Care if I ask a CV joint question?

[jseabolt]

The other day my Yugo 4 speed started making this popping sound when I take off in 1st gear. Then does it again in 2nd gear. Pretty much goes away when shifting from 2nd to 3rd and seldom from 3rd to 4th. Sometimes does it when hitting the brakes real hard going around sharp turns.

When taking off from a dead stop it's like a pop pop pop. Sort of like a slipping, binding noise.

A friend noted that the noise was relevant as the wheel was turning and the pop just sounds like it's coming from the wheel.

The reason it pops more in the lower gears is because the front end lifts between shifts and the angles of the axles are changing.

I have new strutts and shocks and bushings, control arms.

If the suspension was original I could see how it coule be a bushing or something. I did not replace everything on the front end just most of the parts.

Based on what I've read on the internet concerning CV joints, Wikiepedia says this noise is an indication that the inner tripod joint is failing.

I tried doing doughnuts in a parking lot to listen for a clicking sound which is common with older Hondas with failing outer CV joints but did not hear any clicks.

So does it sound worthwhile to investigate the CV joints? Once I pull the axles what indication will tell me that the inner tripod joint is bad?

Do the surface area of the balls wear out or just the needle bearings?

[djape1977]

well easyest way to determine cv joint failure is to wind the steering wheel all the way to one side and start moving. then the other side of course. if that doesn't yeald results then...
...a yugo worshiping sesion is in order for you!?
i'ts an old yugoslavian tradition.?
you wait till sunday morning when all the normal people go to church , fishing, or just stay in bed. but not you! you're proud owner of yugo!? get in your coveralls, jack up the front end of the car and take a foot long crowbar with you and get under the car.
now that you're in the place of worship, you can begin. basically, you need to check all of the components of front suspension, starting from one(s) that you suspect are faulty. if you can move the axle up/down, from side to side or if, while engine is of, gearbox in 1st, you can move the wheel(s) than cv joint replacement is a must.
what actually fails inside cv joint? just about anything and everything.
here in serbia, parts for yugo are cheap and plentyful so i newer bothered to look inside one to find what exactly failed. 15$ new + 3-4$ for rubber boot + a lot of axle grease inside = problem solved.

about your yugo: if you have a stronger than stock engine under the bonnet than you must strenghten front end of the car. cv joints failure is a common problem with tuned yugo and often is an indication of a much bigger problem. front end of your car could be loosing it's geometry due to stresses caused by stronger engine. therefore, driveshafts and cv joints are beig pulled and twisted in ways that they weren't designed to be.
there's many ways to strenghten yugo's front end... just imagine what this guy had to do to keep this engine under the bonnet

[jseabolt]

about your yugo: if you have a stronger than stock engine under the bonnet than you must strenghten front end of the car. cv joints failure is a common problem with tuned yugo and often is an indication of a much bigger problem. front end of your car could be loosing it's geometry due to stresses caused by stronger engine. therefore, driveshafts and cv joints are beig pulled and twisted in ways that they weren't designed to be.
there's many ways to strenghten yugo's front end... just imagine what this guy had to do to keep this engine under the bonnet

Yesterday I finally got a day off from work and raised my Yugo off the ground (one side at a time) and rotated the wheels. With the opposite wheel locked (sitting on the ground) I can rotate both wheels back and fourth about an inch while locked in gear. The axle stays stationary with the outer hubs. The play is at the transmission side. I believe this is normal but seems like allot of play.

With the front end off the ground allowing both wheels to free wheel at the same time, I cannot feel any kind of binding or hear this popping sound while rotating either wheel.

So either the inner tri-pod joint(s) is not the cause of the popping or it's impossible to diagnoise the inners unless I pull the axles and inspect the needle bearings in the balls.

Last time I had to put allot of time and effort into removing and reinstalling the axles during my engine swap. I think I figured out what I did wrong.

Rather than dropping the entire swaybar, this time I think if I unhook the balljoint from the hub, the control arm from the body and the control arm from the swaybar this should allow the hub to be pulled away from the strut. Of course disconnecting the brake caliper and tieing it up out of the way is a must.

The problem I faced was I could not pull the hub away from the strut because the ball joint wouldn't drop low enough if that makes any sense.

Yes I have a 1500cc X 1/9 engine and a T25 turbo on this car. I'm estimating around 110 BHP.
Notice the strut tower brace and "4th" engine mount:

[djape1977]

he he... a classic example of a sleeper car. looks ordinary on the outside.
strange that you didn't lower it. lowering the suspension is a must around here when tuning a yugo. rear disc brakes also, usualy from fiat uno turbo or some lancia.
about dropping the axle - well you need to force the whole suspension arm downwards, take a big crowbar!
i suspect that problem is cv joint(s), probably the inner ones. i also suspect that due to stronger engine, lower part of the front end of your car is deformed or cracked. parts of the body that front suspension arms are attached to ( sorry but i don't know the english name for that) is prone to bending and cracking when stressed or due to age. i'll try to find pics of bits and pieces for strenghtening lower suspension mounting points

http://www.yugofanclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9417

[jseabolt]

he he... a classic example of a sleeper car. looks ordinary on the outside.
strange that you didn't lower it. lowering the suspension is a must around here when tuning a yugo. rear disc brakes also, usualy from fiat uno turbo or some lancia.
about dropping the axle - well you need to force the whole suspension arm downwards, take a big crowbar!
i suspect that problem is cv joint(s), probably the inner ones. i also suspect that due to stronger engine, lower part of the front end of your car is deformed or cracked. parts of the body that front suspension arms are attached to ( sorry but i don't know the english name for that) is prone to bending and cracking when stressed or due to age. i'll try to find pics of bits and pieces for strenghtening lower suspension mounting points

http://www.yugofanclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9417

My Yugo did have some stress fractures in the body but they were all welded up and so far have not seen any new ones. I choose not to lower the car for several reasons. One to add to the sleeper effect and second it's nice to have a car not so low to the ground due to the crappy roads here in the United States. Sometimes I have to be extra careful where I drive my 124 Spider due to it's lowered suspension.

Hey! That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks. Looks fairly easy to build except for getting the correct bends where the control arms bolt to the body. I may have to do some welding on that end.

I studied some traction bars for Hondas but unlike Hondas, the Yugo/128 control arms are nothing like was is used on Hondas. I was going to try to copy something like these but couldn't figure out where to attach them.

[djape1977]

i have a couple of sets of those for yugo somewhere, i'll take some pics on weekend and dimensions. i could also send a set to you but i suspect that shipping cost would be high since those are 5mm solid steel and are quite heavy.

[jseabolt]

i have a couple of sets of those for yugo somewhere, i'll take some pics on weekend and dimensions. i could also send a set to you but i suspect that shipping cost would be high since those are 5mm solid steel and are quite heavy.

I think I can easily make these myself. I guess the real question is do they really work at preventing the front end from lifting or are they just to stiffen up the body?

Yes. I asked one of my Yugo penpals in Serbia about sending me some parts and he said shipping is very expensive to the US. Just like shipping from Australia to the US is cheaper and faster than from Canada to the US I don't know. Distance doesn't seem to dictate price.

[djape1977]

I think I can easily make these myself. I guess the real question is do they really work at preventing the front end from lifting or are they just to stiffen up the body?

beats me. i never had a yugo
it may be interesting for you because it's rare in US, but i can see at least 10 yugo's every time i look down the street, so for me it's the most common of all cars, and not a good one for that matter. one could make a real car out of it if a lot of money and time was spent on it and you are half way there in my humble opinion.

[djape1977]

...

[jseabolt]

AH, more ideas to stiffen the car. Thanks.

I figured this thread was dead so I didn't bother to reply on what I found. Nothing was wrong with the inner CV joints. Although I did find that after running 20W50 engine oil in the transmission 3rd would grind and I found bits of brass shavings inside the boot. So I drained the oil and put GL-1 90 back in. No more grinding in 3rd gear and the transmission is much quieter.

I believe my problem all along is the front stabalizer bushings. Although they are fairly new, I put some extra torque on the fronts and seemed to help the popping.

[djape1977]

i remembered you yesterday when i stumbled upon yugo fan club meeting. there was all sorts of tuning/styling atempts on yugo, yet this was something new for me

[djape1977]

http://www.postimage.org/aV1NKz5S-9b945e5822b72cc4e74ab97792c8dfb7.jpg

[jseabolt]

http://www.postimage.org/aV1NKz5S-9b945e5822b72cc4e74ab97792c8dfb7.jpg

Only have of this photo showed up.

Now that I have my choke/fast idle mechansim and the front end popping sorted out I can concentrate on my 131. Mechanically it's done except for changing the differential oil. I still have to respray one of the doors and roof and do some more cosmetic work and install my radio and it should be road ready. No MOT where I live. I just don't like driving unpresentable cars out in public. Or one that may break down if I know something a certain part is dodgy for that matter.

[djape1977]

just click on the pic again or refresh, depending on which browser you're using

[jseabolt]

just click on the pic again or refresh, depending on which browser you're using

All of the photo wasn't showing up yesterday. I refreshed the photo several times.

That's a nice conversion. I'll have to foward that one to my Yugo penpal in Zrenjanin.