Inner CV problems?

[gavs]

Hi all,

I know our cars are starting to get on a bit, mine will be 10yrs old in september. It's just ticked over 107,000kms and I am 70% certain that the inner CV joint on the drivers side is on it's way out. It started with what felt like a grinding in the steering under tightish left turns while accelerating, then it started with and intermittent clicking/ticking while driving. This happened not only while turning but also going straight. It gets faster in it's frequency as the wheels turn faster.

Is this to be expected at this age/time? I know my car came from Queensland and saw a bit of dirt road driving which I know leads things to fail quicker, but I wouldn't have expected the inner CV to go before the outter.....Oh, i checked for play in them all and the inner had a tiny click in it whereas the others didn't.

[dubsquad]

That's pretty much the symptoms. Ticking noise while driving straight or up a hill? Had the same problem on my previous MK3. Get it fixed ASAP mate. Mine seized up and did some damage to the differential! Ended up spending alot more than i would've if i had it fixed earlier.

Cheers
Leigh

[dubbed]

Would these also happen to make a 'whirring'/vibrating noise when turning at speeds? How much are they to replace?

[h100vw]

I have to pipe up here and say that in 16 years of drive VWs I have only replaced one CV joint and that was an outer one.

The outers go much more often than inners. Driving round in circles on full lock in both directions will tell you which side is duff.

When you hear the noise, the bad one will be on the outside of the circle.

I would be surprised if an inner has gone.

Gavin

[Golf Loon]

Is it a 1.6?
They are 90mm ones from the VW parts bin.
Pretty weak for the job at hand.

[dubsquad]

It's really uncommon for a inner cv to go, the stealership was surprised as well. Would outer cv's also give the ticking noise when driving straight?

[h100vw]

They are usually quiet in straight lines unless really, really shot. That's why you turn in tight circles to test them.

Gavin

[dubsquad]

Ok, i've changed a couple of outers as soon as it comes to the point that i hear that noise when turning, just the inner that had the intermittent noise while driving straight. Gavs i would really like to know what it was when it's fixed.

[gavs]

Yeah, no worries mate!

To update the symptoms:......

Knocking/tapping noise has momentarily disappeared. It's amazing how much more a hoist reveals compared to axle stands and a jack!!! The plastic shroud that surrounds the engine has broken (which I knew) at the screw point on the drivers side, just near the inner CV. After closer inspection the drive shaft has a perfect line in the dust on it, a result of the aformentioned plastic shroud intermittently rubbing on it!!!

After 5 mins with the side cutters we will see what the result is.......

The grinding in the steering is still there, BUT only on tightish lock and accelerating fairly hard. There is no ticking/clicking/grinding in low speed turns......

Mechanic feels that it's the inner, but he thinks it's more because it's "dry" than failed, but still suggests replacement due to the wear that's in it now.

There is still a lot of knocking etc, but this seems to be related to worn strut mounts and bushes on their way out as on smooth roads like the nice new section of the monash, it's not there.

[gavs]

On another note, on the way to work this morning I had to brake fairly hard while turning left so I didn't kill an idiot pedestrian on the way to work, and felt a similar grinding through the brake pedal????!!!!!

I don't think it was the ABS as there was no noise from the tires and no pulsing through the pedal, just a grinding feeling......

This has me perplexed as like the other Gavin said, outers are far more prone to failure than the inners, the boots look almost brand new and there's no trademark clicking. The fact I feel it through the steering only under decent acceleration is another issue, and it feels like metal on metal through the wheel, also sounds like metal on metal........