CV Joint going out?

[Dances with Walleye]

Okay, I'm not exactly an automotive genius here...

But I think my CV joint is going out on my car...

In the recent really cold conditions, I notice that sometimes when I turn sharply... Or if I step on the brakes for a prolonged period, such as say I hit a Red light when I'm going 40+ MPH, I hear this noise coming from my Drivers side Front tire, that sort of "Chunks" with every revolution of the wheel...

While moving or in warm conditions I haven't noticed the problem at all.

My one buddy added "It could be a U-Joint?" But I don't know that I really trust his advice. (He's like the reincarnation of Cliff Clavin.)

I'm trying to figure out what to do...

Right now things are pretty tight financially... It's Christmas season and all... Add to that, I just got engaged and I'm just hemmoraging cash making reservations and booking fees etc...

And then the kicker... When I get my taxes back in Mid-February, I'm trading the car in for the 2K in trade in value it has, and Sinking the 2K which my tax return is estimated to be, into one nice down payment on an SUV or truck.

Now I have driven on a bum CV joint in past vehicles for more than 2 months... I just don't know if it's worth it for me to sink the extra cash in now, for a vehicle I'm going to trade off in 2 months... But at the same time I don't want to risk a break down in a bad weather season etc...

FYI, My daily commute is all in-town 20 minutes each way.

Anyone have any advice?

Thanks In advance!

[Bobb-o]

What kind of a car is it? if it is a little older, which judging by the resale value it is, they are pretty easy to do. CV Joints are very fickle, case in point, i had the drivers side one going out on my mazda protege for prob aboot 3 months, finally had the time and money to fix it and got it done, i didnt worry aboot replacing the passenger side one, cuz the boot looked fine on the joint. Come April i am pulling into the holday gas station in Crosby and there was chunky grind and my car started revving, got out and there were ball bearings all over the ground, so had to wait for my old man to get there and tow me back to the cabin. Let's just say it isnt fun trying to fix a CV Joint in the grass at the cabin, while it's raining, while the car is up on a log because you dont have a jack stand handy, and the only impact wrench i could find within 30 miles was a low-powered electric one.

[Dances with Walleye]

It's a 97 Dodge Intrepid with 87,000 miles.

I don't really have the technical saavy to trust myself to do a CV joint.

Any guesstimate on what a shop would charge to do it?

My psychic left elbow tells me I'm still good for a little while. (I only have $127 left in my checking account after booking the wedding venue, photographer, and DJ. So I've got to make it at least 2 weeks before I get paid again.

Thanks for the Advice Bro!

[blue_healer_guy]

Dances, just had the same issue, cv joint front brakes ect. I was also gonna wait till taxes come back, but bought now and had payments start march 1. Just an idea.

[Bobb-o]

dodges arent too hard to work on down there, if you get the Haynes manual it will give you step by step instructions on how to do it, only thing you need is an impact wrench. I dont know how much it would cost for your vehicle, but the shop wanted $500 to do both my CV axles and i was able to do it for $54 per axle (after core charge return)

do you want to get stuck trying to do it under these conditions?

[Jeremy airjer W]

A bad drive axle (C.V. shaft) will usually make a ratcheting clicking noise if you excellerate with the wheel turned all the way in one direction or another. It may only make this noise if the wheel is turned all the way to the left and not turned to the right so making sure you check both directions is important.

Usually they will not make any noise when driving in a straight line!!

I would suggest letting a shop at least hear the noise and or figure out what is causing it. Some places will do this for free some will have a hoist fee. At least then you will no what it is for sure and then get better advice on what to do.

[Whoaru99]

Gee, hate to rain on your parade and maybe the newer ones are better, but I had a 94(??) Eagle Vision with LOTS of front end problems.

Tie-rod ends, ball joints, stabilizer end links, steering rack bushings, etc. all seemed to wear out VERY early. I finally decided to get rid of the thing when one of the ball joints separated going around a corner. Good thing I was going relatively slow and only 1 block from home...

About the only things in the front end I didn't have trouble with were the CV joints - until that ball joint separated and the axle broke.

If you have any clunking noises in the front end of that car I'd have the whole front end inspected by a good mechanic.

It was really too bad because I liked the car and that 3.5L 24-valve engine got great gas mileage and had plenty of pep. I bought the car from my father for a decent price, and according to the meticulous maintenance records, all that stuff I had mentioned had been replaced at least once, some of it twice, and the car had only 100K when I bought it and just over 120K when I sold it.

[Dances with Walleye]

Thanks for all the advice guys...

I talked with the wife to be last night, as the whole vehicle thing, and payments will in 9 months be a part of her decision...

She agreed that I should just trade in the car ASAP, and see if I can borrow against my coming tax return with a parent etc... To make the full down payment.

Or just go with Trade in value.

Funny thing is I was talking with my 3 groomsmen about it... Two of which have today off and are driving around to all the dealerships in my area trying to find me the best deal.

[Jeremy airjer W]

LOL!!!! If I had a dollar for evertime I towed/repaired one that looked like that! That picture should have been in the brochure!!!!

[BIG DS]

Intrepids had problems with the inner tie rod bushings (where the tie rods fasten to the rack), the tie rod ends, the lower ball joints, the sway bar end links and occasionally the sway bar bushings. I would suspect one of these before a CV joint. It seems to me that there was a recall at one time on the balljoints. Check with your local dealer and see if there are any open recalls on your vehicle.

[Dances with Walleye]

Quote:

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Intrepids had problems with the inner tie rod bushings (where the tie rods fasten to the rack), the tie rod ends, the lower ball joints, the sway bar end links and occasionally the sway bar bushings. I would suspect one of these before a CV joint. It seems to me that there was a recall at one time on the balljoints. Check with your local dealer and see if there are any open recalls on your vehicle.

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Yeah when I bought it the dealership had just replaced the sway bar and a ball joint.

Other than a water pump issue and the fact this this car goes through brake pads like a schitzophrenic goes through cigarettes, I haven't had a problem with her in the least in the 6 years I've owned it.

The only recall item for the car was something transmission related.