Hello Mr Joe.
You will get a kind of grinding sound when a CV joint is contaminated
with dirt, and a much louder noise, banging, clonking, and scraping if
the joint had broken apart in it's housing.
Looks to me like the Outer CV joint would cost you £68 GBP
(euro-car-parts), plus £13 for a new gaitor, and then £40 for me to
fit it for you!
The main cost involved (judging by the way you spell tire/tyre), would
be bringing the car to England so I can do it for you!
I recently had a gaitor split on my V70, and I was pleasantly
surprised at how easily all the suspension components came apart. The
driveshaft is held into the gearbox by a circlip, retaining it in
position when you remove all the other suspension parts, and therefore
you don't lose all the gearbox oil. This is unlike most other cars I
have worked on, and saves lots of work (draining and re-filling
gearbox, plus carefully removing/storing the driveshaft).
Anyway, I removed the assembly from the car, washed the CV joint to
remove any dust which may have ingressed, and re-assembled. I don't
know how long the Gaitor had been split for, because I only noticed it
when giving my alloys their 6 monthly remove/clean/polish.
Anyway, money can be saved by doing the job yourself, but I'd estimate
a dealer would charge at least 2 hours time, and the joint would cost
about £120 or more.
The main hub nut on the end of the driveshaft will be VERY tight, and
you'll need a substantial socket/handle to remove it. A 1/2 inch drive
socket bar would simply bend. I used a 3/4 inch drive bar, and had bo
problem. Just remove the nut with the roadwheel still on, and the
brakes firmly applied by an assistant.
Hope this helps.
Joe Landy
Peterborough
UK (using google to access ng while my ISP is playing up)
