Have you been driving down the road and accidentally driven over a pothole and heard a concerning sound? Maybe you were in a seemingly minor accident but something doesn’t feel quite right. Or you drove on a gravel road that was rougher than you thought. These are just a few examples that can damage your axle. When a scenario like this happens, it can also be hard to diagnose what could be the cause. The following is a list of some things you may experience with a broken axle.
You may experience the following:
- Vibrations
- As you drive your vehicle may start to vibrate quite noticeably. This vibration effect may strengthen as you turn the steering wheel. The vibration also can get quite violent. The cause of the vibration is that the bent axle is causing vibrations in the suspension. The vibrations could also be caused by a worn or damaged CV (constant velocity) joint.
- Wheels won’t rotate
- This may be the most obvious sign of trouble for your axle. If your car is able to turn on, the engine revs but the wheels just won’t move your axle has been damaged. This also means there is a good chance your axle may have snapped rather than just bent.
- Leaks
- While parked, you may see fluid dripping from the axle. The fluid can leak from worn axle seals or from a damaged axle. The types of fluid that can leak from the axle or axle seals include transmission fluid, power transfer unit fluid, oil and more.
- Noise
- You may hear a grinding noise when the axle becomes dented or damaged. This is usually caused by the gears in the axle coming out of alignment and grinding against each other.
- Misaligned brake pad
- A broken or bent axle will cause your brake pads to move slightly. This will then cause the brake pads to not match up with the brakes properly. When this happens your brakes will be ineffective at stopping you. You may experience, for example, your vehicle skidding while trying to stop.
What you should do
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should take your car to a reputable mechanic to get it checked it. Many of these could be caused by broken or worn CV joints or axle seals. Because of this, it can be hard to diagnose what could be causing your issues. This is also why it is important to take your vehicle to a mechanic.
If your mechanic finds out that the cause of your issues is due to a broken axle, contact us and we can help you. We want to get you back on the road as soon as possible by repairing your axle. Our experts have 75 years of combined experience repairing and rebuilding axles. We specialize in Ford, Chevy, and Dodge trucks’ 1-ton dual-wheel rear-wheel axles. But, we can also rebuild any axle as long as we can get the parts. At our shop, we also sell rebuilt rear axles that have been rebuilt by our professionals. Our axles are also covered under our warranty.