When CV joints go bad..?

In the last month or so i've noticed that my car starts a light clicking when i go through a sharp slow turn. I assume this is the CV joints.

I do barely any in town driving, the car is mostly used for long distance highway miles, and will be inconvenient to fix for at least another 2500 miles. (gotta drive a long way and back)

if it is the cv's, can i just run them into the ground before i replace whatever it worn/broken, or will it fail catastrophically?

If it breaks then it could hit somethong important and all hell will break loose or you may make it a little while.Its a gamble either way you look at it.

If you just have a light clicking when making a hard turn I wouldn't worry about it for the next 2500 miles. Of course there are no guarantees but mine has been doing this for 20K miles. There is no vibration and I have no drivabilitiy issues so I keep driving it.

ive been driving my lightly clicking car around for a couple thousand miles, as mentioned previously in thread, and it doesnt seem to get any worse, and there are no driveability issues.

nevertheless, ill probably get around to checking it out soon, and then probably paying a mech to replace them, as i am on the road and it would be too much for me to do with my setup.

my question: my car has 45k (1997) and i am led to believe that the clutch has never been replaced. i believe the axles need to be pulled to replace CV joints, and i also believe that the axle pulling is most of the labor for replacing the clutch. assuming this is correct-

1)how long do clutches last?
2)should i replace it while the cv joints are getting done?
and 3)are cheap/generic clutches ok, or are factory clutches or pricier-than-autozone-generic versions worth the money?

thanks,
anthony

If you just have a light clicking when making a hard turn I wouldn't worry about it for the next 2500 miles. Of course there are no guarantees but mine has been doing this for 20K miles. There is no vibration and I have no drivabilitiy issues so I keep driving it.

1. Clutches last according to how the car has been run. If you slip the clutch under full power it will wear out soon. I have a 97, too and it has 143k. I have had no problems with the clutch and I have no intention of replacing it soon. When it starts slipping, then I'll replace it.

2. With only 47k on your clutch, I would say to hold off on it. Yes the half-shafts have to be pulled to replace the clutch. Most of the labor to get the shafts out is removing the steering knuckle. This is only about 30% of the labor to do the clutch. The tranny has to come out. You have to take the hydraulic line loose from the slave cyinder and remove the slave. take the exhaust pipe and cat out from underneath, remove the battery tray, remove the starter, remove the lower crossmember, remove the gear shift rod and stabilizer bar and take off the tranny mounts. To do this the engine has to be supported because only the top mount is connected to the engine. The engine is supported through the tranny on 3 mouints. Then you've got the 5 bolts holding the bell housing to the engine. Oh yeah, there is the AC line supported by the crossmember that has to come off and there are 2 electrical cables that have to be taken off

3. If you don't abuse the clutch an OEM is just as good as a pricier clutch. This is up to you. Do you run it hard? Do you want the clutch to last an additional 150k? If so get the heavy duty. It's only about $100 more and worth it since the labor alone to do the clutch will be about $500. Why skimp on parts? Again, up to you. All the best. Dave

2. With only 47k on your clutch, I would say to hold off on it. Yes the half-shafts have to be pulled to replace the clutch.

3. If you don't abuse the clutch an OEM is just as good as a pricier clutch. This is up to you. Do you run it hard? Do you want the clutch to last an additional 150k? If so get the heavy duty. It's only about $100 more and worth it since the labor alone to do the clutch will be about $500. Why skimp on parts? Again, up to you. All the best. Dave

thanks for the great info. i had no idea a clutch could last that long. i dont really have any way of telling whether im hard or easy on the thing, but with this info under my belt ill gamble on cash saved and just think about the CVs.

many thanks. i really appreciate everyone's sage advice.

anthony

When I had my escort I got about 150k out of the clutch, beat the hell out of it in the process. Changing it wasn't all that bad, just alot of heavy things to move out of the way. I didn't have to mess with the exhaust, just reached around it, but removed the driver's side corner (strut, knuckle, control arm, frame rail etc) as a single unit, it was a bit heavy but saved alot of time. Mine was also an 89 gt, so the exhaust was different anyway as it had a full length header, also a cable actuated clutch. Don't worry too much about the clutch, they should last at least 100k miles under normal driving.