Front End Noise

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:53 pm

I have a new clunky sound coming from my front passenger corner. I hear it when I hit a bump on that side, when I am moving very very slowly and press the brakes, and sometimes when I am stopped and begin to move forward or backward. It seems more pronounced when I have the wheels turned. Steering seems to be responsive with no dead spots.
When I am parked, and in gear, I can try to rotate the front passenger tire and I can feel a little rotational movement (1/16-1/4 inch) and I hear a clunking. I can watch the CV shaft housing that the connects the center shaft with the stub shaft that goes into the axle, and I can see that housing move and stop in correspondance with the sound.
Within the last year I have replaced the struts, ball joints, and outer tie rod ends. The last alignment was within 90 days and the alignment tect said everything looked fine. He said that it held the alignment, and usually if there is a "wobble" in the tie rods of ball joints or CAs the alignment won't hold. I also notice a slight "pull to the passenger side upon accelleration, but this may simply be due to the FWD (I'm mainly used to RWD.)

So now to my questions:
1. Has anyone heard of a CV going bad WITHOUT clicking while going around a corner under power?
2a. Could this be the front diff dying?
2b. What other signs symptoms usually come with a dying front diff?

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 12:10 am

How are your suspension bushings?

takza · Post by **takza** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:45 am

There are 4 different tierod ends...2 ball joints...2 swaybar end bushing sets. Sounds like a tierod end...maybe inner?

coltarms · Post by **coltarms** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:29 pm

To the best of my knowledge the suspension bushings are fine. According to the alignment technician, all the tie-rod ends (all 4) were fine and the steering rack wasn't loose. The CV is my prime suspect based on the small amount of troubleshooting I've done. I am also starting to notice a very very slight reluctance to turning left under power at higher speeds (35mph+) but not clicking yet....

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:09 pm

I'd guess CV. They don't have to click to be bad. The joints themselves can still be good, but due to wear very loose.

Also, as mentioned before, check all the bushings. I had a clunk coming from my swaybar even though the bushings looked good. Removed em and found that probably 1/8th of the swaybar diameter was gone from rubbing.

Good luck!

Fingers