9 replies to this topic

[silver_toes]

Hi all,

 

I'm after some opinions on CV joints. I had a brand new CV joint and bearing fitted on the front drivers side approximately 2 months ago.

This morning with the steering wheel turned I noticed an ever so slight clicking noise coming from the front driver side wheel.

 

Past experience tells me this is a CV joint failure. I don't know why I'm going through CV joints at such a high rate. Here's the history of what components I've been through in the past year on the front drivers side wheel assembly

 

Bought car 15 months ago (March time)

A few days after purchasing I had the wheel bearing replaced

 

Last October, noticed horrible grinding noise and wobbly wheel.

Wheel bearing had failed again in spectacular fashion damaging the CV joint in the process

New wheel bearing fitted

Reconditioned CV joint fitted (I couldn't get hold of a new one at the time)

 

March time this year - more grinding and clicking noise

Inspection showed CV boot had failed letting in debris again damaging the CV joint

Brand new CV joint fitted

New bearing fitted for good measure

 

This morning - more clicky CV noises :-(

 

I asked the previous garage (a mini specialist) to check out the hub when the last CV/bearing was replaced, just in case there was something else going on causing all these problems but everything seemed ok.

 

Has anyone got any ideas why I am going through these components at such a high rate. The car is not a high mileage car. I've done approx 3000 miles in just over a year. Apart from the recon CV joint I have purchased good quality parts from mini spares (including Timken bearings). This thing is going to bankrupt me soon.

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

[wilz1234]

Is the drive shaft the right length? Not sure if there are different lengths for different years or sides of the cars, but if its too long it could be putting a side force into the cv joint and wheel bearing. Maybe the cv joint isn't all the way down the splines on the driveshaft.

[tiger99]

That is very disappointing, as CVs are usually good for upwards of 80k miles, less on the more powerful models of course. Were they lubricated with the correct grease? The lubricant is very critical, and should be Duckhams Molybentone, although the grease supplied for CVs on modern cars will be as effective, possibly more so. Normal LM grease, or graphite grease, or anything that is not specifically for CVs, will ruin them very quickly.

 

Edit: And, the grease has to be well worked into the balls and cage.

Edited by tiger99, 03 May 2013 - 01:52 PM.

[Vipernoir]

If your sig pic is correct and you have a Sportspack with the original 13" wheels then it doesn't surprise me.

 

The Sportspacks I've played with have a voracious appetite for bearings and balljoints - anything from 600 miles to knacker a set.

[The Principal]

as above

 

as an outside shot check the metal straps securing the rubber gater is not rubbing

Edited by The Principal, 03 May 2013 - 05:19 PM.

[silver_toes]

as above

 

as an outside shot check the metal straps securing the rubber gater is not rubbing

 

That was the problem with the first CV joint which was replaced. The metal strap caught, broke the CV boot and led to debris getting in. I'll get the car jacked up tomorrow and have a good look around.

 

It's a sports pack running a completely standard setup on 13's. I know they're not great but i'd hope for more than 1000 miles out of a CV joint. It seems a little unreasonable to expect to have to replace such a major component every 1000 miles.

 

For reference, i've not had any problems with the passenger side.

 

Thanks for the replies

[Dan]

  Where did the recon CV joint come from?  Personally I'd tend to suspect that more than a problem with the hub, I think this is just a run of bad luck.

[silver_toes]

Yeah, I'm prepared to chalk the recon CV down to the fact that it was second hand. Maybe it is just bad luck with the new one as well.

[tiger99]

The Sportspack has no bearing (pardon the pun) on CV joint life, which is determined mostly by torque, and secondly by the amount of hard cornering that you do. It does affect wheel bearing life, but should not drastically affect the balljoints. However, most balljoints these days are of abysmal quality, and many are improperly shimmed when fitting, and many wheel bearings are Chinese counterfeits, so none of the reliability problems that we see these days are surprising.

 

I would suggest buying genuine parts where possible, as it is almost always cheaper in the end, and in many cases safer too. Always assuming that what you are sold are actually genuine parts, of course. Counterfeiting is a problem of massive proportions, affecting every industry these days, and it is difficult for an individual to even begin to ascertain what is genuine and what is not. Reputable suppliers should have the situation in hand, but I know that many do not.

[Dan]

  Actually perhaps there is more to it than bad luck, a recon CV and a completely new one and all those bearings seems like a lot.

 

  Genuine Sport pack, with the reduced lock steering rack?  Genuine wheels with the right offset?

 

  Maybe it's time to measure everything in that hub and the drive flange.