I had my left and right axle seals replaced on my 2004 chevy cavalier last week. When I picked up my car, I heard a hollow knocking sound. I brought my car back in and they told me my axle links(?) rusted out which caused another thing to break which is going to cost me another $300. My question is when they fixed the axle seals, should they have been able to tell my axle links were rusted out?

A bad engine bearing , rod bearing or a main bearing . Engine will seize up soon or later

About $700- 1200 depending on where you live. You should call different repair shops and get local pricing. This may not a owner repair. If you do bee sure and read instructions and watch videos. Parts are about $110/pair.

may be you should make a diagnostic and you can do it in a garage or you can do it by yourself if you want to do it by yourself you need some tools and you can find some good ones here: spobd2.com

it could be the exhaust manifold that is a common problem or a blocked resonator or muffler. good luck

check to see if axle has the lock ring at the end were it hooks to transmission

if i sounds like lifter noise try adding lucas oil treatment

This could be any number of things. It could be your CV axle going bad, your tie rod joint has gone bad, your lower ball joint has gone bad. More than likely it will be your CV axle. What you need to look for is rips on any of the boots for these parts. The one that has the rip will more than likely be your problem. Just check for grease coming out of any of these parts and you will find your culprit because it has dried up and is causing the knocking sound. Let me know if you have any further questions. Thanks for using FixYa!

depending on how bad the axels are. you could buy new ones. or you can buy a rebuild kit. now for the leak just 1 seal but if your gonna remove both axels i suggest buyin both side seals.

Check for tire rubbing on anything in the fender well. Check to see if maybe a loose hubcap. If not one or both of your CV axles is (are) bad. If the CV axles boots are ripped, this is the likely culpret to your noise and you can pick them up at auto parts store.

If your looking to replace them, wich is what most do today, it is cheaper to purchase a axle with new cv joints than to rebuild them. It is a very simple job in todays cars, remove tires remove lower tie rod , remove nut in center of the rotor and pull wheel assembley to the side hanging from the strut, pull axle out replace the transmission seal, push new axle in. When putting wheel assembley on, use a hydraulic jack on bottom of the rotor to push it to the axle splines and put the new nut on .