How long will a failing CV joint last?

[BigMattyD]

Unfortunately, my front right outboard CV Joint boot developed a huge crack that I first noticed in October. Obviously, replacing the driveaxle has been on my list of things to do, but you know what happens.

 

Everything was OK for several months, but for the last few weeks I get the tell-tale clicking sound when making slow-speed right turns.

 

My question is: Is my CV joint in critical condition? Can I wait a few more weeks or a month for my Tax refund? Am I risking catastrophic failure?

 

I need to know what is the worst that could happen. I don't mind the car being out of commission until I get it fixed, and I know I don't want my car to come apart while I am driving it.

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

 

96 Legacy L 5MT AWD 116,000 mi.

[Nug]

Clicking in turns is no big deal. When it starts clicking while going in a straight line, or it makes the whole car vibrate, well, start saving your pennies.

 

I'm nursing an outer CV on my RX right now. I ripped it open in a sand pit while doing donuts. I half-assed cleaned it out with a pressure washer, packed some grease on top of it, and wrapped it in duct tape. Did that fix anything? Hahahaha! Not really. But I'm still punishing it daily.

 

It's just barely starting to click while going in a straight line though. Time to suck it up and change it.

[idosubaru]

matt,

you could easily wait until next years tax return to do this. i have driven about 50,000 miles (although mostly highway, so not much turning and grinding, dirty action in there), but stilll they obviously last a long time. off road, dirt and particularly sand will destroy them quickly. i had a completey quiet busted cv start clicking in no time and clicked all the way from south georgia (the sand) to home, maryland. i was driving through lots of sand and it wasted the joint, but i still drove 800 miles home that way, no problem. i packed some grease in it by hand just to quiet it down and it just about went away. then i replaced it.

 

like mentioned, i generally wait until they start clicking while driving straight before i bother with them and i've never had a problem. that's how i got about 50,000 miles out of a busted (outside boot by the way). i currently have two busted boots and i've had a new axle for awhile, just waiting for a good time to install it. pack some grease in there with a gun or with your hand (messy) if you want to quiet it down some and it could go away, i've had that work before.

 

i also had a BRAND NEW axle blow out on me. had probably 100 miles on it and the outer joint just blew up. the auto trans was *confused* and kept messing with the transfer clutches, kept trying to give it power to the rear wheels. which was good, i was able to drive enough to get to the parking lot at work where i installed another axle the next day. if you were driving fast the axle could slam around and break something, like a brake hose up front. but you should be nowhere near that point and you'd know it right away, and your emergency brake will always work. this is really too much information because you don't have to worry about this, just trying to be as comprehensive as possilbe for you.

 

forget about it and have fun.

[BigMattyD]

Thanks for the info. I figured I'd be ok, just wanted some feedback. I was thinking of replacing the axle myself, It doesn't seem too complicated, but then I saw all the posts on how its a big pain to get the nut off the axle, etc.

 

 

My local Subaru shop will do it for about 100 bucks, so maybe I'll just take it in.

[teppichkopf]

I've driven many miles on split CV boots without any problems. However, I've also had a cv axle get dangerous without any warning or clicking. While driving along at 50 miles the car became quite unstable and felt like the front end wanted to go into two directions at the same.

 

I pulled over and check everything until I saw the wear on the cv axle. I slowly made it home and drove it the next day where it acted fine, again. Swapped it out that weekend. If just to say that steering is nothing to mess with.

[idosubaru]

go buy a 3/4 inch drive socket and that axle nut becomes like any other nut, comes right off. the problem is trying to remove that nut with a 1/2 inch regular drive socket. yes people have done, yes it *can* work, but get a 3/4 inch drive and you will not have any problems. get the right tool and this job is super simple. i replace the front XT6 axles by removing ONE BOLT and loosening 4 others, after the wheel is off. loosen the top 3 strut mouting bolts, loosen both bottom strut bolts, remove just the top one and that gives enough room to do the job.

[FlyFlicker]

If funds are a bit tight, I would suggest the following. Remove the old boot and clean the joint with brake cleaner. Then blow it out with a pressure washer followed with more brake cleaner. Pack with CV grease and put a split boot on it. Now I am not a big fan of split boots but they do work as a temp fix and can greatly extend the life of a joint.

[JT95]

My 95 had a boot that's split in two when i started driving the car several months ago. No clicking, but I didn't want it to get to that point and need replaced sooner than it should. I'm cheap and lazy, so I didn't want to swap a new boot on because that's a hassle to do, especially in a driveway, and I figue if you go that far why not just replace it all w/ new parts, which i didn't want to pay for.

 

 

So, I packed some new grease into the torn boot, cut an inner tube, and then wrapped the piece around the torn boot and tightened it to the shaft and boot with zip ties. Ghetto I know, but it held up for a couple months before the inner tube piece got a small tear. I'm gonna piddle till I figure out a better way to do this.

[ballitch]

clicking...... schliking that isnt any big deal, when the darn thing trys to go different directions and vibrates the S**T outta you, time to change the axle. you can easily go another 12k on that thing, just take it easy on those esses with the throttle. and try to do 3 point turns instead of givin her hell.

 

 

 

 

 

~Josh~

[gunslinger]

i drove mine for approx a year with the bearing BROKE. the boot was blown forever, but the bearing itself broke. it was louder than hell but kept driving. i think i ruined the hub or trans bearing though, replace it as soon as you can, it'll probably save you some more cash.