I just replaced my left CV joint with a new Napa brand one, and now when I back up there is sometimes a "twanging" sound from somewhere in the front. (A short high pitched sound) It will make the sound more when i am reversing and going to the right, sometimes up to 3 of these sorts of pops, and then once when i start going forward. Does this sound like I have a bad axle, or something else? It doesn't do it all the time.

Ops, forgot to add, its a 1998 Forester.

Tried another cv axle, and that wasn't the problem.

Brake rotor backing plate?

exhaust shield rattle? floppy trans mount causing the driveshaft to rub somethings.

 

Twangy like high pitch, rattle, or country music?

Twangy like high pitch, rattle, or country music?

 

The next we have to narrow it down to the band....

It sounds like Conway Twitty riding a pony backwards while hollarin' words like honky tonk and hootenanny

what about the brakes? sometimes they make wierd noises at low speeds

I checked the brakes, and all seems okay. Swapped the inner and out pads, I had a friend listen and he seems to think the noise is coming back around the transmission more then from the front. Possibly a U-joint or something he though??? It now pops a little bit when going from Reverse to Drive (automatic). It also has a little rattle when going forward at highway speeds which seems to be around the gear shift area.

I put the front wheel drive fuse in it, and the sound went away. Any ideas on what else to check now?

How many miles on the car?

115K. It was a Midwest car originally so it has a lot of rust.

I have one tire that is worn more then the other, 25 percent instead of 50 percent on the other three. The more worn one was on the right rear, and then i switched it to the left rear this spring when i took the studs off. Today I put the worn one up on the left front, and the vibration from around the the transmission seems to stop, but the tinking/binding noise when in reverse stayed. There is also had a more noticeably shutter with that tire upfront so I think I will move that tire back to the right rear and see what happens.

Stop that now. All four tires have to match otherwise you will kill your awd. They have to be within 1/8 inch circumfance of each other.

 

If you are doing this put the FWD fuse in (if an auto) to deactivate the AWD. It sounds like you may have some tire scrubbing from the bad wheel bearing not being able to hold the tier in position. It also may may be cupped.

All 4 tires are the same type and brand, and were on the car when I bought it. I had it aligned after the shocks were replaced about a year ago and the mechanic was having a hard time getting the right rear to align correctly but he finally was able to get it in. It also has 1" strut top spacers install on it.

Everything is pointing to that rear wheel. I have a almost 3 inch lift where all I needed was camber bolts for the front.

I was going to put the spare tire on, but it is brand new, compared tot he 50 percent worn tires on the other 3. Anyhow, it it was the tires, what would it have damaged to cause the popping sound?

The tires are the result of the bearing wear, not the other way around

So you think its a bad rear wheel bearing? The noise does go away with the FWD fuse in.

Ended up being the U-joints in the driveline. Had a machine shop install new ones.