Pulled Front CV Axle on S210, got a nasty surprise

Short version:

Anyone know where I can buy the front left inner CV joint for a Daihatsu Hijet S210P? Or if this part is common with Suzukis or Mitsubishis?

Long Version (to make you feel better about your truck)

I’ve got a 1999 S210P, fairly new to me. Previous owner beat the living hell out of it. He’d also added a 1-inch lift for more spring travel. The boots are shot on the outer front CV axles so that was my first planned repair.

Drives fine in 2WD. When placed in 4WD, as the truck starts to roll it always makes an intermittent clanging noise (like someone is under the truck slamming a metal hammer into it) before the front wheels get any power. The other day, the clanging noise stopped--and so did power to the front wheels.

I pulled both CV axles (which I needed to do anyway to swap the boots). Right axle came out, no problem. (If you’ve never done this, let me know and I’ll tell you what I did. I learned a lot--It was my first time doing this, and I’d darn sure do it differently the next time.)

The left CV axle came out with a nasty surprise. To pull the axle, I first freed up the outboard side. Then, as I got a good grip on it to yank it out of the differential, the inboard side just popped out with no resistance! But what I had in my hands was just most of the axle.



The CV joint cup (housing?) was still sticking out of the diff, with the stub shaft still inside the diff. I yanked the cup out, and inside I found five loose ball bearings and a shattered cage. The sixth ball was stuck in one of the cage parts.







Called GR Imports. They said they don’t sell inner CV joints for the S210, but that they have a CV joint rebuild kit that includes the cage, so I ordered it. All good, right?

This morning I woke up and thought “Hey dummy--what’s going to keep the cage inside the joint? Did you check out the cup?”

I went into the shop, cleaned the grease out of the cup and see this:





Not sure how good you can see it in the photos, but the damage/deformation to the outer lip of the cup is bad. Bad enough that the channel that holds the circular metal clip--you know, that thin piece of wire that holds the whole joint together--is shot.

A question I have for y’all is, why do you think this happened on the left?

My theory is that the 1-inch lift may have played a role. Since the differential is off-center towards the left, the left front CV axle is a lot shorter than the right CV axle. (I opened up the inner CV joint on the right axle and it’s fine.) I’m wondering if just one inch of lift is enough to screw up the angles/forces that the left inner CV joint is designed to accommodate, causing it to fail. Any thoughts? Assuming I can find a new inner CV joint, should I drop the truck first?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

- Nick

 

It should have a number stamped on it. Either 71LAC, or 75LAC. I think if you have that number you can cross reference to some of the ATVs

 

When you say "It," what part specifically are you referring to? I inspected the cup/CV joint housing closely and did not find anything stamped on it.

thanks,

- Nick

 

The housing itself, should have the number stamped on it.

 

Thank you! At first I couldn't find anything, but on your suggestion I went back over it with a jeweler's loupe. It's super faint, but says

"DOJ 71AC NTN 913" with the spacing just how I typed it. I'm hoping that will make finding this part easier; none of the mini-truck dealers seem to stock inner CV joints for S210's.

 

So it is a NTN unit, this is a link to their catalog. https://www.ntn.com.cn/tech/pdf/16, 5601Ⅲ-CE　Automobile constant velocity joint.pdf

If you call the sales offices listed at the bottom, they may be able to line you up with a stocking distributor.

 

Thanks a ton! I'd never heard of NTN and seeing the PDF was tremendously helpful (spotted the part I need). Will ring the sales office when they open tomorrow. Much appreciated.

If anyone else reading this is looking for an inner CV joint for an S210P, I'll update here with what I learn.

 

Sorry about your inner CV joint! It looks like you've got some good leads on where to find a replacement. I just did my boots on both front axles on an S110. Was the clainging noise present since you purchased? It sounds like something in there was already broken (clainging) and then finally it gave out (no power to front). The second stage of no power is obviously a result of the previous clainging. I don't have a lift on mine, but I wouldn't think 1" would brake it to step 1. More than likely, I would think the torn CV allowed a rock or something else to get in there to bust the joint. I'm a rookie, but that's my guess. Let us know what you find with the part search!

 

What I Learned, Short Version:

- The front left inner CV housing for an S210P is impossible to find as a discrete part.

- NTN is the #2 bearing manufacturer in Japan, and they export CV joints globally.

I wound up ordering an entire left CV axle assembly (used) from https://www.japanminitruckparts.com/.

Used was $300 including shipping, new was $450 including shipping. I saw cheaper prices on eBay and Japanese parts sites, but the EMS/SAL shippers they use are shut down due to the Coronavirus. JMTP goes through FedEx and is still getting weekly shipments.

What I Learned, Long Version:

The NTN sales department was baffled by the number stamped on my part, the left inner CV joint housing/cup:

“DOJ 71AC NTN 913”

(Note: “DOJ” is not “D-Oh-Jay,” but actually “D-Zero-J.”)

While “D0J” is a subcategory of CV joints manufactured by NTN, the other numbers made no sense to them--they had no record of this part.

The NTN saleswoman put me in touch with an NTN engineer. The engineer was super-helpful, returning calls and e-mails and contacting a Japanese counterpart over a number of days. Below is our overall exchange, paraphrased:

Q: Why is the inner CV joint so hard to find? No one has it in stock.

A: Some vehicle manufacturers that NTN supplies have determined that the inner CV joint is not designed to be serviced, nor replaced.

Why not?

It is typically/commonly the outer CV joints that fail. The driver gets stuck in 2WD, engages 4WD with the front wheels in a hairy position, overstressing the outer joints, then something cracks. (I’ll add to this: Or outer boot gets cracked, mud gets into the boot, hi-jinks follow.)

The inner CV joints, tucked up against the differential, aren’t typically exposed to the potential stress of the outers. Given the math of how sales figures have to work, it only makes sense to stock the outers.

Where was my inner CV joint manufactured?

Japan. The U.S. factory doesn’t make parts for Daihatsu.

Are the inner CV joints for the S210P still being manufactured?

Probably not. NTN typically manufactures parts for 10 years after the vehicle is discontinued, then stops. (Since the S210P was made from 1999 to 2007, production on the CV joint probably ceased in 2017.)

Is it possible the inner CV joint housing that I need is sitting on a shelf in some warehouse in Japan?

It’s unlikely. There may be a remanufacturer somewhere, but I don’t have that data. Typically, with the type of failure you experienced, the auto manufacturer reckons you would purchase an entire replacement axle. (Which are stocked, both used and new, in Japan.)

Is there any chance that the inner CV joint is the same as that on a Mitsubishi or Suzuki mini-truck?

It’s possible that those manufacturers share some supplier parts including this CV joint, but I don’t have access to that data.

The problem with my inner CV joint housing is that the outer ring of the housing cup got chewed up during the failure incident, when the cage shattered. Even if I install a new inner race, ball bearings and cage, the retaining clip that holds it in place will not seat, having nothing to bite into; the edges are all chewed up. Can I weld this retaining ring into place, to jerry-rig it?

The CV joint housing is tempered at the factory. The heat created from welding might compromise the tempering, and the housing might then crack under stress. So I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.

____________

I hope that info helps or is useful to someone in the future!

 

I've been following this for a while now, and a lot of great info, and input on this site about this with everyone weighing in. Just wanted to add; When I got my, beat to heck mini, still pretty much stock, just abused. One of the things that I wanted to check out, in my re build, was the cv joints! No tears in the boots, all intact. No lift kit originally on it, but in order to inspect the cv's like I wanted. I removed the stainless steel zip ties on the boots, and peeled back the boots, cleaned and de greased the cv joints, and inspected thoroughly! After a good, and satisfactory inspection, I then re packed the cv joint, and rolled the boot back in place and re installed new stainless steel zip ties!(Ace Hardware) Now I know what I'm dealing with, and added my own 2 inch lift to the front! Maintenance is always good! Before I put this on the, road, or off road, I just have to know what I've got, or am dealing with! Old school! Pay now, or pay a lot more later!

 

hey all, has anyone found an alternative CV axle for the S110p absolutely everywhere is sold out of them hoping for an alternative.

 

There is guy on eBay who was selling rebuilt S210P half shafts. I emailed him and he found a set of S110 half shafts which he rebuilt and sold me. Dont really need them, but it pays to buy what you can when you can. The trucks twenty to thirty years old, and parts are getting harder to find even in Japan.

I just checked ebay, there are some listed, but spendy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2754545658...uid=d6HF3ryPTsy&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY