cv joint, axel, drive shaft.... difference in terminology

[Immeraufdemhund]

i hate to be ignorant, but what are the differences between the 3? I thought i knew the difference, but now i'm dowbting my self. One of my friends needs their cv joint fixed and i said i could do it (thinking it's just the axels) then i went looking for parts and they are all their. So what's those 3 things?

[89LxiAg]

--and according to Manchester Honda retailer--

The "driveshaft" is a component that connects the transmission to one drive wheel on each side of a front wheel drive vehicle (or to a differential in the case of rear wheel drive vehicles). This component transfers power from the transmission to the drive wheels.

The "CV Joint" is the rubber-boot-covered thing at the wheel side of the driveshaft. If you look under your car next to the front wheels (if front wheel drive) you will see the rubber boot right next to the rotation point of the wheel and tire assembly. This boot covers the actual CV joint to keep dirt and water out, and to keep grease in, so that your drive wheel(s) can transmit power to the road while you turn corners and such.

An "Axle" usually refers to the combination of two driveshafts, in the case of front wheel drive vehicles. Another way to think of it is like the thing, or things, that hold two or more wheels parallel to each other. Thus, you would have two axles on your four tire car(1 in front, 1 in back).

Hope this explains a little, please feel free to add or correct if needed.

[Immeraufdemhund]

thanx. I hate it when i dowbt my self. I went over to advance yesterday and asked them if i replace the axel would that also fix the cv joint.. Yup.... so i was confusing my self...as usual.

[Justin86]

Yea they are pretty much all apart of the same thing. It is just the difference between the hole unit and a small part of it.

[POS carb]

yea driveshaft is usually used when refering to RWD cars, the connection between the tranny and the differential in the rear

and yeah when your CV joints go bad it's usually easiest to just replace the whole axle