CV Axles are typically found in modern front wheel drivevehicles. They can also be found on the back of rear wheel or all-wheel drivecars that have independent suspension. “CV” stands for constant velocity and “axle”actually stands for axle. It does notrepresent a cool acronym, such as Awesome X-men Laser Elites, but I am surethat will be a horrible movie soon. Thebasic purpose of a CV Axle is to transfer power from the transmission (ordifferential) directly to the wheels. Alot of people refer to the Drive Axle as the CV Axle because it is attached tothe wheel by the CV joint. The first thing to go bad on a drive axle is usually theboot. If you think you might be havingissues with yours, there is a simple test. Go to an empty parking lot, such as a vacant Saturn Dealership, andstart driving in really tight circles. If you can hear a clicking noise than you have some problems. Crawl under your vehicle and look for anycracks in the boot. Cracks are easier tospot when you have the wheels turned all the way to the left or the right. If the boots have already split it will beobvious because it would have flung grease all over the place. Once the grease is out, dirt androad grime creep inside and you got yourself a bad CV Joint. The outer jointsusually fail first because they turn at the sharpest angle. The sharper the angle the more strain.
THE END… I’m not kidding this time.
