Wondering How Do You Know If You Have a Broken Axle?

It may seem obvious that if you have a broken axle you probably cannot drive your car! Because car axles are constantly rotating and flexing to accommodate differing road conditions, they can become worn out and a CV joint repair may become necessary. But car axles are built for strength and should last the life of your car (well over 100,000 miles) unless you are constantly driving on poor roads, adding excessive stress to the CV joints. Most people don’t actually keep a vehicle long enough for car axles to break.

The condition of your car axles and shocks impacts how your vehicle responds to steering and braking. Axles link the power from the engine to the tires, plus carry the whole weight of the entire vehicle. As the axle starts to fail, extra stress from the weight of the vehicle is put on the shocks and tires, wearing them out faster than normal. Hitting any bump or pothole in the road could result in a broken axle. CV joint repair can be quite costly if you need to replace shocks or tires as well.

You may be worried about how do you know if you have a broken axle? As the axle becomes weaker and before it actually breaks, you may start to experience some of the problems listed below:

• Unusual sounds: Clicking and clunking sounds, heard most often during sharp turns or when accelerating or decreasing your speed, are the most common signs of a bad axle.
• Excessive grease: Grease may be leaking from the axle to the inside of a tire, steering and suspension components, or even to the ground.
• Excessive vibrating: If the shaft of the axle is bent, your vehicle will start to vibrate, becoming more obvious as your speed increases.

Don’t put off an inspection of your suspension system and CV joint repair if you are noticing any of the signs above.

Worried about how do you know if you have a broken axle? Contact our ASE Certified Technicians at B & L Auto Service (aka Toledo Auto Care) in Whitehouse, OH, for more information about CV joint repair and to schedule an appointment. Our auto shop is proud to serve vehicle owners in Whitehouse, OH, and the surrounding areas.