CV joints on Toyota Corolla

My girlfriend had the tires on her car swapped for studded
winter tires at Les Schwab, and they told her that the car needs
the CV joints replaced, and now she's bugging me to replace
them!! I never had a FWD car, so I don't know much
about CV joints.

So, questions:
a) what would be the symptoms of worn CV joints?
b) how do I check them; I mean what do I need to look for?
c) what happens when the CV joints get very worn?
d) can I just lubricate them? (my guess that they may be low
on grease)
e) they quoted about $80 or so for labor, is that a good price?

I have driven said car (early 90's or late 80's station wagon
with around 200k on it) a couple of times, and I didn't feel
anything wrong with it aside from not having much power,
so I have a feeling that even though the CV joints may be
slightly worn, they're fine, or not bad enough that they need
to be replaced.

TIA

The classic symptom is a clicking noise when racked around in a tight
turn, though there are other signs of a problem, e.g., a bent
half-shaft, or rubber boots that ruptured an unknown amount of time
ago, allowing contamination of what is supposed to be a sealed system
and escape of its grease, that your mechanic might be keying on.

Although it is usually possible to replace only the particular part tht
is bad, the trend (at least with high-volume vehicles like that) is
toward unit replacement of everything on one side -- the joints, the
rubber boots that enclose them, and the half-shaft. The price of
digging out just one of the components and reassembling it all tends to
be dominated by labor costs, besides which (especially in an older car)
you'd still have some questionable older components mixed in with the
new ones and might just have to do it all over again.

They are usually greased upon installation, not as a routine
maintenance item.

At two hundred thou, you've gotten your money's worth out of them. I
would in fact do both sides, since they've all been exposed to the same
conditions and use for a similar time.


For some background, see
http://www.autosite.com/garage/repairqa/ques111.asp
oand
http://www.alldata.com/techtips/1998/19980921b.html

Cheers,
--Joe

Thanks, I'll take a look at soon, and do some test drive, too.
I don't think the CV joints are original, BTW.

"Ad absurdum per aspera" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>[...]
> At two hundred thou, you've gotten your money's worth out of them. I
> would in fact do both sides, since they've all been exposed to the same
> conditions and use for a similar time.
>
>
> For some background, see
> http://www.autosite.com/garage/repairqa/ques111.asp
> oand
> http://www.alldata.com/techtips/1998/19980921b.html
>
> Cheers,
> --Joe
>

Check the rubber boots. The usual reason for the joints to go bad is the boot gets torn and the grease inside is replaced by dirt and salt. If the boots are intact and there is not a lot of play in the joints I would not change anything.

aurgathor wrote:
>
> Thanks, I'll take a look at soon, and do some test drive, too.
> I don't think the CV joints are original, BTW.
>

--

Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

In article <1102883518.873ac223c5797a1cc2879018b0732e21@teran ews>,
says...
>
>
>My girlfriend had the tires on her car swapped for studded
>winter tires at Les Schwab, and they told her that the car needs
>the CV joints replaced, and now she's bugging me to replace
>them!! I never had a FWD car, so I don't know much
>about CV joints.
>
>So, questions:
>a) what would be the symptoms of worn CV joints?

Grinding when you turn the wheels all the way in one direction.

>b) how do I check them; I mean what do I need to look for?

Check for torn boots and listening for grinding noises when you turn.

>c) what happens when the CV joints get very worn?

You get play in the joint.

>d) can I just lubricate them? (my guess that they may be low
> on grease)

They are sealed. So the grease cannot leak out. To leak out the boots
have to have a hole in them. If the boot is torn, they chances are dirt
got in the joint. When that happens, you get wear in the joints quite
quickly.


>e) they quoted about $80 or so for labor, is that a good price?

Not bad.


>I have driven said car (early 90's or late 80's station wagon
>with around 200k on it) a couple of times, and I didn't feel
>anything wrong with it aside from not having much power,
>so I have a feeling that even though the CV joints may be
>slightly worn, they're fine, or not bad enough that they need
>to be replaced.
>

Do a visual inspection. If the boots are torn, you probably should
change the joint. It is no fun being stranding when the drive shaft
falls apart a the joint.
------------
Alex