RH front axle CV joint

BOATHOG

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2003 CHEVROLET EXPRESS
V8
AWD
AUTOMATIC

2003 Chevy Express AWD- broke right front axle halfshaft twice in two days. Broke the outboard CV
joint both times. Was making bad whining sound when
making turns. Thoughts?

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 AT 6:27 AM

12 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,938 POSTS

I can only think that it was a faulty shaft, it is normally very hard to break on at the best of times.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 AT 6:35 AM

FIXITMR

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How's #3 doing?

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Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 AT 8:18 AM

BOATHOG

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Still waiting for #3 to arrive. Failed to mention that front wheels
were fighting each other all winter when making sharp turns, i.E. Pulling into parking spot. Not satisfied with defective axle answer.
Thanks-- John

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Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 AT 3:13 PM

MHPAUTOS

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What oil is in the front diff? Well it can be hard to make a reasonable diagnosis with out all the facts as well.

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Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 AT 9:26 PM

BOATHOG

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Replaced front diff oil with 75/90 synthetic, and added limited-
slip conditioner additive, hoping this would solve the noise/turning
problem. This was 2 weeks before the first break. I thought you might be aware of a common problem with GM AWD axles. I have some
possible causes in mind, but wanted to get your impressions first.

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Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 AT 10:01 PM

FIXITMR

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So what are your thoughts on cause? The limited slip malfunctioning?

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Thursday, March 10th, 2011 AT 1:35 AM

BOATHOG

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Possibly the limited-slip not operating properly, or differential
gears or bearings worn excessively, causing a bind in the power
transfer. The other thought was that excess bushing wear in steering arms, diff mounts, or transmission mount might be causing the axle assembly to twist out of alignment excessively. As I said,
I was hoping this was a common problem that you may have run into before. I know it's not an easy one to diagnose. Thanks for any ideas you can come up with. Think of it as a challenge.

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Thursday, March 10th, 2011 AT 2:59 AM

MHPAUTOS

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I would be fairly confident that suspension wear or transmission mounts being a problem causing this shaft to fail is not the cause, firstly the deflection would have to be very dramatic and this would manifest itself as problems in other places, and any minor misalignment would easily be taken up by the action of the CV anyway, possibly a loose or poor fitting hub end spline, the shock loading may cause a failure, how does the spline ends feel, any slop there?

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Thursday, March 10th, 2011 AT 6:53 AM

FIXITMR

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I'm gonna say I suspect a differential problem.I'd take it apart and see whats what?

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Thursday, March 10th, 2011 AT 7:08 AM

BOATHOG

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Thank you both for your insight into this problem. I think I'll
probably end up at the differential. I appreciate your help.

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Thursday, March 10th, 2011 AT 7:56 AM

MHPAUTOS

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Let us know what you find, thank you for using 2carpros.

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Thursday, March 10th, 2011 AT 11:57 AM

DIFF

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That problem sounds exactly like the viscous coupling is seized and is not allowing differences in distance covered by each wheel to be absorbed. Our range rover uses a vc as does my 2003 awd 1500 gmc van and no issues in turns etc due to the slip in the vc. Everything that I have ever read indicates bad things will happen if the viscous coupling seizes. I just had new pinion bearings done on my van (front differential). I got it done before it blew. I thought it was wheel bearing sound for a long time but finally noticed leaks at input end and play at input end. I need to change the lower diff mount closest to gear housing. Can any tell me what is required to remove and replace it.