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Back In October I had replaced my transmission in my ’95 Escort. After replacing the drive axle boots that were split, I’ve had slight play in the steering. Also the wheel will drop slightly while driving to the left or right while the car still is driving straight assuming that it’s from the tire contacting a slight low or high spot in the road or the middle hump. There’s not actually a lot of wandering involved that I can tell. I would say at some point but it’s not severe anyway. I was concerned that the drive axle may have gotten damaged during removal or installing. I’m not sure that would be the case with a drive axle assuming that everything was back together tight and correctly. I’ve checked all the bolts and nuts and there’s nothing loose. The wheel and tire move slightly moving it side to side but some movement is allowed to an extent. Tie rod ends are fine along with the ball joints. Everything was good before the replacement as stated above. Thanks for any advise.
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Short answer – NO.
Something else is going on. Maybe simple over reaction. It’s very subjective, what you describe.How long do you think the CV axles were ran with the boot split? Unless you catch it right away, it’s usually best to just replace the axle after the grease has gotten out and moisture and dirt in. I don’t know that that would cause the symptoms you describe. Usually they just make noise if they’re bad.
(How long do you think the boots were split) Not too long. A month or two, if that. I check them pretty much every time I change the oil. The grease had spun on the inner wheel & tire on both sides, still fairly fresh. I’m still going to pursue this further, when it gets a little warmer. I don’t have a garage heater again, yet. Thanks for your comment.
If you take a BRAND NEW axle and secure shaft in vise, you can hand pull CV joint back-fore. They are designed to have linear expansion for turns, when angular change causes length change. Hub and transmission secure axle in place but otherwise it moves, longer-shorter.
To me, it does not make any sense to blame this on axle, unless something was physically dislodged inside the CV joint itself, or debris got inside and were covered over with boot. And now that debris is forcing one of the rollers to move in sinusoidal pattern, causing tire wobble.
It’s actually quite easy check. Jackstand front end securely, start the engine and engage D. Get a helper and get front wheels to half way decent speed. Visual inspection of how vertical tires rotate should show wobble – or none.
SECURELY is the key word, of course. Many tire shops and such will not even charge you for quick jump onto one of their lifts….[quote=”ukrkoz” post=121286]If you take a BRAND NEW axle and secure shaft in vise, you can hand pull CV joint back-fore. They are designed to have linear expansion for turns, when angular change causes length change. Hub and transmission secure axle in place but otherwise it moves, longer-shorter.
To me, it does not make any sense to blame this on axle, unless something was physically dislodged inside the CV joint itself, or debris got inside and were covered over with boot. And now that debris is forcing one of the rollers to move in sinusoidal pattern, causing tire wobble.
It’s actually quite easy check. Jackstand front end securely, start the engine and engage D. Get a helper and get front wheels to half way decent speed. Visual inspection of how vertical tires rotate should show wobble – or none.
SECURELY is the key word, of course. Many tire shops and such will not even charge you for quick jump onto one of their lifts….[/quote]Not to waste any board space I replied with a quote this time. I was hoping the movement of the axle when I was removing it was normal. I figured it was to the fact you had stated. I can look for further issues since I do know some of the things to look for on front end suspension issues. I just was asking to be sure. Great answer.
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