Blown CV Grease Fouling up ABS wheel speed sensors/VSC system

[AJPuleo23]

So I have been tracking down an issue with my slip indicator going off around 40MPH and the slightest turn of the 'new' steering wheel.

*I THINK* it is just a coincidence that this all started happening around the same time I swapped in a new wheel as posted a few weeks ago.

I recalibrated the VSC system and that did not seem to do the trick.

So over the past weekend I figured I'd pull the wheels off up front and take a look at these sensors just to see if I had anything obvious going on with them.

Sure enough I blew my driver CV and this one was not as obvious as my previous blown CV which had blown grease all over the inside sidewall and then down the frame.

FWIW the VSC/TRAC lights are not on, nor is the ABS light. ONLY seemingly an overly touchy traction control system thinking the vehicle is slipping and slowing it down.

So my question is, has anyone (I guess that leaves us lucky 2001 & 2002 owners) encountered a blown CV's grease potentially screwing up the VSC system and or at least potentially fouling up the wheel speed sensor?

I am hoping to get a new CV this weekend from NAPA and will plan to replace it and will take a look further at the sensor on the driver side.

 

[JoeT4R]

So I have been tracking down an issue with my slip indicator going off around 40MPH and the slightest turn of the 'new' steering wheel.

*I THINK* it is just a coincidence that this all started happening around the same time I swapped in a new wheel as posted a few weeks ago.

I recalibrated the VSC system and that did not seem to do the trick.

So over the past weekend I figured I'd pull the wheels off up front and take a look at these sensors just to see if I had anything obvious going on with them.

Sure enough I blew my driver CV and this one was not as obvious as my previous blown CV which had blown grease all over the inside sidewall and then down the frame.

FWIW the VSC/TRAC lights are not on, nor is the ABS light. ONLY seemingly an overly touchy traction control system thinking the vehicle is slipping and slowing it down.

So my question is, has anyone (I guess that leaves us lucky 2001 & 2002 owners) encountered a blown CV's grease potentially screwing up the VSC system and or at least potentially fouling up the wheel speed sensor?

I am hoping to get a new CV this weekend from NAPA and will plan to replace it and will take a look further at the sensor on the driver side.

What kind of CV's are you getting from Napa?

 

[AJPuleo23]

What kind of CV's are you getting from Napa?

Will pick up either NCV944019 or NCV944013 as the much talked about extended travel CV’s are OOS.

Did you ask because you have experience with NAPA cvs?

FWIW this IIRC was a carquest cv from AAP. (Trying to think of more acronyms to fit into that one)…. So I figured I’d give NAPA a shot as they have the warranty too.

I may just look to rebuild my OE CVs down the road too but 1 thing at a time I guess.

 

[JoeT4R]

Will pick up either NCV944019 or NCV944013 as the much talked about extended travel CV’s are OOS.

Did you ask because you have experience with NAPA cvs?

FWIW this IIRC was a carquest cv from AAP. (Trying to think of more acronyms to fit into that one)…. So I figured I’d give NAPA a shot as they have the warranty too.

I may just look to rebuild my OE CVs down the road too but 1 thing at a time I guess.

Gotcha. I do, I do. I just bought the NCV941258 axles (heavy duty ones) and so far, they're amazing. Very happy with them. Napa makes good stuff for sure, so definitely have some faith. I'm extremely OEM partial, but have been extremely impressed with these CV's. Pretty sure they have a warranty as well, but I don't know the specifics off the top of my head.

I'd highly suggest hanging onto the OEM CV's if they're in decent shape. Mine were pretty bad, so I ended up having to toss them. One was OEM, the other was some no-name brand that I replaced back in 2014. If I had both OEM axles I would have been way more likely to hold onto them for rebuilding purposes.

Let me know which axles you do end up going with, though. Hopefully they'll yield similar results as mine have. Are you lifted? What exactly happened to your current CV's that caused them to blow?

 

[AJPuleo23]

Gotcha. I do, I do. I just bought the NCV941258 axles (heavy duty ones) and so far, they're amazing. Very happy with them. Napa makes good stuff for sure, so definitely have some faith. I'm extremely OEM partial, but have been extremely impressed with these CV's. Pretty sure they have a warranty as well, but I don't know the specifics off the top of my head.

I'd highly suggest hanging onto the OEM CV's if they're in decent shape. Mine were pretty bad, so I ended up having to toss them. One was OEM, the other was some no-name brand that I replaced back in 2014. If I had both OEM axles I would have been way more likely to hold onto them for rebuilding purposes.

Let me know which axles you do end up going with, though. Hopefully they'll yield similar results as mine have. Are you lifted? What exactly happened to your current CV's that caused them to blow?

Yeah I'd opt for the HD CV if it was available but it does not seem to be stocked anywhere. I should have my OE CV's somewhere and maybe on a rainy day I'll try and rebuild at least 1 of them for a spare. IIRC one was pretty chewed up.

I am running the toytec ultimate 3" and the boots do not seem to like this set up so much tbh. That or potholes around here in MD... Can't say for certain what caused it to tear the boots, but from a quick look it looked like both inner and outer boots were torn on the driver side. I'll probably just do both CV's while I am at it.

 

[JoeT4R]

Yeah I'd opt for the HD CV if it was available but it does not seem to be stocked anywhere. I should have my OE CV's somewhere and maybe on a rainy day I'll try and rebuild at least 1 of them for a spare. IIRC one was pretty chewed up.

I am running the toytec ultimate 3" and the boots do not seem to like this set up so much tbh. That or potholes around here in MD... Can't say for certain what caused it to tear the boots, but from a quick look it looked like both inner and outer boots were torn on the driver side. I'll probably just do both CV's while I am at it.

Yep, sounds about right. That’s usually how it goes. I’ve got the Sonoran Steel 1.2 and my cv’s were not happy about it. I did both, AND the seals where they connect to the diff since they had 300K+ miles on them. They weren’t leaking (the seals) but they were about $60 in total iirc, OEM at that, so I figured it would be a good idea to do.

It sucks that they aren’t available at the moment though. I’m sure there are plenty of other viable options out there, I just chose the heavy duty ones in hopes that I’ll never have to do them again. Buy once, cry once, they say.

 

[AJPuleo23]

For anyone curious, first assessment appears to have been either an incorrectly set, or damaged clock spring (very likely during my steering wheel swap). I've put in a new one and the first shakedown appears to be successful.

We'll see.

 

[Jakeepoo3]

VSC, A-TRAC, DAC functions disabled, solution

I had this happen with a dirty tone ring. This is what I did to fix it. Check this thread.

 

[ninethings]

So I have been tracking down an issue with my slip indicator going off around 40MPH and the slightest turn of the 'new' steering wheel.

*I THINK* it is just a coincidence that this all started happening around the same time I swapped in a new wheel as posted a few weeks ago.

I recalibrated the VSC system and that did not seem to do the trick.

I havent looked in to the wheel speed sensors but my VSC/TRAC lights have been on since a little before I swapped CV' (same ones as you). I've been looking for a VSC recalibration guide for 01-02 as the OBD port is in a different location. No ones been able to confirm to me if the pin layout is the same across years. What method did you use? Jumping terminals? If so, can you elaborate on the process? Posted a thread a while back and only got people posting their responses from ChatGPT.... no bueno.

 

[AJPuleo23]

I havent looked in to the wheel speed sensors but my VSC/TRAC lights have been on since a little before I swapped CV' (same ones as you). I've been looking for a VSC recalibration guide for 01-02 as the OBD port is in a different location. No ones been able to confirm to me if the pin layout is the same across years. What method did you use? Jumping terminals? If so, can you elaborate on the process? Posted a thread a while back and only got people posting their responses from ChatGPT.... no bueno.

Sorry - been a while since I've been on here. Here's a good write up:

01-02 Zero Point Calibration Trac / VSC - Sharing and Seeking | Toyota 4Runner Forum [4Runners.com]