CV failure

[alackofspeed]

I thought I'd post up some pictures of the CV joint that failed on me, driving back from my SVA.

Lack of grease (boot leaked), overheated, cage broke - that's my conclusion on the order of events.

[JG]

Slap a bit of grease on it on, re-assemble, jobs a good'n

[eaa53]

Just need to file up some new ball bearings or go find the old ones on the road where you left them....

[alackofspeed]

I found 5 of the original bearings, so on the basis most car parts are over-engineered, I've stuck some fresh grease in, and thrown it back on the car.

Job done.

[Ric H]

It does look as if it might have been a bit toasty doesn't it? I'm surprised it would fail so quickly mind you, even with marginal lubrication. What state were the balls in? I suppose if you were giving it some beans then the joints are pretty heavily stressed.

I guess you'll be pretty happy with that diagnosis anyway, if it doesn't point at shaft lengths or anything more serious!

[alackofspeed]

My conclusion is based on the fact the OS driveshaft was toasty hot when the CV failed, the NS warm, and the bulk of the OS CV's grease being sprayed radially within the upright.

My theory was reinforced when I sent the pictures to a friend, and asked "have you ever experienced this?", to which he replied "... a few times... when the lube runs out..."

What you can't see in the pictures, is the way the grease has been baked on to the bearing surfaces.

The balls appeared to be fine, though I didn't study them in any depth.

I still don't think the angle the joint run at is optimal, as it undoubtedly increases the attrition the joint experiences.

I wonder if there's ground for "running in" cv joints, as in my experience they're very tight when new, which won't help with heat build up.

I suspect I did help the rapid demise of the CV, as despite spotting the grease discharge at the SVA, I fed the car quite a few beans on the way home, and wasn't very mechanically sympathetic.