Noise when wheels turned sharply

[breken]

I'm hearing a moderate grinding and bonking sound when the wheels are turned sharply and the car is moving. I think it may because I turned the wheels too sharply in 4WD once or twice recently. Anyone know what might be wrong? I browsed the other repair postings and didn't see this question.

This is a 6 speed 1985 manual transmission 4wd Tercel.

Also, the engine sometimes idles high, 2000 rpm and above, and sometimes doesn't. Is this the accelerator cable sticking, and idle adjustment problem, a carburetor problem, or maybe something else?

[jetswim]

My Tercel made that sound too until I replaced the CV shaft. No more noise! High idle is most likely carb or sticky accelerator. Does it happen randomly or when you start up only?

[Petros]

It sounds like the CV joints are worn. It will not harm anything to keep driving on it, they wear out, and you will not make it wear out any faster by continuing to drive on it. The only solution is to replace the half-shafts with new or rebuilt CV joints. So you might as well get as much miles as possible out of them, and keep driving on them until they make the noise all the time including going strait. Eventually it will get so rough and noisy you can not stand it. That is when I would replace them.

You could have an intermittent vacuum leak somewhere in your system, lots of instructions on find a vac leak in the archives. But also check for sticky linkage, does the idle come down when you put your foot under the pedal and pull up on it? If so lube the linkage and cable with WD40 or similar. Also, when it is cold the auto choke advances the idle, when you push on the throttle it will bump it down as it warms up. Some times this can hang up, it is easy to check if you know where to look.

Good luck.

[breken]

Thanks for both responses. The car has been in my family since it was new off the lot, and it has never had the CV shafts replaced so I can't be too unhappy about it.

The idle problem could be a vacuum leak, but it seems to respond to taping the accelerator at least some of the time. I just had the engine replaced, so I will pay more attention to what it is doing, and it is cold out.

[ARCHINSTL]

I found that my accelerator cable needed lubing. I determined this by releasing the cable from the bellcrank and noting the sound of the "click" when the bellcrank was rotated completely open and then releasing it. With the cable attached, it was noticeably softer and had a "slower" return as well.
Remove the cable again, free it from the "C-clamp" on the cam cover, elevate the end and dribble warm lube down the inside of the cable. Be sure to put a rag/similar under the accelerator rod inside to catch drips. I used a Teflon-based lube called Triflo.
Also check whether the bellcrank completely closes with the cable. When I first installed the Weber, I did not have enough slack on the cable and what I thought was the "idle" was too high; the cable, while it appeared to have enough slack, simply did not. The "idle" also varied, as in your case. The bellcrank requires more slack than one would think. Since you recently had the engine replaced, the tech may have tightened the cable a tad too much.
Also clean and lube the carb's linkage, as Petros suggests; just blast it with carb cleaner and then WD-40 - ditto on the front of the carb as well.
Put a little dab of grease in the groove in which the cable rides on the bellcrank (dunno how effective this is, but I felt good after it...).

Welcome to the Club!
Tom M.

[breken]

Thanks for the thoughts, I'll see if I can get it to behave....

[ariscmarquez]

how nice this topic is.
im also experiencing that annoying sound when i am making a turn.
thanks thanks thanks