1. Home
  2. Chrysler Cars
  3. CV joint grease flung out - but boot is intact - '88 Voyager

CV joint grease flung out - but boot is intact - '88 Voyager

I recently (3 months ago)replaced both halfshafts on my wife's '88 Voyager. It had been making a loud popping sound under the left floorboard on left hand turns. All was well until yesterday when the sound returned. It happens usually halfway through a left hand turn.

So today I jacked up the car to check the side to side engine centering and lo and behold, grease has flung out everywhere from the inboard joint. I cannot see any rips, tears etc. in the boot and the boot looks clean as well. Has anyone experienced this before?

Using the pushing the axle stubs inward method after removing the large hub nut, I noticed the engine/transaxle to be shifted off center slightly to the driver's side (maybe 1/4").

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

Reply to
Lhead
Loading thread data ...

just curious, you removed the hub nut and was able to push the axle in 1/4 an inch ? I'm trying to troubleshoot a small trans leak and I think the problem could also be a centering issue. But I thought you needed some force to move the axle in the spline on the hub.

Reply to
ncs

I've seen it before. It leaks out if it can. The big end of the CV joint can leak from a hole (that you haven't noticed yet) or between the boot the joint housing. It should be pretty obvious what happened by where the grease is, but even if it's not, it's not going to make much difference. You'll have to start over, pretty much. Perhaps it's still underwarranty? The retainer should pull the boot down onto the housing and seal those two together, at least in my opinion.

Reply to
Joe

Well, I figured it out. The halfshaft I installed two months ago had an inner end that was a two piece affair - the outer "shell" was bent and crimped over the inner piece. Upon removal, whomever rebuilt the shaft before it got to me didn't recrimp the joint properly and you could see where grease had been streaming out under centrifugal force driving down the road. The replacement shaft has a one piece machined tripod joint that should be leakproof. Yes Joe, it was under Advance Auto Parts lifetime warranty. The counter kid removed the boot of the old one and there was virtually no grease left in it! Also, ncs - in response to your question - there was approximately 1/4" difference in the amount of deflection or push in that i could measure between the two axle stubs. Each one though was able to be pushed in probably an inch. This was of course after the large axle nuts had been removed. Your slight trans leak may be the seal where the shaft passes into the transaxle. I've had that myself. Easy to change while the halfshaft is out. Thanks to all who helped.

Reply to
Lhead

thanks for the info. We went down the route of the seal change. I think the trans guy replaced it twice and then replaced the entire housing. It became a matter of solving the 'leak problem' and not cost anymore. He's a pretty good guy. It still leaks, slightly but leaks. So the only thing left was the possibility of the engine not being centered and leaking because of that. It's the drivers side cv. I tried centering it by measuring the axle lengths as in the manual, it didn't work, but I might try again.

thanks, nick

Reply to
ncs

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.