV shaft

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thanks a lot, hopefully you guys can answer my questions

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I think it has to be out of an early XJ, I had one come into the shop a few years ago and I think it was an 85???. There was no ZJ until 94. And to be honest just due to the weirdness of it.... it might be better to swap it out for the u joint version that you can find anywhere. You might be able to just swap the shafts with the more common version, but I'm not sure if the knuckles and unit bearings are the same.

 

-Chris

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no such thing as an 87 zj... they came about in 93 i believe. but you will have to remove the breaks and hub then the shaft should slide on out. personally i would switch back to what came in the MJ. go to the junk yard and find some with universal joints in them. i don't know what all is involved for the CV. hope this helps some

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Ah, XJ then. I was saying XJ before and had been told it couldn't be an XJ cause they come with U joints not CV joints. Whatever the hell it came out of, it was an '87 Cherokee lol.

So swap the axle back to a manche axle? I have an '88 parts truck with a dana 30 on the front, I could switch this in to the '91 with the cherokee axle. or do something different. One thing I'm worried about is the guy who sold me the one w/ blown CV shaft said he swapped the axle out when he did the lift, do you think the lift was specified for that axle or was the axle changed to accomodate the suspension of the MJ

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the new axle prob just bolted in. I'm guessing the one with the blown joint is the one you want fixed up? i would pull those shafts and take the safts form your other d30 in your other truck and swap them, those should be a u joint style jamminz.gif hope I'm answering what your asking

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Or if you want to just get a new ZJ CV shaft assy from autozone or somewhere, they are selling new ones now for the same or less than rebuilts, I think around $100. CV shafts never came stock in an MJ. Some one probably just had one lying around and decided to thow it in there to replace a bad u Joint axle. Either way will work.

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you are indeed, I'm not even really sure what I'm asking aha. So I can just take the CV shafts out of the front axle (along with the CV joints I'm assuming) and put the U joint shafts (along with the U joints) from the '88 manche (D30) axle into the cherokee axle

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sweet. So I can either use the U joint shafts/U-joints of the '88 manche and put them in the '91 manche, OR go buy new CV shafts/might as well get joints too. I think I will switch in the U Joint ones. less expensive and more common (as someone stated)

 

so the next question is, how hard is this to do, taking the CV shafts/joints out and putting the U joints/shafts in

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The Cv shaft is a shaft and Cv joint built together, it is one assembly with the boot and everything. To replace pull off the caliper, the rotor, then get to the backside and with a 13mm 12 point socket on a 1/2" drive wrench remvove the three bolts holding the hub to the knuckle. They will be tight, then carefully knock the hub assy off. This may be tough too if it is rusty at all. The hub assy is the wheel bearings and wheel seals all together in a single unit so be careful removeing it if you arent putting new ones on. Soemtimes they will just knock right off, other times youll need a little encouragement to get them off, but one the hub is off, the axle assy will slide right out, slide your new one in being careful not to mess up the axle seal deep inside the axle and put eberything back together. Good luck!

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If you're contemplating swapping MJ axle shafts into a CV-shafted XJ axle, then you've got one minor dilemma. The CV axle will not have a CAD. Almost all MJ axles are of the CAD variety and the passenger side axle shaft will be a 2-piece unit and can't go into a non-CAD axle. You'll need a shaft from a non-CAD front axle. You might as well focus your efforts on some axle shafts that use the bigger 297 U-joints as they will be stronger. TJs, 96+ XJs, and older XJs that had ABS will have the proper shafts/joints.

 

And yes, the axle shafts will always and only go with the type of joint they were made for. The yokes on the ends of the shafts will only connect to the proper joint, whether CV or 260 U-joint or 297 U-joint. :thumbsup:

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ooooohh thanks man, I woulda been pulling a :mad: :headpop: :dunno: :???: :huh???: :help: If I started into that project huh aha

 

so I know I'm repeating information but it is the way I understand. So I am looking for a "TJs, 96+ XJs, and older XJs that had ABS will have the proper shafts/joints." and those will have the U-joint, CAD assembly, 297 U-joints, and will fit into the axle I have currently on the '91 (an 87 cherokee axle)

 

Also, can I go buy the U joint assembly from autozone etc. like I can with a CV assembly as dasbulliwagen said, if so, I would probably just go that route instead of searching junkyards for one.

 

thanks a bunch

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HAven't a clue if autozone would have them.

 

Take a tape measure with you when hitting the junkyards. Measure the bearing cap diameter on the MJ axleshafts you've got. Those would be 260s. The 297s will have slightly wider bearing caps. (off the top of my head I can't think of the exact numbers)

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