Hear Clicking When You Turn? Damaged Front Axle Is The Culprit

One of the more common ailments that car owners have concerns about front axle problems. People routinely come in saying they hear a clicking sound whenever they turn their tires. Naturally, they're a little worried and they should be, because this "symptom" means a front axle problem.

Your car's front axle is composed of three main parts: the axle shaft, CV boot and CV joint. You might have noticed the CV boot when looking under your hood or underneath your car. It's the rubber, accordian-looking cone.

The purpose of the CV boot is to keep the axle greased. Over a period of time, the CV boot can become damaged, ei-ther through normal wear and tear or because of debris on the road. Under these conditions, it's not unusual for the CV boot to tear or crack.

This results in a loss of grease to the axle. You can see this by checking the inside of your tires.

If this condition goes unnoticed for a period of time, damage occurs to the CV joint and the axle shaft itself. When that happens, you will begin to notice a clicking noise.

Naturally, it's preferable that the situation never reaches that point. Be sure to regularly check the inside of your tires. Or better yet, bring in your vehicle and we'll do it for you. If the CV boot is damaged, we can replace it before it damages your CV joint and axle shaft. If damage has already occurred to the axle shaft, we can fix that too, though it's naturally less expensive if you catch the problem much earlier.

So the next time you hear that clicking sound, don't let your imagination run away with you. You're not the victim of some dastardly terrorist plot to blow up your car. It's just a common condition resulting from the wear and tear of driving which can easily be fixed.