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Car Axle Questions and Answers

This category contains featured questions as examples. They relate to most vehicles.

Question: I have a 1999 Honda Accord LX, 80,000 miles. It has a "knocking" noise coming from the right front wheel whenever I am turning. The noise is more severe when I am turning left. I am thinking that it is the constant velocity joint. If so, any idea of the cost of getting it fixed and how difficult a job it is? (able to do at home or must be done at repair shop).

Answer: You are right. You have a constant velocity joint that is failing. The best way to repair the problem is to replace the drive axle with a rebuilt unit. The job is not too difficult and parts are reasonable.

Question: 2004 Toyota Rav 4 miles 56,000. I feel a vibration under acceleration about 45 MPH so I had the tires balanced to no avail. I made a appointment with the local Toyota dealer to have the car looked at. They told me that the main transfer case needed replacing. I couldn't believe this, and the price. Lets say you need to be sitting down. Any suggestions?

Answer: The problem you are describing can be related the the four axle shafts on the car, If one of the shafts may have a binding CV joint. The effect will be the vibration you are describing. Have all drive axles removed and checked for joint binding.

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Question: 2001 Ford Crown Vic mileage: 82,000.  I think I have a bad axle bearing on the driver's side rear.  I got a grinding noise and promptly parked the car.  Do I need special tools to replace the bearing?  Can I tell for sure the bearing is bad without removing it?

Answer:  Some special tools are required to replace the axle bearing. To tell for sure if the bearing is bad, you must remove the axle and examine the bearing.

Question: 1998 Ford Escort mileage: 78,000. Recently I had a small accident and I hit a curb going really fast. I ended up busting the tire and denting the rim. Unfortunately, I hit something else because now the car won't move. When I put the car in first or reverse it won't move. It acts like it's in neutral and the engine does not cut off. It just sits there. I don't believe it's the clutch because it goes into gear pretty easily. But then I don't know much about cars. Please if you can send me any information about what the problem could be and how much it would cost me I would dearly appreciate it. I understand that you might not know but anything you could send me would help.

Answer: The impact of the curb may have caused one of the drive axles to “pop” out of the transmission. Reinstall drive axle to recheck operation.

Question: 1999 Nissan Sentra mileage: 83,000. My Nissan Sentra has an oil leak. In addition, the area around the right-front wheel is greasy. I had it checked and was told that both front axle shafts needed to be replaced, and the price quoted was around $500. I am wondering if I could buy some used axle shafts from a junk dealer and ask the repair shop to put them on to save cost. Do you think it would be reasonable to request so?

Answer: From what you describe, the CV boot on the front axle has failed. The CV joint may be okay and all that needs to be done is to replace the CV boots. Parts and labor costs should be less. We do not recommend used parts because of the uncertainty of quality.

Question: 1998 Olds Cutlass Supreme mileage: 94,800. What has to be done to replace a noisy rear axle bearing? It is the type of rear that has the pinion-locking shaft with the small lock bolt and the C-locks on the inside ends of the axles.

Answer: The axles are retained by a "C" clip in the differential. Remove the spider gear main pin. Then remove the "C" clip retainer. Then remove the drive axle and the wheel bearing from the housing. Install in reverse order.

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