1997 Grand Prix GT CV axle

[olopezm]

Hello guys,

This time I would like to make a few questions about CV axles, I think I might need to replace the passenger side on my car. I've taken a few pictures to show you.

In the first place I noticed all the passenger side is splattered; the last time I took that wheel off to replace the power steering lines I made sure everything was clean and tightened everything properly. So, I don't know where is all this splatter coming from, as you can see the transmission has some on it too; the transmission seal looks fine so I don't know if a broken CV boot could have such splattering pattern.



Here you can see the outer boot, it's in one piece but there seems to be some grease towards the wheel; the clamp seems good, I don't know if this could be some chassis grease from the last service to the suspension components however, the rim and knuckle have a lot of goo on them consistent with a failed CV boot as you can see in the pictures.




These are from the inner boot which is intact too but the clamp looks a bit worn and seems to be broken in two so it actually looks like there were two clamps in there.




The following images are from the driver side, as you can see this one is clean as can be and surely needs no replacement.



Transmission is a 4T60E but early in 2006 the splines on the differential gears broke and during the rebuild, we installed a new differential; I seem to remember that the guy we bought from said it came out from a car with a different spline count (more splines) but it would still work in mine (maybe a 4T65?). Anyway, we installed everything and has been working fine since.

I know the axles differ between GTP and GT/SE models as GTP's are heavy duty axles; would they be interchangeable or should I just stick with same model as current ones? I don't want to end up with the wrong part and find out I need to have it exchanged while the car is apart.

Should I replace the whole axle or maybe just remove the boot, clean everything, put new grease and install new clamps?

Thanks in advance,

Oscar.

[GTP Dad]

Because the same amount of work will go into replacing the boot and you will still have the possibility of contamination I would just replace the entire axle. This will save you time and trouble later.

[olopezm]

Thanks GTP Dad, yeah I was thinking about it.

Today I took a better look at it and all of the goo on the transmission side is PS fluid and dirt. I must have forgotten to fully tighten one of the clamps on the return line after I replaced all of the rubber pieces; I tightened the clamp and topped the fluid and all seems good now; I'll see what happens.

I shopped around only to find out that, other than autozone, nobody sells the entire axle over here; you can either get inner or outter CV joint (comes with grease, bearings, cage and boot) as separate and rebuild your current axle.

However, I'm still not sure if I should replace the axle or not, there are no noises and the boots are not broken, only the clamps look a bit "tired". Don't know how this sounds to you. Maybe I'm just being too paranoid about the axles? Driver's side broke on my uncle's 92 Buick Century last week and that's why I wanted to take a look at mines. His had a clicking noise though.

I'll appreciate any comments,

Oscar.

[GTP Dad]

If the grease you saw wasn't grease from the axle shaft then leave it alone. They will last the life of the vehicle as long as the boots are good and the grease remains inside them. If they are silent then don't do a thing.

[olopezm]

Thank you again GTP_Dad,

So far, it looks like all the splatter was definitely PS fluid.

As I said before, the bigger clamp on the inner CV joint looks bad, I was able to move the boot away from the case and saw some grease inside, but not as much as the new ones I've seen. I just reinstalled the boot and forgot about it.

I'll keep an eye on it. Other than clicking noises, are there any other signs of a bad cv joint?.

I ask because I keep getting this vibration, car shakes, ONLY when accelerating from a stop. I checked both mounts and the retaining nuts on the passenger one were a bit loose, I tightened both and vibration has decreased, maybe the mount is still bad; I also get some growling from the PS pump from time to time, all the system has been checked and is fine (from previous threads, the rack was rebuilt on november of last year). According to a friend, a bad CV joint could cause vibration and increased steering effort. Don't know if this is true or not... Also I notice some clunking when shifting between R and D.

Upper engine mounts are OK and there are no other vibrations during cruise.

Oscar.

[GTP Dad]

Yes, A bad cv will cause a vibration especially while accelerating. If you don't have it while you are accelerating then you may feel a vibration around 60 mph or 88 kph if your speedometer is in kilometers. These are usually good signs of a cv going bad. The clunking you hear can be a shaft being worn but it can be due to slack in the transmission itself although that is rare today.

[olopezm]

Thank you very much!

Well I have this vibration when accelerating from a stop and goes away at around 10MPH or sometimes seems to be RPM related (around 1k RPM's). The lower nuts on the passenger mount were a bit loose, I tightened both and the vibration has diminished but now I hear a "chirping" noise from time to time when going over bumps, putting the car in gear or if I hold the brake and tap on the gas pedal;

I think I should inspect the mount before replacing anything else, I already replaced it before but everything is possible. What would it be the best way to test an engine mount? How much engine movement would be normal?

Oscar.

[GTP Dad]

The engine will move several inches when it rev's so don't be alarmed if it moves some. I really don't think you have an engine mount issue otherwise you would be hearing more noises and having other problems. The chirp you hear may be a dry bushing that is moving slightly. Use some silicone spray lube on the control arm bushings and see what happens.

[olopezm]

Thank you my friend,

The chirp I hear is very different to that of dry bushings, my Windstar has that noise and it's definitely not the same. I'll see if I can make a video of it, don't know if the camera will be able to pick the noise .

Today I noticed that the vibration and the steering effort will increase when the car has been driven for some time and the engine has reached operating temp. It will sometimes get to the point where you can hear the PS pump growling. Guess I'll end up replacing the passenger side CV joint. It also seems to increase and rumble when the A/C is on (not always); I've also noticed that there will be more a pronounced rumble for an instant immediately after going over speed bumps with A/C on.

Now I have no idea... I took the car to the A/C shop and the guy said the system is fine.

Thanks,

Oscar.

[olopezm]

So I replaced the CV axle on the passenger side (the one I thought was bad) to no avail, bad news!.

But there's a bit of hope. Today I started hearing the same chirping noise (seems more like a metal to metal grinding) even when starting or shutting off the engine. Unless somebody else has anything to say, it looks like I'll be replacing the engine mount one more time.

What do you guys think? Thanks in advance.

Oscar.

[GTP Dad]

I would go ahead and replace it since the symptoms continue to persist. Have you checked the belt tensioner pulley to see if it is making the noise? Remove the serpentine belt and start the car. If the noise is not there then that would rule out the engine mounts. If the noise continues then the engine mount is certainly where the problem exists.

[olopezm]

Thanks GTP Dad,

I don't think the serpentine belt test will help as the noise is only present when driving over bumps or the brief moment where the engine shakes a little when starting/shutting off.

I'll replace the mount when I get paid maybe next week.

Thanks again.

Oscar.