Enuts Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 My 84 gl has started making a loud knocking noise comming from the drivers side front wheel. It's strange because the noise not only comes and goes, But when it's there it only happens at mid throttle(maintaining speed) not when I'm accelerating or slowing. Also when it happens, it's worse when I'm turning right? Any ideas on where to start??? At highway speeds it feels like a grinding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prwa101 Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 I'd go with an axel. I'd start with the axel and go from there. Pretty common thing to have go bad. Ea81? Good luck. Prwa AAE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 +1 above and/or also your wheel bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I had this exact problem, and it was the castle nut backed off the axle shaft. right away I would at least make sure the hub assembly is tight and the kotter pin is in place. it could easily be axles, or wheel bearings, but i would first make sure its not play in the hub before driving to far. my axle came out on the highway, which could have been bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 my axle came out on the highway, which could have been bad. lol, how was it *not* bad?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Eh, my wheel stayed on. Thats a win in itself. since it came completely out, it didn't strip out the hub or ruin the axle, and the assorted washers and nuts were caught by the hub cap. Got it towed home and spent $20 replacing some washers just in case, and its back on the road. all things considered it could have been much worse. Like tonight for example when i got off the free way and noticed my motor was ticking like a crackhead in tap shoes. Thats bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 No expert here, but I've had my share of trouble in the axle/hub department. If the noise comes and goes, I would highly suspect the castle nut/dome washer/cone washer/hub/axle connection. I've already changed axles and wheel bearings only to have "that same damned noise" come back. I was obviously doing something wrong. And I did not have the domed washers on backwards. Both the domed and cone washers need to be in good shape, and new ones give me a nice cozy feeling. I also recently learned to like a little anti-seize compound in there. New hubs are now officially obsolete, so stay on top of this little maintenance item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 my 80 did this for a while it eventually got so bad when you would back up it would bang and the whole car would shake when i took it apart it was a bad hub and c.v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enuts Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks for the advice! Todays the day. Gonna get into it after work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enuts Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 So I pulled the wheel off and the hub had a good amount of play. The cotter pin was in place. I tightened the castle nut and the play went away. It drives fine now. Could this have been the only problem? Or was the play due to something wearing out on the inside? I didn't want to pull th break apart till I have more time. Is tightening the castle nut good a temporary fix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj7291993 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 So I pulled the wheel off and the hub had a good amount of play. The cotter pin was in place. I tightened the castle nut and the play went away. It drives fine now. Could this have been the only problem? Or was the play due to something wearing out on the inside? I didn't want to pull th break apart till I have more time. Is tightening the castle nut good a temporary fix? How much did you tighten that? Axle shaft nut's torque specs are 145ft/lbs on my '87. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 2 things I have read when searching my problem out. 1- sometimes dirt and grime can get in between the cv axle and the hub on the inner side, which can keep it from seating tightly. once it gets washed or rubbed out there is slop. 2 - the washers on the front can wear and create slop as well. the spring washer is supposed to keep the nut from backing off, so don't trust the pin. replace the cone washer and spring washer. they are sometimes hard to come by, but I think the guy from Retroroo said he could send you some if your local dealer doesn't have some. might be worth an email to find out. look for a ridge on the inner cone washer, if it has one you should think about replacing it. also the spring washer should have a dish to it, if it doesn't its worn out for sure. I would still just replace both in case, $20 well spent on peace of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 Wonder Wedge Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Is it a hard, almost slapping noise? Does it go away when you brake or just slightly touch the pedal? Did you just do pads and/or rotors? I'm having the same problem, however I just did the front pads and rotors. It would come and go, but would stay all the time EXCEPT when I just barely put pressure to the brake pedal. Long story short, I found it was the new pads I installed (TBH, I installed the cheaper set since I had to replace them due to pulsations AND I'm doing the Impreza spindle swap shortly). I could "rattle" the pad in the cradle even with the caliper installed and even after the new anti-rattle clips, the pads still just "flop" into the cradle instead of squeezing or fitting snugly. I believe the pads are just a cheaper backing plate made to smaller specs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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