CV joint clicking

[Robin Henderson]

My wife's '93 Loyale has a split right front CV boot and it is making a
clicking noise when turning at low speed, the car only has 55k miles on it.
I have googled up many previous threads regarding half axle replacement and
am wondering... Could I repack the CV joint, replace the boot and skate or
am I asking for serious trouble?

Robin

 

[Josh Assing]

depends on how bad the cv joint is...
however, if you're doing the boot; you've done all the hard work to get to the
point of replacing the joint.

 

[S]

Hi Robin!

Could I repack the CV joint, replace the boot and skate or
am I asking for serious trouble?

You could do that, and it might last another 20K miles or more, or it
might not. Kinda depends on how long you've been driving, and in what
kind of conditions with the bad boot. If it's "clicking", you've gone
far enuf to throw out most of the grease anyway.

Best solution: install a new factory axle. $$$ and time.
Next best: rebuild the one you have using factory boots, or buy a
reman, remove the aftermarket boots, and _install_ factory boots. $$
and time.
Third, clean up as well as you can, pack in as much grease as you have
patience for, and install a split boot. Quick & easy.

The split boot won't last too long, but you'll be able to judge
whether or not the axle is good enuf to justify a rebuild. And if you
keep an eye on it, and replace the split boot when it starts to leak,
you may go a long way before you need do anything more involved.
If fresh grease doesn't cure the dreaded click, I'd highly recommend
replacement with a factory axle over a remanufactured one, as remans
never seem to last very long (the aftermarket boots inevitably split)
and then you're right back where you started. The job _does_ go
quicker the second (and third, and fourth . . .) time thru, tho

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[Rick Courtright]

My wife's '93 Loyale has a split right front CV boot and it is making a
clicking noise when turning at low speed, the car only has 55k miles on it.

Hi,

If it's already clicking, cleaning, regreasing and replacing boots is
only forestalling the inevitable. For how long? Hard to say. I've seen
clicking axles go for many 10's of 1000's of miles, others gave up
quickly (15k-20k?)

Factory boots are the ONLY way to go on these cars. Aftermarket boots
are often oddly sized, and don't last as long regardless, while saving
very few $. A whole new factory rebuilt axle isn't much more than about
two sets of boots, clamps and grease. I'd suggest going that route for
both immediate peace of mind and long term economy of both time and
money. I've had BAD luck with aftermarket axles, so using them turned
into a false economy.

Best of luck,

Rick

 

[Ed Rachner]

Replace the axle with a rebuilt or OEM unit. Repair of an axle has never
been cost effective considering the labor involved. A good source for
quality rebuilt axles is www.cvaxles.com. Good luck.