have you ever broken the board of the block of the car? Over the years, the popular duo humorist Foam parodió in a radio programme on a conversation in a workshop (sorry, it’s technical assistance center) that after ruling out the hubcaps, the mechanic says to the customer that the fault is from the board of the block.
Away from interpreting the situation as a parody of the fear that the client has every time you leave the car in a workshop, the audience is left with the grace of “the board of block”. Now I wonder how many people of you were laughing out loud know what is the block.
What is a block
In a linguistic sense pure, a block is a pulley. In addition, we just go to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy to realize that in addition to this word it does not support more meanings.
, Leaving a little aside the basic definition of a word, it is very important to assess also the uses and customs. In this sense we may discover that in the world of automotive is called the load block to the cv joint that connects the axes of rigid propellers with the drive wheels. Said in a more understandable, we can understand the board block to the board and / or bellows of the axle shaft, also known as a cowl. In any case, there is a need for parties to be able to explain it better.
cv joint
The cv joint is a kind of mechanical joint between the two driveshafts in a row but not continuous. The example of the most ancient and simple at the same time is the gimbal of transmission that can be observed in the truck and that transmits the movement from the change to the rear axle.
Thanks to the use of cv joints, u – the movement can be transmitted without loss of angular velocity between two axes which do not necessarily have to be aligned.
In a tourism, this type of joint can be found between the axle shaft and the wheels. The reason of its presence is to ensure the movement is flexible, but controlled, from the wheel even when on this act of external forces from the propulsion, damping, steering, or any combination of double and even triple of these forces cited above. If there were not cv joints, there would be no direction in the drive shaft of the vehicle.
There are many types of cvjs that I’m not going to describe to you not to get into details overly technical, although for you to sound, if I suggest to you that the most common in today’s vehicles use a combination of cv joint type Glaencer-Spicer on the side of the differential and the other type Rzeppa on the side of the wheel. The first is also known by “double-wishbone” and the second by “the ball”.
Due to the complexity in the design of these cvjs and to the increased requirements of reliability, smoothness and comfort, this type of joints are always protected by a sheath or bellows that contains fat in its interior to ensure the continuous lubrication of the cv joint. Lubricating greases for this purpose are many, but perhaps the best are those made from aluminum, for its resistance to the stresses and high temperatures, but also by its high water-repellent.
the problems Begin…
Practicing a normal driving, the most common is that the faults in the bearing to begin precisely with the breakage of the sleeve or bellows of the cv joint and lost with a lubricating grease, at which time they begin to hear noises as rare as a nuisance and whose loudness is usually proportional to the amount of the invoice.
If we are quick and we realize that there are grease stains under the car and in an area very close to the wheels yes we can do a small review eye to see if we look fat or just dirt for the area. If the answer is affirmative we may take the vehicle to the service of technical assistance and the replacement of the bellows and of the fat rises to approximately 150 euros in a tourism environment. If we make them ourselves, I can tell you that the replacement costs more or less around 50 eur and there are brands that sell as a complete lot with the bellows, the fat and the small equipment needed.
If we do not realize and we hope that the noise generated by the lack of lubrication is audible, we will recognize the problem by their characteristic sound: the start-up and/or stay at a low speed will hear a clack-clack-clack very defined and at regular intervals. At this point probably we have to face up to the replacement of the axle shaft or axle shaft of the transmission. It is not by scaring, but the shield in front of the “SUV” compact sold in Spain has a price of 500 euros, to which must be added taxes and labor.
how can I prevent It?
not So. In a movement by paved roads there is no way to prevent the breakage of the board of the block since it may deteriorate by the impact of the loose gravel of the pathway. On the contrary, if circular often pathways are unpaved or practice a driving all-terrain, yes it would be advisable that you monitor frequently the condition of the bellows to ensure its integrity and be able to get ahead reviews as costly as a nuisance.
What I can say is that from now on you will be able to laugh when a friend re-tell the joke of Foam or find out what awaits if the “joke” you tell the mechanic.
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