CV Axle replacement

[JAMAS]

The balls (bearings) wear a groove into the green cup (outer race) and in the star (inner race). As the bearings slip into & out of the worn grooves, that's what causes the clicking sound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cv_joint

has an animated graphic that'll help you to see what's going on.

Ah. Ok. that makes sense.

So in case I or someone else hears the clicking of a worn CV, is the problem mostly an irritating noise that is only corrected by a replacement and can be driven for awhile before repair? Or does it need to be fixed immediately to avoid further damage to other parts?

I only ask because I am replacing both sets of boots before a 3k mile journey to MOAB. If I goofed up and did a bad job cleaning, or didnt install somthing perfect and I hear the clicking suddenly on my way, am I safe to continue?

[tom4bren]

The clicking will get progressively worse. Eventually the joint could get bad enough to bind & explode. The clicking will get so bad that you won't be able to stand it long before it would get to the point of exploding.

CV joints are actually pretty strong & are designed to last the life of the vehicle. They typically only go bad if the boot is torn and contaminates get in. I'm sure you cleaned & lubed well enough that you won't have anything to worry about on your trip to Moab.

[JAMAS]

The clicking will get progressively worse. Eventually the joint could get bad enough to bind & explode. The clicking will get so bad that you won't be able to stand it long before it would get to the point of exploding.

CV joints are actually pretty strong & are designed to last the life of the vehicle. They typically only go bad if the boot is torn and contaminates get in. I'm sure you cleaned & lubed well enough that you won't have anything to worry about on your trip to Moab.

I hope so. I cleaned the parts that were taken apart from the inner joint real good and tried to get the majority of the old grease from the outer joint, but didnt use any brake cleaner since I was working in a closed in garage with the doors all shut. I filled it really good with the grease the was provided. I guess time will tell.

The boot was torn, but not blown apart, so maybe I got a little lucky and didn't get many contaminants in there.

[MSHardeman]

This thread lists out some replacement axles for the VX:
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...threadid=24109

If your "green cup" (outer race of the inner joint) isn't scared and pitted then just replacing the "half shafts" (the axle that goes from the green cup out to the wheel with both CV joints) would fix your problem. I've never done that specific repair before, but others who have done it make it sound like a relatively easy job. MESSY and time consuming, but easy.

I have some clicking going on on my driver side, and I'm pretty sure that it is my green cup (we call it that because it is painted green on the original axles) is the issue. I had it rebuilt once already, so I have a feeling that the fix has finally un-fixed itself after three or four years. I have ordered both complete axle assemblies listed in the thread above and this weekend I plan on replacing both axles. If you can wait, I will have many pictures of the repair so that others can see what needs to be done.