Will Driving With Only 1 Front CV Axle Damage My Front Differential?

35

Asked by Guru9LK781 Sep 06, 2021 at 05:28 AM about the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My outer cv joint popped out of the housing on one side. At the flange of the differential
output shaft, I unbolted the remaining inner cv joint, axle shaft and removed them from
the truck. The outer cv housing is still on the truck holding the hub together. There is now
only one axle bolted up to the front diff. Since the front axles are always turning even in
2wd now only one axle will be turning the diff instead of both axles turning the diff
symmetrically. Is this going to cause issues overworking the diff just driving down the
road in 2wd. The torque from the axle is input into the diff, I'm not sure how the diff
reacts to torque input as opposed to when 4wd is engaged and the torque is output. I will
be replacing the axle, I just need to drive it in the meantime.

8 Answers

40

Take out both CVs and don't use 4W until fixed. What you did was a temp highway/trail type fix, which was smart. You still have a huge imbalance in the front Diff. Regards & be safe

2 people found this helpful.
35

I cant take out the other cv without separating the outer joint from the housing to keep the hub together. This is why im leaving the one good side in. I would prefer to have both disconnected for peace of mind but don't want to mess with separating a good cv axle. I see how this imbalance i created with the front diff is a big issue if i were putting power to the diff with 4wd engaged. But i am running in 2wd and thinking this has a different effect on the diff with the axles turning the diff and not the front driveshaft. Since there is no resistance on the axless side of the diff, will both sides spin together (like the diff is locked) with only the input from the 1 connected axle? If this is the case i would feel the diff isnt doing exta work as it isnt changing the speed between each side.

35

G A, not sure why your reply isn't showing up in the thread but I read it through email: "The actuator on the front pumpkin disengages the passenger side axle anyway inside the case so leaving it out won’t make a bit of difference." This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

2 people found this helpful.

I just did the same thing with my truck. I don't know why this solution seems so novel to the people on here. Seems like common sense. I hope the last answer is right about the disengaged pumpkin.

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