How long are the cv's good for. On a front wheel drive car you can hear when tyhey get real bad. I have been having some strange noises from the back.

On my Formula the passenger side has 170K miles. I changed the driver side at about 80K miles because the tranny broke a bearing and I suspected a wobling CV joint as the root casue, but I could had been wrong. That one now has a clicking noise when I change from 1st to reverse and viceversa.

Well, the primary cause of CV joint failure is a torn boot letting the grease out and dirt into the joint. If the boot looks in tact, you're probably ok. If the boot's torn, you can get a replacement boot that wraps around the joint (so it can be put on with the axle on the car) and you refill with grease. That'll usually get you some more use, but once the boot tears, you've probably already got damage and it's only a matter of time before it fails.

It's harder to hear them fail on our cars because the rear wheels don't steer, so the clicking noise is never as pronounced as it would be on a FWD. If you're not sure, take it to an axle shop for an inspection. They shouldn't charge you too much to check them out, and since you can get entire axles with CV joints from the Fiero Store, it's an easy do it yourself repair. I wouldn't even consider rebuilding or replacing the joint myself. Too much hassle. I'd just swap out the entire axle shaft.

thanks guys. I have 180k maybe I will just get new ones anyway. Even though the boots are ok I think they are woen and loose.

You can change them if you really feel you need to.

Because of the limited movement, Fiero CV's are unlikely to actually break but they are likely to develope spot wear in the races. These don't get the loads that FWD axles get.

If the boots are good, thus keeping grease in, there's really no need to replace them. Spot wear of the races isn't that big a deal. At most it makes a click noise when you shift directions.

Just what kind of noise are you getting?

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 08-31-2001).]