Howdy,

I have a 2006 T5 LWB which has had the lifted Seikel suspension in it since 2014. A few years ago I started to get some clicking from the front CVs when turning hard and putting some load on. Knowing the this setup would wear out the CVs prematurely, we had the shafts rebuilt with new joints. Unfortunately this made no difference. If anything it was slightly worse.

A few years later and they're now totally shot.

As we know, this setup can work just fine...so what I'm trying to work out is what could be causing the CVs to be hitting the end of their range of motion. My initial thinking was the following possibilities. The lower control arm bushes, gearbox mounts, engine mounts and subframe mounts could all contribute to displacement between the hub and gearbox. I would have expected the LCAs would be the likely culprit, but they're still in good condition. The other possibility is that the aftermarket joints have less range of motion.

My mechanic has it on the hoist now and has said that at full droop the shaft is fully extended where it goes into the outer joint and it's that loading up on the joint that's the issue, not the angular range of motion. They're looking at an extended shaft option. Apparently the auto gearbox version has slightly longer shafts we might be able to mix and match.

Has anyone had any experience with this and can offer some advice?