Symptoms of Bad Cv Joints
The CV joints in your vehicle are the Constant Velocity Joints that connect both ends of the drive shaft to the differential and the wheels. When they are in good form, you can drive easily and without hearing any clicking noises coming from the undercarriage of the vehicle. They allow you to turn the wheel, which turns the drive axle so that you have power when making a turn when driving.
CV joints wear out over time due to debris on the roads that causes the casing around them to crack and then dirt gets into the components. They can also wear away when there is not enough grease around them. Exposure to heat over a period of time is one of the causes of this deteriorating grease. The outer joints are at most risk because of the amount of heat that comes from the brake discs. One of the early warning signs that you may have bad CV joints is the presence of black grease around the rim of your tires and on the brakes. This is easy to check because you can make it part of your routine every time to check the pressure of your tires.
Many people do not realize that they have a problem with the CV joints until they hear a knocking sound each time they make a turn when driving. This doesn't usually happen with a normal turn in the road but occurs when you make a turn at an intersection or into a parking lot or driveway.
Even if you don't hear any noises coming from the undercarriage when making a turn, there are other symptoms of bad CV joints that you can look for. If it seems you have to apply more effort than usual when steering the wheel, then this could be a warning sign that you need to have the CV joints checked out. Usually the steering wheel will seem to pull to the left and you constantly need to have a tight grip on the wheel.
As a rule, the outer CV joints wear out after 60,000 miles of driving, whereas the inner ones usually last for about 100,000 miles. For most people, the problem of bad CV joints never comes up while they own the car, but even on new vehicles this problem has been known to happen. Checking out the joints is not a laborious task, even for the layman. It is also not an expensive proposition to have them checked out by a mechanic.
You can purchase refurbished CV joints at an auto parts store if you want to save money on the cost of the repairs and if you turn in the old ones you take off, you will receive an even further discounted price.
