CV joint replacement advice

[CoventryCat86]

You're absolutely right. A rebuilt shaft is like $80.

What year, make and model? If you tell me that then I can give you more advice/suggestions as to how to do this yourself.

[CoventryCat86]

It has very "CV" symptoms. A fast clicking/clunking sound that only happens when the wheels are almost fully turned either left or right. After driving a while, when pulled into an enclosed space like the garage, you can detect a hot burning rubber like smell on the passenger side. I assume that's the boot getting hot. I really need to spend some time on it to try and diagnose it, but the wife is a bit of a PITA to pin down on car maintenance issues. I think I've posted about that particular issue previously.

BINGO! This is definitely CV joint problem and not a tie rod problem. A loose tie rod end (inner or outter) would result in sloppy steering/play in the steering wheel which is a completely different set of symptoms from a bad CV joint. Bad tie rod ends show up when you try to get the front end aligned and the guy says he can't align it because of a bad tie rod end or ends.

[Eville]

Cool, just checking. When my tie rod end started going bad at about 40k there wasn't any noticeable play in the wheel, just clicking/creaking whenever I would turn and especially when I would turn and hit a bump. Goodluck with that CV.

[nhcigarfan]

My wife wouldn't let me near her car unless I prepaid the towing charge to get it to a reputable mechanic.

[Kenyth]

What year, make and model? If you tell me that then I can give you more advice/suggestions as to how to do this yourself.

2005 Honda CRV Automatic with AWD at about 65K miles. I was expecting to find a torn CV boot on the front passenger side, but the boot looks intact. It was a bit hard to see though. I'm a big guy and getting underneath a car with enough room to really get a good look at something can be challenging. I ran my fingers around between the folds on both boots and didn't find a breach.

At this point, my problem is trying to find (for sure) which CV is bad. The car has four shafts with eight joints. Logic dictates that it is almost surely a front shaft end joint since they take the lion's share of the stress and wear. My money is on the front passenger side, but the sound is very hard to isolate from inside the vehicle. It sounds like it's coming from everywhere. I'm going to let my wife drive circles around me tonight as well, to see if I can more easily isolate the sound from outside the vehicle. If not tthat, then I'll get the sucker up high on the jack stands tonight and take a really bright light to it. There has to be some indication of where the problem is. Together, that should hopefully solve the problem of which joint is bad.

[Kenyth]

Well, I feel a bit stupid now. After running around outside the wifes car, I realized it's probably not a CV. You can't hear a thing from outside the vehicle. Someone who's actually heard a bad CV commented that the sound isn't anywhere near loud enough to indicate a CV problem. They said my sound was more of a "creaking" noise where the CV was more of a knocking sound.

I jacked it way up and gave it a good looking at while changing the oil (Well, as good as can be looked at by an amateur).The ball joints and strut mounts look good. The various drive shaft joints all look good The front wheels don't have any play. The calipers are on tight, but one pad appeared to be sticking a bit the last time I changed pads (I cleaned off the corrosion before putting on the new pads). If it's doing it again, I figure this might play into some kind of vibration noise? Maybe it needs an alignment? It doesn't pull to one side. Also , taking off the wheels and loosening/tightening the calipers seems to have reduced the noise significantly. I don't think it's a major problem anymore, but I really have no clue what it is either.

I think the burning smell (which has since abated) came from road construction tar that got on the exhaust pipes. I can see splatters. Lot's of construction around these days.

For anyone who's heard a bad CV, is the sound easily audible and loud from outside the vehicle?

[mail man]

Well, I feel a bit stupid now. After running around outside the wifes car, I realized it's probably not a CV. You can't hear a thing from outside the vehicle. Someone who's actually heard a bad CV commented that the sound isn't anywhere near loud enough to indicate a CV problem. They said my sound was more of a "creaking" noise where the CV was more of a knocking sound.

I jacked it way up and gave it a good looking at while changing the oil (Well, as good as can be looked at by an amateur).The ball joints and strut mounts look good. The various drive shaft joints all look good The front wheels don't have any play. The calipers are on tight, but one pad appeared to be sticking a bit the last time I changed pads (I cleaned off the corrosion before putting on the new pads). If it's doing it again, I figure this might play into some kind of vibration noise? Maybe it needs an alignment? It doesn't pull to one side. Also , taking off the wheels and loosening/tightening the calipers seems to have reduced the noise significantly. I don't think it's a major problem anymore, but I really have no clue what it is either.

I think the burning smell (which has since abated) came from road construction tar that got on the exhaust pipes. I can see splatters. Lot's of construction around these days.

For anyone who's heard a bad CV, is the sound easily audible and loud from outside the vehicle?

Okay, first off, yes, a CV joint will almost always be a clunking sound that should worsen when you turn sharply one way or the other.
You now state that the sound has lessened after changing the brakes, now my suspicion is a warped brake rotor...do you, or did you feel any pulsation in the brake pedal?

[Kenyth]

Okay, first off, yes, a CV joint will almost always be a clunking sound that should worsen when you turn sharply one way or the other.
You now state that the sound has lessened after changing the brakes, now my suspicion is a warped brake rotor...do you, or did you feel any pulsation in the brake pedal?

No pulsation. The sound lessened after taking the wheel and caliper off, then putting it back together, not after the pad changing. That happened last fall. That was when I noticed the one sticking pad due to rust.

[Kenyth]

Some ideas I've been given are worn struts or ball joints that need more lubrication.

[Kenyth]

Could this be something?



Drive Train

• Use of incorrect oil in the rear differential on AWD models will cause a "chattering" sound and vibration on turns. Use only Honda-approved differential oil.
• A groaning noise from the rear differential heard while going through turns can be caused by differential fluid break down.