Can lowering springs cause complications in the CV axle- leaking, premature wear, etc?

Question

CV axle seems to be going bad. Car is SCION tC,2005 145 k miles.

However I've had Corollas, Camry, Celicas before and never had a problem with this before, until purchasing this SCION, used, from a guy who had lowered it.

What's the connection?

Answer 1

Just guessing that CVJs have no wear dates since they're universally used wherever a straight driveshaft cannot be used and designed for long life after new car warranty expires. Minimizing wear depends on permanent lube in rubber boots, bearings, hardened sleeves, etc. Angular movement beyond a range would shorten lifetime use. By design, CVJs used as half shafts have their inner, splined shaft fixed in place with a C-clip inside the xmission female splined shaft to prevent pull out while the other end of the cvj splined shaft is allowed to slide in and out of a wheel hub as vertical travel varies along with steering angles (in front wheel drive). In theory, lowering vehicle height shouldn't increase wear unless an incorrect cvj replaced the original. This may be long term wear at 145k miles. What's worn?

Answer 2

I think there could be a connection.

If you think about it, the engine and transmission are at certain height. If the tires are straight, they are at the same height too.

Now if you lower the vehicle without moving the engine and transmission to a different height, the CV joint when going forwards (not in a curve) at normal loading of the vehicle is no longer straight.

So the CV joint is angled like it would be when constantly going in a curve.

No car obviously constantly goes in a curve. However, a car that has been lowered has similarly angled CV joints, so the rubber flexes at every rotation.

Could this be the cause? I'm not sure how many rotations the rubber flexing lasts, but it could be a finite number, something that limits its lifetime similarly to regular aging.

However, there's another possibility. The car is already 9 years old. Rubber has a finite lifetime and older cars are expected to have problems with rubber parts.