When lifting IFS Vehicles, the Constant Velocity (CV) joints are put
on an increased angle. This increased angle of the CV joint during
operation can accelerate the wear on the joint, as well as putting
additional stress on the CV boots leading to splitting and eventually
premature failure of the CV. This wear is accelerated further if larger
(wider) wheels and tyres are fitted.
The IFS Diff Drop Kits are application specific and supplied
complete to get the job done. The bolt on kit corrects the geometry on
the front driveshaft and CV’s, lowering the front diff by approx. 25mm,
thus reducing the angles the CV joints need to operate on, and avoiding
the expensive replacements of CV’s and boots. Allows the bash plate to
be refitted.
This kit is designed to drop the diff by, giving your CV;s and their boots a much better, more factory angle.
In
doing this it will stop the CV boot rubbing on itself causing premature
wear (also a roadworthy item) as well as the CV being a increased angle
at all times, this creates a weak point for the CV, resulting in far
more breakages than what should be normal.
Not
every vehicle with a suspension lift will need a differential drop kit
installed. How do you tell if your vehicle might be able to make use of
one?
There are a couple of symptoms which you might want to look for:
Lift
the front tires off the ground and then try grabbing each half shaft of
the front axle and slowly turn it through a full rotation. If you feel
any binding in the CV joints at this full droop condition, that is your
CV joints telling you that they are hitting their angle limit. Also try
this with the wheels straight ahead and at full steering lock to test
all cases. A CV joint that binds up under load can easily snap in the
bush.
If
you find your CV joint boots are wearing out unusually fast, that can
be a sign of too much angle. Easy check is to examine the upper ribs of
outer CV joint and see if they are being pinched hard together on the
top side of the boot. If so, and especially if you have the stock front
differential disconnect (ADD) system and your CVs are spinning all the
time, this can cause the ribs to wear against each other and eventually
wear through the material and cause the boot to fail. Usually the more
ribs that are touching, the less ideal the CV joint angle is.
If
you find your CV joints are wearing out or breaking more frequently
than before you installed the suspension lift, this may also be a sign
of the need to reduce the CV joint angles with a differential drop kit.
A
diff drop kit will not cause a lot of loss of front ground clearance.
As is, the front diff sits higher than the subframe/cross members and
the diff drop will lower the diff down about to the level of the sub
frame/cross member. And the diff housing is made of pretty thick
material to can stand up to a decent amount of abuse. After all, look at
your rear differential, it hangs down lower in back. Now, if you have,
or plan to install, a front suspension cross member, a diff drop kit
probably will not work, as that cross member will be in the way of
lowering the front diff.