clicking during turning

[etlsport]

i recently started getting a clicking sound from under the VX when i make sharp slow turns (u turns and parking) ive only heard it when turning to the left... i think it started happening after offroading, seems to drive normally in every other aspect... just had alignment done, rear was fine front was pretty far off but is now within spec... i checked my CVs they looked fine i didnt see tears or anything i did notice oil of some kind on my tie rods (on the end away from the wheels) on both the driver and passenger side that im not sure where it came from, so i cleaned up that area and will keep an eye out for any more showing up

any ideas??

... had my sister drive it in circles while i watched/listened and i noticed it seemed to happen only when the turn started then went away until the wheels were straightened out, the vx was driven a couple yards then when the wheel was cut hard over again the tick tick tick tick tick sound would come back and go away after 75-90 degrees of turning

[Chopper]

Warm up the wrenches...time for CVs (or axles if you choose)Your time has come.

[xdfarrx]

Warm up the wrenches...time for CVs (or axles if you choose)Your time has come.
Mine does the same. I am installing new tie rods to narrow done possibilities, and sway bar disconnects. I can do this myself. If not that then I will need to get CV joints rebuilt. IMO it is my tie rods...

[etlsport]

oh i hope i hope its tie rods!! ive been looking for an excuse to get HD tie rods from indy 4x... not really sure why tie rods would click? but oh man i would love if that was my problem... i was also thinking i wonder if it has somethin to do with my diffs.. cause its been stupid hot recently so ill have to check all my fluid levels, its been about 5k miles since i checked them so might as well... oh how i hope its not my CVs... as much as i like workin on my vx i cant help but dread tearing everything down based on what ive heard about cv replacement

[Triathlete]

As far as I know tie rods and sway bars will not cause a clicking noise. You may also want to check and see if there is anything hitting the tire in the wheel well or maybe the cladding. It may only rub at certain times in the turn. You could have "re-aligned" you cladding while off roading.

[AndyC]

I notice on my VX when I accelerate quickly I get a clicking noise but I don't think it's continueous. You guys think it's the CV joints starting to go :( I noticed it after installing the larger tires :confused:

Andy

[tom4bren]

ETL - Sorry Son but it sounds like the outer CVs to me. PM me if you need help with any of it - I do still have the spare set but haven't gotten them rebuilt yet (they "borrowed" parts from them for my rebuild).

Andy - Inner CVs make noise when decelerating. Outers make noise while in turns (someone correct me if I'm wrong with these statements). Clicking under hard acceleration may be Universal Joints but I'm not sure.

[nfpgasmask]

Hmmm, I wonder about this also. Mine is clicking when I back up slowly with the wheels cut to the left. I hear a single "pop" and that's it. And it does not do it every time. I'm not sure what it is. I do not think it is my CVs and it drives fine in all other respects. The sound seems to be coming from the right side, just BEHIND the front right wheel....

Does this sound like a similar symptom?

Bart

[etlsport]

when i listened to mine from outside the car it didnt really sound like it was coming from the wheel area to me.. i actually started to wonder if it had to do with my skid plates.. thinking about it more though i wonder if it could be wheel bearings, i went through ALOT of water over that weekend maybe it washed some grease out of the bearings? or trapped mud particles in them... i keep leaning away from CVs a. because i dont wanna replace them lol and b. because the boots look like they are in great shape..

tom i have a 2 week break coming up after next week so if i havent figured out this problem by then ill have plenty of time to get the vx up in the air and tearing down the CVs i guess.. and ill probably be sending you a few messages, ive already printed out triathlete's instructions for how to replace cv boots just in case i need to take it apart

[Navigator]

My Trooper made that noise and my VX makes that noise also. Mine clicks on slow left hand turns while parking. No ill effects on my VX, and I have near 80k on the ODO and have heard it for the past 55k.

[tom4bren]

I have to second Nav on what he said.

If it's just a parking lot thing & never happens in normal driving = nothing to loose sleep over. After all, what percentage of your driving is actually spent pulling into and out of parking spaces or making U-Turns? On the other hand, anal retentive VX owners (some more than others) can't even stand a little bird splat on their P&J, much less a noise that ain't supposed to be there.

I keep flashing back to a VX's rediculously tight turning radius (I love it but t'ain't normal). Think about the sharp angle the outer CVs are in and a little noise shouldn't be suprising. What's suprising is that your front end isn't bouncing like a beagle on a bare leg.

[AndyC]

Andy - Inner CVs make noise when decelerating. Outers make noise while in turns (someone correct me if I'm wrong with these statements). Clicking under hard acceleration may be Universal Joints but I'm not sure.
Sounds like my CV axles are fine and I don't think it's the universal joints.
I might have to take a closer look ti figure it out. My mileage is at 40K now.


Andy

[VXR]

My Trooper made that noise and my VX makes that noise also. Mine clicks on slow left hand turns while parking. No ill effects on my VX, and I have near 80k on the ODO and have heard it for the past 55k.

My VX has made this sound on sharp slow turns since I bought it 3yrs ago...

[etlsport]

mechanic friend of mine took her for a drive yesterday... said he really doesnt think its my CVs which rocks... he says he thinks its got something to do with my right torsion bar but im not really sure how.. hopefully will be fixed by next week... now i just gotta fix my abs light

[tom4bren]

Eric,

Great news. Keep us posted.

Didn't you install a skid plate that was in contact with your torsion bar & couldn't that be the source of the noise?

Tom

[etlsport]

yeah thats what i figured the problem was/is

been on vacation for the last week w/o the VX :( wouldve brought her along but my buddy who came with just bought a brand spankin new WRX and naturally wanted to drive... couldnt justify the $100+ in gas to drive both cars so the vx sat all week... takin her out in a few minutes to get reaquainted so ill probably pull the skidplate off before i go and see if that gets rid of the noise

[etlsport]

took the vx in for its first trip to the dealer under my watch (i made it 19 months avoiding it!) so i left the clicking noise alone to see what they had to say about it... they did a full inspection on the suspension and said everything there looked good so they arent sure whats causing the clicking... their best guess is that the rear brake line is rubbing because its too long (ive got stainless lines from indy4x made for a lift) but i dont think thats it.. but my mind is at ease knowing for sure its not suspension related

still ended up with a $600 bill for bearing re-pack and other small crap for the 60k service :( hopefully i can go another 19 months without havin to do that again

[etlsport]

all better... it was indeed the torsion bar... using a 4' pipe for leverage i managed to bend the plate down around the torsion bar... took her out for a spin... so far so good, havent heard any noises at all... feels like it might be handling/steering better.. but that could be my imagination

[tom4bren]

Great news ETL. Glad it wasn't serious. I guess you are the personification of "If it ain't broke ... fix it till it is".

[etlsport]

heh it would seem so in this case... apparently that trooper i pulled the plates from had some frame twisting i wasnt aware of that caused the first to touch the drive shaft... then this one i think got worse from being pushed up by rocks offroad... oh well with any luck this will be the last of my skid plate issues

[ZEUS]

Yeah, those skid plates are more like deflector plates - they don't skid, they deflect. Lots of people remove them after an outing to pound them back into shape on a regular basis. Good to hear that was the extent of your problem!

[nfpgasmask]

So wait, it was your skid plates making the noise against a torsion bar? My noise started not long after returning from Moab, so it is possible my various scraping from Elephant Hill inspired the noise to start, but I am not 100% sure yet...I need to have someone outside the VX pinpoint the sound for me...

Bart

[CrnCnn]

So wait, it was your skid plates making the noise against a torsion bar? My noise started not long after returning from Moab, so it is possible my various scraping from Elephant Hill inspired the noise to start, but I am not 100% sure yet...I need to have someone outside the VX pinpoint the sound for me...

Bart

Not to highjack, but when I do my CV's if you come around we can look at it. I should be doing them in the next week or two.

[etlsport]

bart,

yea it was on the passenger side the plate that goes from the center of the cross member to behind the front passenger wheel.. it was making contact with the torsion bar.. which was ok when i first put it on.. but i guess after setting down on a few rocks it put more pressure on it and so when i would turn my front wheels the front suspension components moving around gave me that clicking between the torsion bar and skid plate.. it was a very hollow sound the whole time but that was definately the problem, drove it around a parking lot today and had no problems at all... it almost feels like my steering and handling are smoother now.. but that could be in my head

here is where it was making contact...

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/medium/skids_002.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/skids_002.jpg)

i tried havin my sis drive around in circles while i laid on the ground next to the vx... couldnt pinpoint the sound for the life of me... then a mechanic recommended to me by spike took her for a spin and told me it was not bearing or CVs and his guess is that it was suspenison related and that led us to looking at the torsion bars eventually, he told me that they bow some and changing the front geometry of the car (aka turning the wheels) would make them bow more or less slightly..

[nfpgasmask]

Cool, let me know. I'm gonna be pretty busy for the first two weeks of Oct, as I have company in town, but just shoot me an email...

Thanks - Bart


Not to highjack, but when I do my CV's if you come around we can look at it. I should be doing them in the next week or two.

[nfpgasmask]

My problem mut be different, since I don't skid plates... :(

Bart


bart,

yea it was on the passenger side the plate that goes from the center of the cross member to behind the front passenger wheel.. it was making contact with the torsion bar.. which was ok when i first put it on.. but i guess after setting down on a few rocks it put more pressure on it and so when i would turn my front wheels the front suspension components moving around gave me that clicking between the torsion bar and skid plate.. it was a very hollow sound the whole time but that was definately the problem, drove it around a parking lot today and had no problems at all... it almost feels like my steering and handling are smoother now.. but that could be in my head

here is where it was making contact...

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/medium/skids_002.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/skids_002.jpg)

i tried havin my sis drive around in circles while i laid on the ground next to the vx... couldnt pinpoint the sound for the life of me... then a mechanic recommended to me by spike took her for a spin and told me it was not bearing or CVs and his guess is that it was suspenison related and that led us to looking at the torsion bars eventually, he told me that they bow some and changing the front geometry of the car (aka turning the wheels) would make them bow more or less slightly..

[IndianaVX]

I have started hearing a clicking noise when turning tight left, but only when I'm in 4wd low. When I'm not locked in 4wd, all is fine. Should I start saving for outer cv's or be looking into something else? I can picture the sound as ball bearings hitting each other, but like I said, I don't hear it any other time but when 4 low, and turning hard left. Hard right, and I'm fine....

[VXorado]

4 lo clicking is a good way to verify a CV issue. It wouldn't hurt to get a spare before it gets worse.

Also, check the boots for rips.

[Riff Raff]

I have started hearing a clicking noise when turning tight left, but only when I'm in 4wd low. When I'm not locked in 4wd, all is fine.

When driving in 4WL, are you on a hard solid surface like pavement or concrete when you hear the clicking sound??? Since power is split 50/50 in 4WL, it is always best to ONLY use 4WL on loose surfaces like gravel, soft dirt, grass, snow, sand, etc to allow normal slippage of the tires when turning as the inner tire track will take less travel distance than the outer tire track.

If you are experiencing the clicking noise while on a hard solid surface (pavement/concrete), then switch back over to normal TOD high-range and venture out to an off-road location (gravel road, grass, sand, etc) and then switch-over to 4WL once your VX is completely on the softer road surface. Perform your tight left turns on the loose road surface and see if you still hear the same clicking noise in 4WL. If you don't hear it clicking anymore, then your VX is telling you it doesn't like to be in 4WL while on a hard solid surface like pavement/concrete (so don't do it anymore). If you still hear it, then I'm baffled too.

:bgwb:

[samneil2000]

Mine does it too, in the grass/dirt whatever, when I turn really sharp. Has for a while. Boots are intact, barely. I'll be replacing them soon enough, and regreasing the CV's.

[VXorado]

If you don't hear it clicking anymore, then your VX is telling you it doesn't like to be in 4WL while on a hard solid surface like pavement/concrete (so don't do it anymore). If you still hear it, then I'm baffled too.


Axle clicking is always due to CV wear, brand new CVs will not click in 4lo on any surface. The click is caused by wear between the inner & outer race that allows the bearing enough space to slip between the races in the sound of a "click." In TOD mode, the transfer case has little or no power to the front wheels when making tight turns (at low speed) and not enough to cause bearing to slip. 4lo is a great way to check a suspect CV issue and I agree to never use 4lo on dry payment.