Does rear wheel drive cars have front CV joints?

Front wheel drive and all-wheel drive cars and trucks have a CV joint.The drive shaft's CV joints are used to allow it to move up and down as the vehicle goes over bumps.The drive shaft can supply power to the front wheels with the help of CV joints.

Most rear wheel drive vehicles have a universal joint on the drive shaft.U-joints allow the drive shaft to provide power to the rear differential while still allowing the differential to move up and down when going over bumps.The U-joint angles at each end are the same on a drive shaft of a RWD vehicle.Both U-joints rotation at the same angle if the differential increases by 20.

Different angles between the two joints on a single drive shaft are created by the front wheels moving up and down and left and right.There are two drive shafts, one to drive each front wheel.The drive shafts have two CV joints.There are two CV joints on the drive shaft that connect to the wheel hub.The front wheels can turn left and right with the help of the CV joints.

If those drive shafts had U-joints instead of CV joints, they would have to operate at different angles.While still being allowed to move up and down at the same time, front wheels can turn up to 45.There are no U-joints that can operate at those angles.There are U-joints on each end of a drive shaft.The angle is related to the vibration.U-joints are not suitable for front axles.

CV joints can transmit power through variable angles with no stress or vibration.

The tripod and Rzeppa style CV joints are the most common on front-wheel-drive vehicles.The outer joint of the drive shaft is called the Rzeppa CV joint.The inner race has a drive shaft.Torque is transferred from the inner race to the balls and then the housing to drive the wheels as the shaft turns.The joint is covered with grease and a boot.The boot is fastened to the housing and drive shaft.The Rzeppa CV joint has a much greater range of motion than a typical U-joint or tripod joint.

A tripod is a CV joint with a housing.The drive shaft has bearings.Torque is transferred from the transmission to the tulip.The outer CV joint is Torqued to the drive shaft by the spider.On the transmission side of the drive shaft, the tripod joint is used.It is designed to allow the drive shaft to move up and down as the wheel travels over bumps.

The CV joint is packed with grease and can last the life of the vehicle.There is a protective rubber boot.There are cracks between the pleats in the CV boot.The grease will be thrown out of the joint if the cracks are open.The joint is exposed to salt and water.The CV joint will fail if the joint isn't quickly cleaned, regreased and rebooted.

How much of a gambler are you?It is that simple.As the inner workings of the CV joint wear, the joint becomes less stable and the driveshaft breaks.Leaving you stranded is not as simple as it sounds.The driveshaft can break while it's spinning, swinging wildly around and damaging components.Damage to the transmission case, power steering pump or air conditioning compressor can include broken fuel and fluid lines.The spinning drive shaft can cause thousands of dollars in damage if the CV joint fails.If you are a risk taker, you can keep driving with a torn CV boot.If you have to, get it to a shop.If the boot is torn and the grease is gone, it is best to replace the entire shaft with a rebuilt unit.Replacing the boot is risky.