CV joint

Tiny
ALLISON SULLIVAN
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 SUBARU FORESTER
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 220,000 MILES
My CV joint has been bad and clicking for over a year still have not fixed it been meaning to when I have the money. Today I was driving and even at speeds as low as twenty five miles an hour it sounded like I was running over those indentations in the middle of the highway to make you slow down but there were none of those. My car about every minute or even every thirty seconds the tires would kind of vibrate strangely and make a little noise like I was running over those indentations. I was wondering if this is a vibration caused by the CV joint about to completely break? Yesterday this was not happening when I was driving but the steering wheel was shaking a little bit which I thought might be caused by ice buildup in the wheel wells. So I stopped kicked the ice off and it seemed to slow down that vibration but I am still wondering if it could be related to the CV joint? Even though today when I was driving it did not do that, the steering wheel did not shake it all it was just the tires doing the thing I described before. Thank you for your insight!
Sunday, December 24th, 2017 AT 8:58 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 14,314 POSTS
Worn CV joints can act many ways depending on the wear and harmonic frequency of motion. You may have felt them because you were at just the right rpm and just the right point in the wear area and the internal roller bearings were locking at just the right point. I would be that if you felt of the CV joint after those things were occurring it would have been very hot. Then today those same bearings have actually cooled down and because of the heat, grease had gotten hot enough to flow into them and they freed up. I would also say that you are on very borrowed time and that those vibrations do signal that it can come apart at any time.

If the parts prices are an issue go to RockAuto and you can find re-manufactured Cardone axle shafts for around $50.00 to $70.00 plus shipping. But then you either need to install them yourself or find a shop that will install parts you bring them, some will many will not.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Sunday, December 24th, 2017 AT 10:53 PM
Tiny
ALLISON SULLIVAN
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Decided to take it to the shop tomorrow and no longer drive it except to the shop because I am scared. Thank you!
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Monday, December 25th, 2017 AT 9:06 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 14,314 POSTS
Fear can be a good thing at times. In this case it could prevent a major accident if the CV comes apart while you are driving.
If you do not mind, please post back after the repair with what was done and if/how it changed the way the car drives. Always handy to know what a particular repair does and what symptoms were there before the repair.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Tuesday, December 26th, 2017 AT 5:23 AM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Related CV Axle Content

CV Axle Replacement
VIDEO
CV Axle Replacement
In­struc­tional re­pair video
CV Axle Symptoms
GUIDE
CV Axle Symptoms
CV axles dif­fer­ent than a nor­mal straight axle, and with that come dif­fer­ent symp­toms when the CV axle is hav­ing an is­sue. These axles al­low the move­ment of sus­pen­sion and...