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Peryn · 03-12-2004, 01:23 PM

Well, for almost every application, you cant beat OEM for the best combination of durability, reliability, price, and performance. There are aftermarkets that excel in some of those, but OEM is almost always the only one good for all catagories.

OK, now on to CV axels. They are called CV, for Constant Velocity. You car is FWD i believe, so you have to get power from the engine/transmission, to those wheel. The CV joint is the part that does it. One end fits into the Transmission, and the other fits into the hub on your wheel. So when they tranny makes your car move, the CV transmits power to the wheel so you can go. Once the boot rips on it, it starts spray grease all over everything inside your wheel well. This is a bad thing, if nothing else cause it gets all greasy. Also, when there is no grease on the part anymore, it doesn't lubricate or cool it well. This means very shortly the part will overheat, warp, and wear out very rapidly. I have never seen one get so bad for so long that something drastic happens, but i imagine it will eventually freeze up on you, and the joints wont do their job.

If you want to understand their importance, its kinda nice to know how they work. There are two joints each serving a special purpose. Basically they are like this : Wheel --> Joint --> Long section of straight metal --> Joint --> Transmission.
The CV joint has to be able to move the wheels forward/reverse, and still be able to do this as the wheels turn. So the joint has to be able to rotate and turn side to side at teh same time. Also, as you car hits a bump the wheel moves up and down. This means that bar going from teh wheel to engine has to be able to get longer and shorter as it rotates, and turns with the wheels.

The outter joint by your tire, the one you probably saw with a ripped grease boot, is probably the most important one. It has a series of balls in a cage in there, and that is the joint that allows the shaft to hit those wierd angles when turning your tires and still be able to rotate. Kinda like a u-joint. The inner one basicaly has some more balls in a hollow shaft. As you hit a bump, they can move in and out, so the shaft can get longer or shorter as need be.

Now that i've thoroughly confused you... thats a quick lesson on what CV joints are, how they work, and what they do. Let me know if anything in there wasn't confusing enough, or inaccurate, and ill fix it.

03-12-2004, 01:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
Peryn Junkie Location: San Diego, CA.	Well, for almost every application, you cant beat OEM for the best combination of durability, reliability, price, and performance. There are aftermarkets that excel in some of those, but OEM is almost always the only one good for all catagories. OK, now on to CV axels. They are called CV, for Constant Velocity. You car is FWD i believe, so you have to get power from the engine/transmission, to those wheel. The CV joint is the part that does it. One end fits into the Transmission, and the other fits into the hub on your wheel. So when they tranny makes your car move, the CV transmits power to the wheel so you can go. Once the boot rips on it, it starts spray grease all over everything inside your wheel well. This is a bad thing, if nothing else cause it gets all greasy. Also, when there is no grease on the part anymore, it doesn't lubricate or cool it well. This means very shortly the part will overheat, warp, and wear out very rapidly. I have never seen one get so bad for so long that something drastic happens, but i imagine it will eventually freeze up on you, and the joints wont do their job. If you want to understand their importance, its kinda nice to know how they work. There are two joints each serving a special purpose. Basically they are like this : Wheel --> Joint --> Long section of straight metal --> Joint --> Transmission. The CV joint has to be able to move the wheels forward/reverse, and still be able to do this as the wheels turn. So the joint has to be able to rotate and turn side to side at teh same time. Also, as you car hits a bump the wheel moves up and down. This means that bar going from teh wheel to engine has to be able to get longer and shorter as it rotates, and turns with the wheels. The outter joint by your tire, the one you probably saw with a ripped grease boot, is probably the most important one. It has a series of balls in a cage in there, and that is the joint that allows the shaft to hit those wierd angles when turning your tires and still be able to rotate. Kinda like a u-joint. The inner one basicaly has some more balls in a hollow shaft. As you hit a bump, they can move in and out, so the shaft can get longer or shorter as need be. Now that i've thoroughly confused you... thats a quick lesson on what CV joints are, how they work, and what they do. Let me know if anything in there wasn't confusing enough, or inaccurate, and ill fix it. __________________ Dont cry kid, It's not your fault you suck. Last edited by Peryn; 03-12-2004 at 02:39 PM..