CV Axle Brands

[cx5_2014]

Hi,
Does anyone have a recommendation on a good brand for CV axles. My 2014 cx-5 2.0 developed a clunking noise when turning the wheel all the way to the left and suspect a CV. I have 165k and want a brand that is reliable I'm not as concerned about price.

 

[HyFlyer]

How about OEM?

 

[cx5_2014]

How about yeah I'll probably just do that since the original oem got me so many miles just wondering if there were good brand from rock auto or something

 

[Mazdiod2]

I've heard Auto zone has better ones but I wouldn't believe it. Check the local recycling places if you can find low mileage axles they might be better. OEM is probably the best.
How many more miles do you want to drive on this car?
How often do you turn all the way to the left?

 

[HyFlyer]

That's not what Hyflyer said

How about OEM?

 

[cx5_2014]

I've heard Auto zone has better ones but I wouldn't believe it. Check the local recycling places if you can find low mileage axles they might be better. OEM is probably the best.
How many more miles do you want to drive on this car?
How often do you turn all the way to the left?

In my parking complex I have to do it every time I park because there's a dumb pile I have to drive around. I plan on trying to hit 250k if possible or more miles. I searched on car-part.com and they have one but it's 500 miles away but I may see if they can ship it. Or maybe just throw an AutoZone gold on there to see if it lasts.

 

[duffbuster243]

Rockauto.com is my go to for all my parts, I do 100% of all my repairs on my 2013 cx-5 with 173k and my 2014 mazda6 with 193k. If they don't have the part, I'll cave and go to the dealer. I avoid the auto parts stores, mostly the same re-boxed parts with a minimum 50% markup on price.

I'm betting that your CV Axle is fine though, I'm betting you have a bad ball joint or bad sway bar endlink. I have yet to have to replace a CV joint in either of my Mazdas.

 

[cx5_2014]

Rockauto.com is my go to for all my parts, I do 100% of all my repairs on my 2013 cx-5 with 173k and my 2014 mazda6 with 193k. If they don't have the part, I'll cave and go to the dealer. I avoid the auto parts stores, mostly the same re-boxed parts with a minimum 50% markup on price.

I'm betting that your CV Axle is fine though, I'm betting you have a bad ball joint or bad sway bar endlink. I have yet to have to replace a CV joint in either of my Mazdas.

I'll take a look at the ball joints then, I just had my sway bar links changed recently.

 

[yieldchase]

I'm no sure about 2.0 but my 2.5 AWD AT only has 3 available options: OEM, GSP, and TRAKMOTIVE around here. I'm currently running GSP as OEM is about 1400 CAD around here.

 

[cx5_2014]

I'm no sure about 2.0 but my 2.5 AWD AT only has 3 available options: OEM, GSP, and TRAKMOTIVE around here. I'm currently running GSP as OEM is about 1400 CAD around here.

How many miles did you put on the gap?

 

[yieldchase]

How many miles did you put on the gap?

oh not much. I just installed it in mid July. About 1000 km

 

[cx5_2014]

How long did your oem last?

 

[leeharvey418]

I've done post-mortem examinations on a few CV driveshaft joints, and documented more than a few OE replacement axle shafts for technical evaluation, so I have some pretty solid professional background, here. Regardless of the name brand that ends up going on the box, any axle shaft worth buying is going to have CV joints from the same one or two suppliers. Look for the fine details like quality of the boots and whether they grease the hell out of the splines so you end up making a mess when you install the shaft - those are going to be your obvious differentiators. And if you hear a noise that you think might be a CV joint and an inspection reveals a torn boot - it's the CV joint.

 

[cx5_2014]

I'll do the inspection tomorrow to see what the issue is. It's been getting worse.

 

[Mazdiod2]

I got a pair from Autozone for my '86 626 Sedan because of a damaged boot, probably around 150k miles. I wasn't driving many miles at the time (<4mi from work) so in retrospect I should have regreased and installed a new boot. The ones from autozone started making more noise ( I moved and was driving almost 90mi per day) than the original did.

A number of people on this forum have replaced the LCAs with ball joint because of noise.

 

[cx5_2014]

What's a good brand of lower control arms I'm thinking of doing those if it needs it. I'm gonna put it up on jack stands tomorrow and go under there and see what's wrong

 

[yieldchase]

How long did your oem last?

I am not the first owner so I don't know if carfax is correct and up to date ... but if it is then about 270k km on oem.

 

[cx5_2014]

That's how many I have too

 

[cx5_2014]

I've done post-mortem examinations on a few CV driveshaft joints, and documented more than a few OE replacement axle shafts for technical evaluation, so I have some pretty solid professional background, here. Regardless of the name brand that ends up going on the box, any axle shaft worth buying is going to have CV joints from the same one or two suppliers. Look for the fine details like quality of the boots and whether they grease the hell out of the splines so you end up making a mess when you install the shaft - those are going to be your obvious differentiators. And if you hear a noise that you think might be a CV joint and an inspection reveals a torn boot - it's the CV joint.

I took the wheel off today and there was no play at the wheel or the CV or sway bar link. No tears in any of the boots and I can't find what causes the noise. It's only one clunk when the wheel is all the way turned

 

[Mazdiod2]

From what I've read, those LCAs are very difficult to change.
Maybe it will get worse and then be easier to find what is causing the clunk.
It seems like I've read all kinds of things that can cause a clunk... shock mounts, various nuts and bolts that need to be retorqued, things that are hard to find.
Try this.. put 'clunk' in the search box and you'll see what I mean, there are lots of 'clunks' for various reasons. So maybe you won't need parts. but it might be a

A

Thread 'Clunking noise from driverside front has mechanics stumped'

Apr 10, 2025

Clunking noise seems to come from drivers side front. First mechanic heard the noise on test drive and put it on his lift but couldn't identify what could be causing the sound. So I brought it to the dealership (bought used literally 2 weeks ago. 118k miles. No warranty, but dealership is working with me). Here's where it gets strange. They put it up on a lift with a guy in it running the engine. He can hear the noise. The other service techs standing directly under the car can't hear the noise. It does not make the noise when idling, wheels must be moving. Bearings, tie rods, ball joints...

• August West
• Replies: 23
• Forum: CX-5 General