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Hey Eric and Guy’s. Glad to join you here. I have a 2001 Chrysler T&C with 3.8 liter FWD. I’ve had to to place both drive axles for the 5th year straight due the CV joints going bad. Last time I had my machanic inspect for frame damage. He found none. It has not been wreaked and evrey thing lines up as it should. He said he did not know why this kept occurring however, he guessed that the bearings in the trainsaxle could be worn causing excess movement.
This sound reasonable however, I have no tranny leaks and it would seem to me if the axles where walloing around that much I should have leaks around the seals or hear alot of noise! If indeed he is right, I’ve got to have the tranny removed to replace them and want to ask you here first. So, Eric, and other techs here, what you think? Does this sound right or should I start looking elsewhere?
I realy enjoy your vids!!!!
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Are the axles replaced reconditioned or new replacements. I always use new axles where possible. Rebuilt axles don’t seem to last.
I would want to know what brand parts were being used during the 5 times it was replaced and possibly see if it was a low quality part.
My next steps would be the following…
– Drive angle of the axles could cause premature wear. For example, if the springs are weak and the ride height is not where it should be…this puts more strain on the axles.
– Front suspension components, how are the wheel bearings/tie rods/ball joints/rack and pinion? play in these components could be putting a non-anticipated repetitive motion through these axles.
– What was the failure of the CV joint? were the boots ripped? or what deemmed them failed?
– What is the vehicle mostly used for? is it highway, city driving and who is driving the vehicle or how many drivers are using it?
These are things I would be looking into for a repeat failure of the half shafts
How many miles on the vehicle and which joints fail-outers, inners, both? Saw this condition on several Chrysler Cirrus models (I know you have a T&C) the root cause in all the Cirrus models was due to failed trans and engine mounts. Have those been checked? Also do you do any towing with the vehicle? Have you tried different parts sources over the past 5-replacements?
Thanks Guy’s for the quick replies. I’ll try to answer all of you with this post. I’m the only driver. City and highway driving only. No drag racing and no towing. It’s drove very easy. The boots never rupture. The axles come from Advance Auto evry time and they are new not rebuilds at least thats what I’m told. Their warenty keeps me going back. It always starts on the drive side first. The joints start clanking in a sharp turn after about a 1000 miles and progress from there to getting so worn they begin to (loap) at low speeds at which point I replace them at around the 5 to 7 thousand mile mark which is about all I drive per year. I have no trouble with tire wear alighment stays perfect so I would assume all front end componets are good. I’ve noticed no huge difference in the ride which is very good as long the joints are not loaping which causing a bad vibration. Should I start looking at spings, struts, etc and forget about the tranaxle bearings!
My strong suggestion is to try purchasing another brand from another source. I’ve experienced similar repeated patterns of failure with various automotive components i.e. struts, alternators, brakes etc. that resolved when i changed brands and or suppliers. So many of the big box auto parts stores give the warranties on sub-standard or marginal components to keep you coming back into the store to buy more items. It’s call lost lead selling. Sadly it does exist.
Keep your diagnosing as simple and as focused as possible.
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