Longevity of CV Joints
 

Hi all.

My CV joints have been on the way out for quite some time, getting louder and louder clicking and popping when I take corners. However, they don't make noise when traveling in a straight line.

What I'm wondering is this: is the only side-effect of having worn CVs and driveshafts the noise, or does it cause other problems? Can I just not replace them and deal with the noise?

You risk them failing. Eventually they will.

If the CV joints run dry they can weld themselves closed, resulting in the joint shattering. Depending on how fast you are driving at the time you could expect either a very expensive repair or a trip down to the local A&E

No grease in the CV joint will cause the CV joint to fail, possible breaking the axle or seizing up. This will cause serious problems, possible causing the vehicle to go out of control if at say 100clicks! (kph)

Possibly result even in engine damage?

Btw, their not expensive to replace.

I killed both of mine in 3 house of driving after fitting a LSD. But they were 9yo/227,000km old axles. (Original with car).

Then I killed one of mine again in 18 months due to having the LSD fitted. Lots of grease in there and the boot was fine. Just the extra stresses from the LSD killed it.

You know when the start to seize up, your steering will become difficult.

Have a look at you CV boots, check for cracks and grease leaking. If present, probably best to get them replaced.

Anyone else with cv failure experiences? Mine (on a BJ 1.8)have done 7 years and 227,000km and have been noisy for the last year. I just have to be careful not to accelerate hard while turning tightly (u turns type situations, mountain runs are still ok). I'm trying to hold off on replacing the joints as long as possible, but I don't want a catastrophic failure.