Cutler

iTrader: (3)

I was under my 95 SE a few minutes ago and noticed that there was some grease accumulated on the control arm on the bottom of the strut housing and on the inside of the wheel and some on the CV boot. I thought to myself it must be torn CV boot and proceeded to check the whole boot, there are no tears in the whole thing, I felt around each portion of the boot and felt no tears. the boot did show some stress marks as would any CV boot with regular wear&tear. my question is could it be something else or what. The car is driving fine and quiet(No clicking or none such CV joint sounds).

What are your thoughts, could it be a blown strut??? The car is an automatic, with 125K on it. All the regular maintenance has been performed.
Thanks,
Jason

Sonic

Just how thick is the oil? If its watery/liquidy, then it could be the strut leaking, especially if you haven't changed your OEM suspension. CV grease is thicker. However, it could also be a random oil leak, or you could have run over something on the road. My suggestion is to try to wash it all off, drive around for about 10 mles in a clean environment and see if it returns.

Daniel B. Martin

You didn't specify which side of the car has this grease. If it was the passenger side check for a power steering fluid leak.

A blown strut is a possibility. You may evaluate your struts by performing the Bumper Jounce test. Park the car on a level surface. Walk to any corner and use your weight to press down on the bumper. As soon as it sinks, release it and let it come up. As soon as it comes up, press down again. Do this three or four times. When you have a good up-and-down rhythm going, press down one last time, step back, and observe. If the body comes up just once and stops, the strut at that corner is good. If the body continues to oscillate, the strut at that corner is bad. Repeat this Bumper Jounce test at the other three corners.

Some people scorn the Bumper Jounce test as outdated or inaccurate. There may be some truth in that viewpoint but it is still the best test available to us driveway mechanics.

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

It is real thick grease. Is it hard to change a cv boot?
I will clean out the wheel area and see what happens. I will also perform the bumper jounce test tomorrow.

Daniel B. Martin

Thick grease most likely came from a Constant Velocity joint.

In most cases the cost-effective repair for a torn CV joint boot is to replace the axle with a remanufactured unit.

Replacing an axle is a job which may be done by the intermediate home mechanic.
You will need:
- a manual to guide you (Chilton or Haynes will do)
- an assortment of ordinary hand tools including socket wrenches.
- a good floor jack and pair of sturdy jackstands.
- a 36mm socket to fit the big nut on the outboard end of the axle.
- a tie rod end separator tool (on some cars).
- a catch pan for draining the transaxle.
- lots of absorbent rags or paper towels.

An inexpensive "pickle fork" tie rod separator will work, but it may tear the rubber tie-rod boot. There is also an expensive tie rod end tool (it looks like a gear puller) which won't damage the boot. Some parts stores offer a no-charge loan of special tools when you buy the parts from them. Ask about that.

Towards the end of the job you will install the large nut on the end of the axle. The torque spec for this nut is somewhere around 200 foot-lbs. If you don't have a torque wrench, that's okay. Just make it as tight as you can, and that's tight enough.

The passenger side half-shaft is a bit more work than the driver's side since it has a support bearing and support bracket. However, removing the driver's side axle from an automatic transmission may require that you first remove the passenger side axle. The manual gives further details.

If this is the first time you've done this job, allow four hours. The experienced professional can do it in much less time.

Maxwell

I've had CV joints replaced three times on my two Hondas, and now that I know an intermediate mechanic (I'm an aspiring intermediate mechanic) with one special tool can tackle the job, I wish I had a bad CV joint so I could try.

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

I have to get a new CV replacement, I am getting a reman. and having it installed.
Jason

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Yup. I'm one of them. I don't scorn the bounce test, but I find it to be in-adequete. I've done this test on my car and it passes with flying colors, yet my struts are worn, not shot, but worn. I have an SE suspension, so that may have something to do with it. With regular driving, I do not notice the lax in my struts, but in hi speed cruises and cornering, I can really feel the looseness of the suspension, and that's where the SE excels over the GXE/GLE suspension, or use to, anyhow. Wish there was some other test.

DW

Daniel B. Martin

You reference worn struts. Cutlr7 asked could it be a blown strut??? Let's distinguish between a worn strut and a blown strut. I believe the Bumper Jounce test is sufficiently sensitive to identify a strut which has lost its petroleum lifeblood.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

True. My bad.

DW

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

I had a torn CV boot, it tore at the axle, hence no tears in the boot itself. Luckily since the the break was so new, all I had to do was replace the boot and have it refilled with grease, most of which was still in the boot.
Problem solved!
CV boot repair kit - $19.95
labor - $61.00
The sigh of relief - Priceless!!!!

Thanks to everyone for their input and advice....

Jason

Sonic

Cool.

Daniel B. Martin

That's good news.

Did the mechanic examine the boot on the other side of the car? If one side died a natural death, the other side may need attention soon.

For future reference, did your mechanic install a split boot or a factory-type boot? The important difference is that the split boot has a seam and the factory-type boot does not.

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

The other side was replaced last year. On the type of boot, I looked and it seems that is is a factory type boot. We will see how it does, I am sure it will be fine.
Thanks again for your guidance!
Jason