# CV Shaft



## wildmanee (Nov 21, 2004)

What is the potential damage that can happen if you do not fix a torn CV boot? If I were to let my ripped boot go with several hundred miles on it, can any serious damage occur (other than my CV shaft being completely broken)?

I do hear clunking on acceleration, and only when I am going in slow turns do I hear the clicking noises associated with CV shaft/boot failure. How safe is it to drive with such a problem?


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

i definitly would get it fixed asap. the shaft could break, imagine little bits of metal spraying the inside of your engine bay...not good. not to mention, the shaft itself would wiggle violently and probably damage stuff.

the joint would more likely just lock up while driving, this would just be extremly dangerous especially at high speed. imagine it, one wheel locked, both wheels can't turn, all you have is braking for control...scary thought.


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## wildmanee (Nov 21, 2004)

Tavel said:


> i definitly would get it fixed asap. the shaft could break, imagine little bits of metal spraying the inside of your engine bay...not good. not to mention, the shaft itself would wiggle violently and probably damage stuff.
> 
> the joint would more likely just lock up while driving, this would just be extremly dangerous especially at high speed. imagine it, one wheel locked, both wheels can't turn, all you have is braking for control...scary thought.


That is a good point. Oh well, I guess I'll have to shell some moula out tomorrow. Have a long road trip (400 miles) that I am going on wednesday.

Here's a nice pic of the whole situation: :thumbup:


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## Kennizmo (Oct 17, 2005)

Meh... I made many 350 mile trips back and forth on mine when my boots tore. They were gutless for a couple months before I fixed them. 

Then I bought new ones, one of which broke within 2 weeks. If something breaks on the joint it'll probably just spin in place and your car will stop moving. Your tranny/transaxle supplies all its torque to the wheel with the least traction, so if your cvj decides to break, the axle is just going to spin real fast and your going to coast down to a stop since all your engine power will be put to the busted axle and none to your other wheel.

And even if the joint broke youd still be able to steer. They have nothing to do with steering your car.


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

well, when metal to metal overheats and breaks, who knows the damages for certain? just replace them. sometimes it's cheaper too, than replacing and repacking the boot. the peace of mind of a known good warrantable part.


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

that tear doesn't look too bad, you'd probably be okay for that trip. but i really dont think it's worth the risk...especially 450miles, thats a lot of high speed driving for an ailing joint.

Kennizmo: that's a best case failure scenario. but dont forget that still leaves him stranded on the side of the highway, requiring him to pay for a tow-truck and a mechanic to fix the car. and that's assuming it _breaks_, if it locks up then he wont have any steering. no steering on a highway is a scary thought.

basically, anyway you look at it, it should be fixed before the trip :cheers:


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## Kennizmo (Oct 17, 2005)

Im really not understanding how his cvs locking would cause him to have no steering.

And if something locked up in the joint the damn thing would probably just explode into many pieces, especially if you were going 65+ on the freeway. In any case, cvs have nothing to do with steering. They are the joint on each end of your axle, axle being the rod/tube/whatever that transfers power from your trans to your wheels. The joints are designed so that power can still be transfered when the wheels are bouncing up and down or turning. On our cars steering is controlled by a rack and pinion, where hydraulic power is transfered to the tie rod ends which are connected to the knuckels.

So how would anything to do with the cvs cause complete loss of steering?

The worst case scenario would be having to get towed because your axle or cvjoint broke while you were in a packed mcdonalds drivethrough with walls on both sides. Nothing like you speeding through traffic, spinning out of control and screaming right before you imprint your body onto the grill of a semi, all because your cvj broke. It aint gonna happen.

Anyways, yeah, I would replace them. Its costs me a hundred bucks a pop for remanufactured axles with a lifetime warranty. Im just saying, I made *many* 350+ mile trips to see my ol lady while driving on axles with torn cv boots. They were torn and gutless for a LONG time before I fixed them. I just dont think its anything to freak out about.


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## Kennizmo (Oct 17, 2005)

Also, it would be cheaper (if you got to a mechanic) to just replace the whole axles. Labor time for replacing the boot is greater then replacing just the axle.

Replace them yourself, its extremely easy and will costs you far less. All you have to pay for is the axles. Theres a recent thread on here that explains how to do it. Should only take an hour, or less, depending on your resourcefulness and knowhow. The availability of correct tools also helps


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## wildmanee (Nov 21, 2004)

The CV joint can move in all sorts of directions, and I'm assuming what Tavel is talking about that if it binds up, it will severely restrict the ability to turn because the CV joint is not doing it's job anymore. The CV joint moves around when you turn, while it does not have anything to directly do with steering, it does accomodate the turn. Now, imagine taking this free moving motion away, you might have little to no area to turn because the CV joint has binded and locked up. 

But as you said, it could just also snap as soon as it binds up... at highway speeds a wheel's force is very great.


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

wildmane said:


> The CV joint can move in all sorts of directions, and I'm assuming what Tavel is talking about that if it binds up, it will severely restrict the ability to turn because the CV joint is not doing it's job anymore. The CV joint moves around when you turn, while it does not have anything to directly do with steering, it does accomodate the turn. Now, imagine taking this free moving motion away, you might have little to no area to turn because the CV joint has binded and locked up.
> 
> But as you said, it could just also snap as soon as it binds up... at highway speeds a wheel's force is very great.


pretty much. 

but whether it breaks or not is still unkown. it could just tear the tire off, blow the knuckle off, shred your differential...eek. in fact, just to settle the debate, drive your car til something blows up


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## wildmanee (Nov 21, 2004)

LOL, no, I'm definitely not going to do that. I'm in the process of removing the steering knuckle and I don't have the right sized wrench for the job. I hate not having the correct tools, it takes so much longer.


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## Kindfiend (Oct 13, 2004)

wildmane said:


> LOL, no, I'm definitely not going to do that. I'm in the process of removing the steering knuckle and I don't have the right sized wrench for the job. I hate not having the correct tools, it takes so much longer.


That's getting into creative wrenching. It essential for us broke people. 

I don't think you need to remove the knuckle, just the strut bolts. The knuckle should swing enough to get the axle out, IIRC.


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## wildmanee (Nov 21, 2004)

Well, now that there is no possible way for me to get that knuckle off with the tools I have, I think I will have to go the unbolt-caliper-and-unbolt-strut way that you mention. Too dark for that now.


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

wildmane said:


> Well, now that there is no possible way for me to get that knuckle off with the tools I have, I think I will have to go the unbolt-caliper-and-unbolt-strut way that you mention. Too dark for that now.


You do not have to remove the caliper. Remove the cotter pin and axle bolt. Remove the strut bolts and swing the brake assembly all the way down and towards the rear of the car. If you hit the end of the axle with a rubber mallet (do not hurt the threads) you can get the spindle out of the hub assembly. Then use a pry bar to pop the axle out of the tranny. To reinstall put the splines into the tranny as far as they can go without force. COmpress the ball joints by pusching on the assembly and hit the end of the axle with a rubber mallet (again do not hurt the threads, you can put the axle nut on and hit that if it makes you feel better), then insert the spindle into the brake assembly. Re-install the strut bolts and axle bolt and cotter pin. Do the same on the other side. 

Oh and do one side at a time, if you unweight the sway bar by removing strut bolts from both sides it can be a PITA to get them back on....


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## wildmanee (Nov 21, 2004)

Thanks for the tips Wes!


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## wildmanee (Nov 21, 2004)

Got it done. At first I couldn't get out the driver's side axle, and I was looking at my Haynes manual and they said to take out the right hand side axle. Pfff, screw that. After some hammer and yanking, finally got the tough guy out, and put the shiny new one back in. Thanks for the help everyone!


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

wildmane said:


> Got it done. At first I couldn't get out the driver's side axle, and I was looking at my Haynes manual and they said to take out the right hand side axle. Pfff, screw that. After some hammer and yanking, finally got the tough guy out, and put the shiny new one back in. Thanks for the help everyone!


haynes, psh. according to haynes, the proper way to replace your wheel bearings is to take the car to a mechanic :loser:


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## 99stxsentra (Apr 22, 2005)

*i have the same problem..*

my sentra has been through hell.. my mother is the worse driver ever.. anyways.. when i got the car it had the same problems.. clunk when i take off.. clunk when i turn both ways.. and vibrate like crazy when im going about 55-75mph. i just stopped driving it.. how hard is it to change the axles? i was told by autozone that it would be cheaper and better off to just swap those out instead of fixing the cvjoints.. and i wanted to try nissan just for shits and giggles.. even with my brothers phat discounts with his corperate power.. each front axle from nissan corp is 239./ea autozone has both of them for 200$ and they give me a 100bucks back if i bring them my old axles..
haha
anyone has some detailed info to give me how to take off and reinstall new axles?
i need to start using this car again..
thanks,
joe


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

99stxsentra said:


> my sentra has been through hell.. my mother is the worse driver ever.. anyways.. when i got the car it had the same problems.. clunk when i take off.. clunk when i turn both ways.. and vibrate like crazy when im going about 55-75mph. i just stopped driving it.. how hard is it to change the axles? i was told by autozone that it would be cheaper and better off to just swap those out instead of fixing the cvjoints.. and i wanted to try nissan just for shits and giggles.. even with my brothers phat discounts with his corperate power.. each front axle from nissan corp is 239./ea autozone has both of them for 200$ and they give me a 100bucks back if i bring them my old axles..
> haha
> anyone has some detailed info to give me how to take off and reinstall new axles?
> i need to start using this car again..
> ...


I posted some good tips on page 1 of this thread.... Otherwise Download the FSM at te top of this section.


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

could also be bearing trouble, check out this recent thread on the topic


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