Driveshaft / Cv Joint Symptoms ?

[sasquartch]

What are the symptoms of failed CV joints ?

 

I have a noise when pulling away with the steering either to the left or right

 

I originally thought it was the top mounts groaning (which they were, and these were very worn on the nearside) - however these have now been replaced and there is still a noise

 

Can anyone describe the symptoms ?

[chromedome]

When mine failed, one side only, I had a wobble under acceleration.

[scooper1]

It could be many things.  From loss whell nuts to to naked drive shaft spines 

 

It need jacking up front off ground and try to move each component 

 

Would need a lot more info to give a chance of diagnosing 

 

Does it clunk on reversing. 

Over humps

Ect

 

 

could be just bad track rod ends

 

How many miles on clock

[sasquartch]

It's a 'cracking' sound when pulling away whenever the steering is turned. Quite loud. Once you're up to speed no problems at all.

 

Doesn't clonk over bumps, all suspension is good, in fact I've had it all in bits replacing the top mounts as these were very worn on the nearside - I had hoped this might cure the problem but it seems drivetrain rather than suspension related.

 

I'm suspecting a driveshaft, the nearside was replaced about 25k miles ago with a cheap Q-Drive part from ECP

 

Would a faulty driveshaft / CV joint sound like this ?

 

Car is 2005 with 92k miles, genuine mileage as I bought car new.

[insanitybeard]

Did you change the bearings underneath the top mounts as well as the top mounts themselves?

[sasquartch]

Yes, strut bearings changed as well.

 

It's definitely the CV joint - have had my local mechanic confirm it, its the outer n/s joint.

 

Less than 3 years ago (25k miles max) I replaced the driveshaft on that side with a cheap Euro Car Parts Q-Drive part. They are crap unfortunately.

 

So will be fitting a new driveshaft shortly. Apparently GKN shafts are good.

 

Moral of the tale - if you're going to keep your car for any length of time buy decent parts :-)

[insanitybeard]

Yeah, the O.E driveshafts were likely made by GKN so you shouldn't go wrong there.

[chromedome]

I put GKN on mine and no problems after. Check that you get new stretch bolts with each one. I had one missing.

[sasquartch]

Fixed now.

 

The Q drive driveshaft with around 25k miles on it was the culprit. Around 3 years on the car.

 

Last year I replaced the outer boot and I remember having real trouble getting the small clamp to seal properly. Anyway it obviously was allowing water in,  you can see from the pics attached the boot was full of rusty water. The joint had a bit of play in it although not as much as I was expecting given the amount of noise it made.

The inner boot had also split but internally it looked good, I guess the inner joints are well away from spray from the wheels and are well protected by the undertray

 

It's difficult to say if the joints were poor quality but the boots certainly were with both failed after a relatively low mileage and time. (Outer lasted less than 2 years, inner less than 3)

 

I put a new boot on my original driveshaft (replaced because I thought it would be easier to replace the whole shaft rather than replace a boot) and fitted this morning - took about 90 minutes going slowly- a quick test drive seems to indicate problem solved.

 

Will avoid cheap Q-drive stuff in future, GKN shafts might be 3 times the price but probably cheaper in the long run if you keep your car for a long time like me.

[sparky Paul]

Clicking on a full lock circle is the classic symptom, but loss of grease or contamination from a split boot can also give the same symptoms.