CV joint?

[KevinLi]

Hi, everyone,

My camry 89's CV joint worn out. It sounds click, click while I am turning.

Since this is a very old car, I am not going to replace this CV joint. My question is:

Is it safe if I do not replace worn out CV joint?

Thanks.

Kevin

[call831]

in the rear drive vehicles when the universal joint (CV equavalent) broke, sometimes the vehicles would over turn or cause major under carriage damage. If it happened at 2 AM in the middle of no where then you have to walk. Personally, I have no experience with front CV's breakdown but I have replaced them ASAP when the silly boots break on both my son's Camry and my daughters Acura. Be careful and drive slow if your decision is to drive it to the ground.

JF

[terrastrife]

you can generally get away but remember it is DEFECTABLE. a cv clicking is just worn ball bearings, NOT the actual shaft threads themselves, youre still making pretty much full contact so its fairly safe ^^

[500KCamry]

Originally Posted by terrastrife

you can generally get away but remember it is DEFECTABLE. a cv clicking is just worn ball bearings, NOT the actual shaft threads themselves, youre still making pretty much full contact so its fairly safe ^^

Yeah, it's not like a U-joint at all. The five ball bearings give good transfer.

When the wheel is straight, the ball beaings do not move. Only when the wheel is truned do the ball bearings transverse and make the clicking noise.

If the boot is broken, you need to clean, grease and re-boot it. After this if it clicks, which it likely will, you can run it for a long time.

You can help extend its life by not accelerating hard when turning a corner, once the wheel straightens out, then you can accelerate.

[fj40supraman]

They can come apart, but I've never seen it. I drove on a clicking one for a yr in my Corolla, till it drove me nuts and I put a new one in for $70. More labor intensive than cost intensive.

[DavesterJr]

I don't know if the joints are designed any different, but my wife had an escort a while back that the driver side joint clicked for a few months and I never replaced it. It eventually broke in the middle of an intersection and the car wouldn't move, it left her stranded.

[Mike Gerber]

Yes, they will eventually come completely apart. You can have the whole axle replaced (cv joint included) with a rebuilt one for around $180 at places like Pep Boys. You can do the work yourself for about half of that, but it is pretty hard work without air tools and without having the car up on a lift; although it still can be done. The decision is your's.

Mike

[BlueFusion6851]

i would change them out, i didnt when the signs came *ominous clicking* and it cost us way more... as in replaced cv boot, cv joint, right driveshaft, change it out if you want to save at least a grand

[whocares04]

my friends old trecel did that for about a month and a half until the wheel just feel off...