CV Joint Lubricants

If you’ve been hearing popping and clicking noise when rounding corners in your FWD car, chances are you’ve got an outer CV Joint going bad. Because steering and suspension movement makes them operate at more extreme angles than their inner counterparts, outer CV Joints wear and fail more often. For the same reasons outer CV Joint boots are much more likely to fail, allowing the lubricant to escape and exposing the CV Joint to contaminants.

Even if you’re not hearing any noise, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of inspecting both inner and outer CV Joint boots every time you’re under your car for other service, like oil changes and brake jobs. Wear along with age, temperature extremes, and exposure to road debris can create cracks, splits, or punctures in a boot, usually leaving a tell-tale grease stripe on the underside of the vehicle created by escaping lubricant.

If there is no noise or vibration that would indicate joint wear, a worn boot that is caught in time before it is breached can allow the CV Joint to remain in service. We offer split boot kits that enable the boot to be replaced without having to remove the halfshaft. However, if a boot is compromised and the joint is exposed, take some of the lubricant and rub it between your fingers. If it feels gritty then dirt has contaminated the lubricant. The CV Joint must be disassembled, cleaned and inspected to determine if it can be salvaged, or if a new one should be installed.

But no matter whether you’re just replacing the boot or installing a new CV Joint, you have to use the right lubricant or the joint will fail prematurely. While some older vehicles used gear oil, today just about all CV Joints require a special grease fortified with molybdenum disulfide. Replacement boot kits and replacement CV Joints usually come with grease packets, and these should always be your primary source for lubricant. The grease packet contains the quality and quantity of grease specified for the joint.

However, if you’re in need of CV Joint grease, we have the lubricant for the job. Our grease meets the highest standards established by the NLGI (National Lubricating Grease Institute) and is generally graded 1, 1.5, or 2 for consistency, and classified LB and GC, which are the highest ratings for chassis and bearing grease. It contains extreme pressure additives and corrosion inhibitors necessary for joint performance and long component life. When a CV Joint is put into service, approximately 1/3 of the specified quantity of grease should be packed into the joint, and the remainder placed inside the boot.