What Happens When Your Axle Breaks?

The answer to this question is relatively simple.  If your car shocks or struts are becoming worn, hitting a bump in the road could cause damage to the car axles.  It could even cause them to break. Because axles are constantly rotating and flexing to accommodate different road conditions, they can wear out and fail.  

Axles are involved in the steering, driving, and braking of the vehicle, linking the power from the engine to the tires, plus carrying the whole weight of the vehicle and its parts.  The performance of your vehicle's wheels and suspension system is essentially dependent on the condition of the axles.  If an axle is bad, it puts extra stress on the shocks or struts, causing them to wear out prematurely. Bad axles can also result in excessive wear on your tires. 

Even though most people don’t keep a vehicle long enough for a car axle to break, it’s still good to know what happens when your axle breaks.  Here are several fairly obvious signs:

• A sudden clanking sound heard when you put your vehicle into gear
• Feel vibrations in the car when driving, braking, or going around a bend.
• Power is not being transmitted from the engine to the wheels.

You may also be wondering what causes a broken axle:

• Overload. When there is too much load, such as too much cargo or too many passengers, the axles may not have enough strength to hold the wheels in place.
• Metal fatigue. As cars age, the axles become more brittle and/or corroded, thereby reducing the strength of the axles.
• Off-Road conditions.  Again, because axles carry the weight of the vehicle, excessive stress and force caused by bumps in the road can cause axles to break.

So that your vehicle will keep performing as it should, schedule regular inspection of the suspension system to make sure it is in good shape, especially the axles and shocks or struts.

What happens when your axle breaks?  Call our ASE Certified Technicians at Rum River Automotive for more information suspension systems and to make an appointment to check the axles and shocks or struts.  Since 1997, our auto repair shop has served vehicle owners in Princeton, MN, and in the surrounding areas of Milaca, MN, and Zimmerman, MN.