Cv Joint on front driveshaft keeps going out? Help Pls!

[Samstoops]

I Have a 2000 Ford Ranger 4.0 Ohv 4x4. The issue im having is that the cv joint on the front driveshaft that connects the front drive line to the transfer case keeps going bad. it first started about a year and a half ago when my truck started shake kind of like the tires where off balance and i could hear a rattling noise. it took me forever to diagnose it but i eventually came to the conclusion my front drive line cv joint was the problem. it was very loose and i could grab the drive line and move it around inside of the joint. so i ended up going to oreilly and buying a new cv joint and the specialty tool and replaced it myself. once i did my truck stopped shaking and the noise was gone. i was happy my truck was back to normal. Fast forward a couple months and im having the same issue. I was still baffled at what it could be cause surely it couldnt have gone bad so quickly. i was wrong apparently cause it did and it was causing me the same problems. this time i decided to buy a whole new front drive line with a new cv joint and u joint. i didnt want to try and replace the cv joint on the drive line again, it was a pain. Once again once i replaced it and everything was fixed the truck drove normal and no rattling noise. But yet again it went bad in the span of a couple of months and here i am today. I hardly drive the truck btw, i have a car i daily drive so the truck only gets a few thousand miles a year. So now obviously im thinking there is something causing this problem because i dont believe they would all go bad so quickly for nothing. My question is what could it be and has anyone had this happen to them before? Could my transfer case be bad, would that cause it? four wheel drive seems to work alright although i dont use it much. i have noticed the front drive line spins when driving in 2wd, is that normal? Im unsure so if anyone has any advice on what it could be that would be great?

 

[pjtoledo]

what are you using for grease in the CV joint? regular grease won't work. has to be CV rated grease, and lots of it.
have any modifications been done to increase the driveshaft angle?
what type of front hubs? late in the 2000 model year Ford switched Rangers to a live front hub. with those the front driveshaft is always spinning. is there a threaded stub shaft and big nut in the center of your front hubs? that's the live setup.

 

[Samstoops]

what are you using for grease in the CV joint? regular grease won't work. has to be CV rated grease, and lots of it.
have any modifications been done to increase the driveshaft angle?
what type of front hubs? late in the 2000 model year Ford switched Rangers to a live front hub. with those the front driveshaft is always spinning. is there a threaded stub shaft and big nut in the center of your front hubs? that's the live setup.

I just used the grease that came with it when i did the first one and the drive line i bought came with it already pre filled with grease. the front boot of the cv joint was ripped on all of them. and the truck is completely stock other than that. the only thing i have done is put rims on it when i got it like 5 years ago. and i believe that is what i have for hubs.

 

[adsm08]

Check yoke play at both ends of the drive shaft. You may have a bad bearings somewhere.

 

[Uncle Gump]

If the CV boot is ripped on "all" of them... then you are losing all the grease. They don't last long without lube. Ensure you don't have something interfering with the boot. Also... use care when installing the shaft and tightening the bolts... you might be damaging the boot during installation.

 

[19Walt93]

Make sure the driveshaft slip joint moves freely, they used to bind and we'd have to take them apart and lube them with some kind of blue synthetic grease listed in a tsb. If the slip joint is bound up it may put a lot of stress on the joint. It might be worth considering a Ford part or at least a different aftermarket piece. I don't believe I've ever seen one fail.