What is driver side front versus passenger side front? Isn’t an axle replacement the whole axle connecting the two front wheels?
How do I tell the difference or know what side I have? I've bumped my passenger side front pretty hard into a curb while in a full turn, and I've replaced the tire and rim, but still getting uneven outside tire wear. I bumped the right on a curb and now that side is starting to experience uneven wear. After that happened, I noticed wobbling in steering wheel at speeds above 70mph. This all occurred about four months ago. When that happened, my braking was pulsing under foot when constant braking. More noticeable at higher speeds. Now it's really evident and I was wondering if repla
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hi there. Wheel location is determined by imagining you are sitting in the driver seat. Your, and most vehicles today, have 2 axles in the front; certain vehicle still have a solid rear axle housing, but retain 2 individual axles as well. It sounds like you may have bent the strut, lower control arm, ball joint, and/or hub when you hit the curb. I suggest having a qualified technician perform an inspection to avoid replacing unnecessary parts. Your Mechanic has several available technicians that can assist you with a suspension inspection.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
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Wrong Axle, Bad Engineering
If the axle is too long, it can cause the CV or plunge joint to bottom out and damage the surfaces of the balls, bearings and races. If it`s too short, the axle could pull out of the plunge joint under certain conditions.
A constant velocity (CV) axle, also known as a half shaft, takes power from the vehicle`s transmission and differential and transfers it to the wheels, allowing the vehicle to drive forward.
Are CV Axles Expensive? Like pretty much any component, the cost of a CV axle is highly dependent on the vehicle. On economy cars, the axles can cost between 100-and 150 dollars each. Higher-end vehicles and heavy-duty applications can cost anywhere from $300 to over $1500 for each axle.
If a CV joint begins to fail while driving, your car will start to pull to one side as one wheel loses power. When the joint breaks completely its corresponding wheel will no longer turn and although the engine may still run, the car won`t move.
On a high-mileage vehicle with a bad CV joint or boot, it`s often a good idea to replace both shafts at the same time. Often, the right (passenger side) shaft fails first because right turns are at a sharper angle than left turns, and right turns are more common than left turns.
Front wheel drive vehicles incorporate a transverse engine mount design where the engine is mounted sideways, resulting in the left and right CV axles to be different lengths.
Vibrations may be accompanied by an unusual rumbling noise underneath the vehicle, strange tire wobbling, or sluggish driving and steering, which may indicate a bent axle. Vibrations may be particularly noticeable during accelerations, decelerations, or turns.
CV axle boots last for quite some time (80,000 miles) and are not items needing periodic replacement. But you absolutely should inspect them at least once a year, or even more often on cars with high mileage. They are most affected by prolonged off-road driving or heavy use in transportation-industry conditions.
The Constant Velocity is sealed by a boot. This boot may get damaged, and when this happens, the joint will wear out and eventually fail. If you drive a car with a damaged CV, the joint will disintegrate further, making driving impossible. You`ll not be able to control the vehicle and may get involved in an accident.
The Presence Of A Gap
If you take a quick look underneath your car, you can tell if you have a CV axle that isn`t seated correctly. The external CV joint is spaced a few inches from the transmission that connects to the axle by the back of the external CV joint. A properly seated axle would not exhibit this phenomenon.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
What is driver side front versus passenger side front? Isn’t an axle replacement the whole axle connecting the two front wheels?
ANSWER : Hi there. Wheel location is determined by imagining you are sitting in the driver seat. Your, and most vehicles today, have 2 axles in the front; certain vehicle still have a solid rear axle housing, but retain 2 individual axles as well. It sounds like you may have bent the strut, lower control arm, ball joint, and/or hub when you hit the curb. I suggest having a qualified technician perform an inspection to avoid replacing unnecessary parts. Your Mechanic has several available technicians that can assist you with a suspension inspection.
I hear an abnormal noise from front driver’s side wheel. It sounds like a wheel bearing but not sure.
ANSWER : A wheel bearing noise can be different between vehicles as some designs may vary a little. The most common is a roaring noise that may change when going around turns. It may be louder going in one direction or the other or just make a loud noise all of the time. The wheel hub presses into the wheel bearing. The hub is where the studs are for the wheel to be bolted onto the steering knuckle and the bearing provides the support for the wheel and weight of the vehicle. Consider hiring an experienced technician like one from YourMechanic who can come out and take a closer look at your wheel bearing noise to offer a more personal diagnosis.
Do I need to replace the hubs to go back to factory wheel bolts.
ANSWER : You’re wise to go back to factory fasteners. While there are a few good quality aftermarket products out there for your car, most of the options are a kind of one-size-fits-all that involve spacers and adapters that change the design offset and lead to all kinds of suspension and wheel bearing problems. you should not need to replace the hubs as long as the threads are not damaged. It should be possible to extract the studs through conventional means. If a hub IS damaged, then there is no choice but to replace it. This will involve replacing the wheel bearing as well so it can get expensive. If this project is more than you want to take on, you can contact Your Mechanic to have a technician come to your home or office and change out your wheels for you
Strong knocking from front driver’s side and passenger side when making turns left OR right.
ANSWER : The steering rack and pinion assembly is mounted in rubber bushings; they may be deteriorated and allowing the rack and pinion to contact the sub frame making the knocking noise.
The other component to look at is the struts upper bearing and rubber bushing. These get dry of lubricant and should be lubed with a teflon grease when installed so the rubber will not get damaged.
Have someone feel the top of the strut mount under the hood while the steering is turned back and forth to see if the knocking or popping is in the strut. The rack and pinion bushings should be inspected from under the vehicle.
If either or both are bad then they will need to be replaced.
A mobile mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, can come to your home or business to inspect the knocking noise at your home or business.
Driver side door lock button not working, and passenger side sliding door makes a buzzing noise
ANSWER : Hi there. These door issues are common on this vehicle. Most of the time the main issue is the master door lock switch on the driver door. It sounds like you already replaced that. As for the sliding door problem, most of the time, this is a failure within the door module or it can be a connection issue.
I typically take the door apart and check the connections on the module and inside of the door just to make sure that there is nothing apparent in there. If the connections and the wiring are fine, then I use a scan tool to check the module to see what the inputs and outputs are doing. If you need to have this looked at, consider YourMechanic, as a certified mechanic can come to your home or office to diagnose your door problem and recommend a repair.
How do I know I have two resonators? Can I have two mufflers in each side with one resonator? Which side is most important? Thank You.
ANSWER : You may have a single small resonator in the middle of the car that splits to the two mufflers. One on each side with single or dual tip outlets. The two mufflers are equal to each other to exit the exhaust flow. For more concrete advice, I’d recommend having an expert technician check out your specific muffler situation in person. A technician from YourMechanic can come to your home or office inspect your exhaust system and assist with any repairs that are needed.
Front right passenger side Shaking
ANSWER : If you have frame damage on the right side that did not get fixed or was hidden from you when you bought it, then your vehicle may not be repairable. I suggest having a body shop check the frame damage to see if there is damage that is unsafe. If you find that the frame has been straightened and is okay, get the work done and parts that are bad replaced.
Can front wheel drive car engine power rear wheel drive
ANSWER : Anything is possible with enough engineering. The changes you are looking at would take major structural changes and would definitely not be an easy job. You could possibly consult a manufacturing engineer to get more details on how this could actually be carried out and whether it would be feasible.
