Bad CV joint- affect gas mileage?

[SpatiallyAware]

Yep, yep I did- thousands more miles more. I changed it when it got a bit louder and had no problems at all.

As far as being a danger to other people- I am all about responsibility with auto maintenance. I even wrote this two weeks ago.

With a CV joint, though, what will happen when it breaks? I'll lose power and coast to the side of the road, call AAA, and curse myself for pushing my luck too far. Not likely to kill anyone else.

What a terrible attitude, and no you are not all about responsibility or you wouldn't have driven thousands of miles on a bad cv axle.

It can do a ton of damage when they fail. I have seen numerous axles off on the side of the road, if that hits a motorcyclist etc it could really hurt someone.

 

[AdamK47]

I know this thread is old, but I found it rather hilarious that the guy is basing his decision on replacing a bad CV joint on whether it lessens his gas mileage or not. Car owners these days...

 

[phucheneh]

Granted, it's not as bad as something like a tie rod or ball joint failing. You're not going to go careening out of control and run over a group of blind orphan baby nuns.

But if that outer tripod joint lets go, the majority of the axle (all but the stub with the axle nut on it) is going to sling around until it gets ejected; best case, the plunge joint comes apart and only that intermediate shaft comes out. Worst, it actually pulls out of the trans. Before that, it's got the chance of ripping out wiring, coolant hoses, fuel lines...whatever the manufacturer might have run in that vicinity. Then it goes out onto the road for someone to hit.

If you're lucky, it's the long axle (passenger side on anything but Honda) and it has a carrier bearing that will hold the intermediate shaft in place after the joint fails. But that's far from all (or even most) cases.