In recent, warmer months (>50 degrees F), I've occasionally noticed a clicking from the front end during turning. It's had been a little difficult to verify, as the clicking was not consistent. Got under the car and checked. Passenger front CV boot had grease on the outside. I assumed that's the culprit. No grease must mean bad joint.

Had my 105k mile service done in October and asked my mechanic to check and replace the bad axle. He says "We could barely replicate the problem. Only heard a slight clicking once. Checked boots, they look ok. You can wait to replace the axle". Ok fine. Spare me the $250 for a few months.

Now the temp dropped to 20-30 degrees F over the last few weeks. These last two mornings have been 25 deg. when I start my car. The clicking when pulling out of my road is rapid, loud, and consistent. HOWEVER, when the car warms up (not the ambient temperature), the clicking stops on turns.

(also when the ambient temp. goes up during the day, the clicking also ceases)

What is the science behind this? Is it definitely my CV joint or do these symptoms indicate some other possible joint/bearing issue? No other symptoms/noises when driving (except, maybe unrelated, a slight "wa wa wa" noise between 50-60 mph).

Thanks!

 

The grease gets hard in cold weather.. It's rated very well for high temps but not very well in low temps (somewhere around ~5C). Fortunately it warms up pretty quick once you start going. Nothing to worry about but in your case, if you had grease on the outside of the boot that means there's a tear. Tears in the boot not only allow grease to escape but also allow in dirt and particles that destroy cv joints and break down the grease. I would at minimum, get the boot repaired. But for $140 shipped you can buy two new driveshafts from Advance and have them installed for less by any reputable shop, call them up and get quotes.

 

I get the typical click click click when going around corners. Push in the clutch...silence. I get the clicking BOTH when first pulling out of the driveway in the AM and after driving the car all day. My boots look like brand new. WTF?

 

Classic CV joint symptoms. A torn boot will make them go bad quicker due to the reasons Majofo stated but they go bad all the time with a perfectly good boot.

 

Yeah mine do it when it's below 25F outside. Not going to rush to change them. Probably change mine sometime in the next 10-15k miles.

 

I did not know that! Thanks for the insight. Does anyone here recommend a particular brand to replace them with? Does it make much difference?

Also, I was trying to figure out which one was bad. I get clicking going each direction so I guess both are bad?

 

Mine rather makes a popping noise during turning in cold weather. I tried getting it looked at under warranty but it was too warm outside at that time. Shouldn't the CV be covered under powertrain warranty?

 

I hope it is covered under warranty. My '05 TL has started clicking under sharp turn. I'll try to drop by the dealer on Friday and see what they say. It seems that most dealers cover this, but some will say it is a consumable like tires or the battery.

 

I had the same symptoms starting in the Summer of last year, but waited until I could reproduce them at the dealership. As soon as the car was warm it wouldn't click. So this Winter when it got really cold the clicking got much worse and I had it looked at. The dealership fixed the CV joints under power train warranty because the regular 4yr/50k warranty by that time has ran out.

 

Glad to hear. I am in the same situation basically. I will be out of regular warranty by this summer. Sometime in December or January when it's the coldest, I am going to just leave my car at the dealer for the night and show them the next morning first thing. I don't want to try duplicating the noise when my car is all warmed up because the dealer is 40 minutes away.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the direction you're turning and hearing the clicking is the one that is bad, right? I.e. turning the wheel to the right = clicking = bad pass side CV. I guess what I want to make sure of is that one bad CV won't click when turning either direction.

 

What did you guys end up paying to have this fixed either at the stealership or an Indy? I'm taking my 05 TL 6MT down to the dealer now to get a quote (and drive a new TL around for the day XDXD)

 

My boots are intact and now that it's summer, mine aren't clicking anymore. So, I've decided to hold off on the repair for another year or two.

 

I shelled out $885 at the dealer for 2 new front axles and some kind of tranny seal on one side. Prob got ripped off but at least I know it's done right. :more money than brains: lono :/

They also told me my steering column was leaking into the boots and I could top off the fluid for one but it would need to be addressed in the future. Stupid maintenance bullshit