Car Repair Gurus: CV Joint question!

[N8Magic]

Well, pulling out of the parking garage on my way home from work, I noticed that familiar "crunch, crunch" sound which usually indicates a faulty CV joint. Thing is, I pulled the wheel off a week ago and inspected the CV boots, and they were fine, not leaking any grease whatsoever, and the rubber was nice and soft.

Can a CV joint go bad without leaking any grease? Or am I looking at another potential problem?

 

[Theslowone]

Yeah they can(not as usual though), but there still can be a small tear in them and water grit can get inside. Did you check both the cv joints?

And btw I am no guru.

 

[N8Magic]

Well, I checked the inner and outer boot on both sides, if that's what you mean. They were pretty mint for the mileage on the car. (228,000km on 1995 Cavalier Z24)

 

[Kadarin]

One thought is that if you're not the original owner of the car, the previous owner may have had problems with the cv joint, and instead of replacing the joint, they opted for the cheaper way out and just changed the boot. It's also possible that it was a defective replacement joint.

 

[Theslowone]

If it has that many miles(sorry km) on the car and they haven't been changed then its probably about due, but when I am looking for a used car that is one of the first things i check, the boots that is, and as Astaroth33 said someone could of just put new boots on it. Take it to a local mechanic and ask for advice(to one you trust, if there is one).

 

[Tominator]

Vwer rarely does a CV make any noise or give any trouble unless the boot has split and let in contamination.

The noise will be a clicking sound while turning and not what you described.

Sounds like the tire or wheel cam in contact with a fender liner or mud flap while in full lock.

I'd get a friend to turn the steering wheel hard to the side and look for contact under the car in the wheel well area. Look for shinny spots on the plastic parts where any contact might be made when turning.

I doubt it's anything serious.

 

[yellowvespa]

I side with Torminator on this. The noise you heard could have also been the strut collar crunching away as the wheel was cocked and you went over the exit dip onto the road. Find a nice big empty parking lot and make a tight turn to the left (wheel fully locked to one side) and then try turning the wheel all the way to the other side. Accelerate from a standstill for the test, you only need to go about 3 - 4 MPH. CV joints go click click click. Tires hitting something in the wheel housing (more common that you may think) goes DDDRRRRRR!!! and sounds like WWIII. The strut mount crunch requires a speed bump for testing. Good luck. and don't rule out the CV joints just because the boots show good. Poor cleaning during a past boot replacement means that sand and grit have been rubbing away at those nicely machined metal parts (that are now junk).

Good luck

 

[C'DaleRider]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the bearings in the CV joints CAN and DO wear out even without a split in th eboot. Remember, the CV joint bearings bear the brunt of your acceleration, steering, etc. Be glad you got over 136K miles out of them.......that is a long life from some Chevy joints.

 

[N8Magic]

Thanks for all of the replies.

It's not anything rubbing (that I can see), so I guess it must be the CV joint. Oh well, i'll just get up early tomorrow and fix it, at least the part is only $117.00CDN... Oh, and BTW, it makes the "crunch crunch" even when I turn the wheel while not moving, that's one of the things that puzzled me. I thought the CV joint would only "crunch crunch" if you were moving?

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

<< I thought the CV joint would only "crunch crunch" if you were moving? >>


Actually, you're right. If you don't hear the grinding when you aren't moving, then its probably not the CV joint that's the culprit.

 

[N8Magic]

<<

<< I thought the CV joint would only "crunch crunch" if you were moving? >>


Actually, you're right. If you don't hear the grinding when you aren't moving, then its very likely not the CV join that's the culprit. >>



Son of a...!

It better not have something to do with the steering, or this POS is going straight to the scrap heap. This car has been stressing me out to the max lately, and I do my own work on it. If some little old lady had this car and had to take it in for service every time it broke, she would be crazy by now...

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

<< Son of a...! >>


You sound surprised. The grinding you hear is from the ruined bearings in the joint rubbing against each other. The bearings usually go bad when the grease runs out and the joint dries up. Bad bearings makes for noisy turning. I'm sure you've figured this part out.

If you aren't moving, you won't hear this grinding. If you get it when you turn the wheel and are at a standstill, the first place I'd look is in the steering system. There's a belt that controls power steering isn't there? Could a bad belt cause clicking/grinding?