Noisy driveshaft joints are caused by wear in the joint assembly. The correct term for these joints is “constant velocity (CV) joints”. The modern front wheel drive car has two shafts with 4 CV joints, two on each shaft with one inner joint and one outer joint on each side. The name “constant velocity joint” means what it says in that it delivers the power through the joint at a constant speed. The older cars back 50-60 years ago had universal joints only and they couldn’t work at any angle much more than 10 to15 degrees but a constant velocity joint works so well that we can have a great steering lock and still be able to have a front wheel drive.

The clicking noise normally occurs after the rubber boot or cover over the joint splits. This split allows the grease to come out of the joint and dirt, water or other abrasive material into the joint. When these abrasive materials get into the joint, they wear it out. The clicking noises which occur when the joint wears out are the ball bearings riding up over the worn parts inside the joint assembly. Often the CV boot gets broken or split and the mechanic can find it when they service the customers car. If the car hasn’t been driven for very long time with a broken CV boot, a new CV joint boot kit can be fitted and the joint cleaned and re-packed with grease and it will all be good again.