sidekickin Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Hey everyone, Got a minor problem that I am having a hard time diagnosing. I have what sounds like a rhythmic clicking CV joint that carries on intermittently when driving along at certain speeds....usually 35mph or more. it is coming from the front passenger side. And it typically happens when I am driving straight (i.e., not in turns). Replaced both axles about a year ago and checked the boots and everything is fine with them. There is no clicking at all whatsoever in turns....it is only when I am at cruising speeds. Although slightly turning the steering wheel to the left or right when on the highway (an inch or so) will sometimes change the pitch of the noise. And it will also make teh noise depending on the slope of the road...a slight slope to the right will usually aggravate it and make it show up. Also, when it is making this clicking noise, if i tap the brakes it stops and as soon as I let off the brakes it usually comes back. But as soon as I let off teh brakes it will start up again. I have had CV joint problems in the past and know what it sounds like. This sounds just like clicking CV joints. But there is no damage to the axles or boots at all. And I would think if it was a bad joint it would make noise in hard turns when accelerating. And it does not do that. I have checked the brakes and everything looks fine with them and everything is tight. Could this be a wheel bearing, differential problem, inner CV joint or something else? Any help is appreciated. Thanks! Bill _______ 1987 STD 4WD Hatchback (single range) EA-81 w/hydraulic lifters 132,000 miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Are the axle nuts still tight? Things get noisy when the axle nuts work loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidekickin Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Yeah, I just checked the axle nuts and they are tight....plus they have a cotter pin in them to keep them from loosening... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Welcome to the baord! First off, i would like to introdice myself. I live nin north east indiana, your town is right off the indiana border! You are not too far south of jim(86 subaru) in anna ohio. Seeing that you are somewhat local, i invite you to meet with us some time Jim usually gets good deals on parts, and i, alleyboy(jon from columbus), and even tom from michigan meet there often. hopefully some day we can meet! anyway, i would suggest removing the cotter pin and re-tightening the axle nut. i say so because you said it was serviced before. the noise you sedcribes sounds like the rotor hitting the caliper bracket. this will happen if the axle is loose or has bead threads. i had this on 2 occasions. i had a wheel bearing noise once, it would be aggravated on by the crown of the road at cruise speed, but was not so bad on the left lane on a 4 lane hiway. also, the noise was there when i hit the brake. if the inner axle goes bad, it will want to pull the wheel to that side, jerk, jerk, jerk, in an oscillating pattern according to speed. i would put my money on the axle nut or its threads. the axle presses thru the bearing, the rotor seats against the outer bearing, and the nut holds it all together. if there was not enough torque on the nut when the axle was last serviced, just the slightest amount of play will make noises like you sescribe. i believe the axle nut torque is 145 lbs. (can anyone back me up?) i would suggest to remove the axle nuts and inspect the thread, and re-torque them to rule that problem out first, then go from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myossfeece Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 A friend of mine 1abaja (josh) has an impreza drivers side front axle pops a little bit and didn't start untill replacing the passenger side axle. The boot and everything is still in tact and looks like it's in mint shape but still pops. It could very well be the axle even if the boot is fine. I would suggest a thorough check of axle nut torque like milesfox suggests. I beleive I was with him during a "cv axle adventure" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidekickin Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Thanks everyone. I guess I am not alone in my obsession of Subarus. Everyone I know thinks I am insane for driving this Subaru more than my Accord. They just don't understand. I have been looking for years for an EA-81 style Subaru and finally came across this one about a year ago. The EA-81 style is virtually nonexistent in this area anymore. It is a rarity to see one. I guess the road salt got most of them. Heck, it is hard to find an EA-82 style around here anymore. But my first car was a 1980 4x4 GL wagon and I loved it.....until some idiot woman slammed into the back of it while it was parked and destroyed it. Talk about being upset. Only wish this one I have now was a GL (love that full instrumentation). But I was lucky to come across this one...only took me 5 years! Anyway, I think I will take the cotter pin out and check out those threads and then retighten it. I don't have a torque wrench though. Is there a possibility of doing damage by overtightening it? Or is that hard to do? Thanks. ________ 1987 STD 4WD hatchback (single range) EA-81 w/hydraulic lifters 132,000 miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 i dont think you can get too much torque, but if the threads are bad more tourque may strip it out more do what i do. if the nut is off, tughten it down snug with a ratchet by hand. the use the breaker bar to snug it a little. then put one full quarter turn on the breaker bar. that will be plento of yourque. the idea is to have the axle drawn all the way thru the bearing when beig tightened the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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