clicking during turning

[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...



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...



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.

[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.