I have a 2001 Chevy Cavalier. After a recent road trip into the mountains, the left front suspension began making a pop noise everytime I would brake suddenly,go over a speed bump and alot of times while turning left.
After online research and visually inspecting the CV and tierod I noticed a damaged bushing on the tie rod nearest my tire. To remedy the popping should I replace the CV halfshaft or could I somehow replace a part of it? What the danger of further damage if I continue to drive it like it is now??
Thanks in advance!!
Damaged bushing on tie rod nearest my tire? Change half-shaft?
you always replace the whole axle on these, its cheaper in the long run to do it this way as for the tie rod end you may also have to replace it,you may not be able to find just a cup for it,but always replace the whole axle anytime you have cv joint trouble it saves time and money in the long run and most of the ones now days come with a life time warranty ,good luck with it.
Damaged bushing on tie rod nearest my tire? Change half-shaft?
AS FOR THE CV-JOINT IT WOULD BE BETTER AND CHEAPER JUST TO REPLACE THE COMPLETE AXLE ASSEMBLY AND THAT WAY YOU WILL GET THE INNER AND OUTER CV-JOINT, BOOTS, GREASE AND THE BANDS.
Pull the shaft out and inspect it. It should slide freely within itself and have very little, if any play in the joints. Also it is easier and a more reliable fix to replace the whole shaft. Your popping is more likely to be a ball joint, so you would also want to check this. You can get kits with ball joints and tie rod ends and save money on E-Bay. I would suggest picking up a repair manual for your vehicle so you have the operations layed out for you to ease part replacement and trouble shooting. They are relatively inexpensive being usually less than 20 bucks.
