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Clicking while breaking still after axle replacement???

3K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  sktboost 
#1 ·
So both my axles are clicking. I replaced the driver side, then seal went bad then after i changed the axle and seal the leaks stopped but just 24 hours later it was clicking again while on the breaks. There is 0 clicking when not breaking but once you just give alittle pressure on the breaks it starts clicking like mad.. I have the car currently jacked up and there is very minimal play on the axle. i mean it moves maybe a millimeter in an out of the tranny. Any ideas? Remember it only happens when i break.
 
#3 ·
It's really hard to troubleshoot noise problems over the internet. Are all the other suspension bolts re-torqued and double-checked? If you can find a wide open area, does the noise change or go away when braking while in a wide turn?
 
#4 ·
I know this will sound , well. you know, but if it only happens when braking, have you thoroughly checked the brakes? Like rotors and calipers and clearances? Make sure all that stuff is tight? You may consider jacking up the whole front end on stands, turning on the car, putting in gear and have someone tap the brakes while you use a stethoscope to look for source of clicking if you didn tdo that already. Be careful of course with stuff moving under there
 
#5 ·
Beside the suspension bolts and components you already touched, I was also thinking you might want to take a look at the control arm bushings. Also if you didn't loosen the sway bar end links and tried to pry the control arm down to get it off the ball joint, check to make sure they weren't damaged.
 
#6 ·
The clicking starts after about 3-5 minutes of driving, happens at any speed besides reallly slow like 10 and under. The faster i go the faster the click. I checked the pads and the little metal wires to hold it in place of the caliper are kinda bent and the little metal sheet is not connected to the pad anymore.. Going to change the pads and go from there. How do i go about checking the suspension components? the sound sounds nothing like control arms or anything related to that.. the sound stays the same when i turn hard or soft...
 
#7 ·
Check the pads to make sure theyre seated correctly I'm the caliper. Also you mentioned doing the axle, is it all the way in? Just recently on the forum a member did an axle and had problems after. Turned out the axle wasn't in all the way
 
#8 ·
If the clicking changes in frequency with how fast you're going then it's likely something rotating. Doing it after 3-5 minutes could indicate something warming up and expanding. In that case it's not likely the suspension components, worn bushings, ball joint, etc. but you might want to re-torque everything you can get to just to be safe. It does sound like something in the brakes/caliper or axle from what you're describing but there's one other thing.

When you replaced the axles you have to take off the axle nut. That nut and the end of the axle assists with holding the hub assembly together. If you didn't torque the axle nut (and it's a really high torque spec at 180 ft-lbs.) you can quickly damage the wheel bearing and that will also cause a clicking sound. The wheel bearing noise/clicking will usually change when turning but not always.

Per the factory service manual (FSM):
CAUTION: The halfshaft, when installed, acts as a bolt and secures the front hub/bearing assembly. If vehicle is to be supported or moved on its wheels with a halfshaft removed, install a PROPER–SIZED BOLT AND NUT through front hub. Tighten bolt and nut to 244 N·m (180 ft. lbs.). This will ensure that the hub bearing cannot loosen.
 
#10 ·
Blackbird has a good point as always… I had this issue when I first purchased my srt and it turned out to be the wheel bearing on the driver side. Have you checked for play in the bearings yet? I went ahead and replaced both bearings and the clicking noise stopped.
 
#18 ·
Worn or broken it would but I doubt it with the symptoms you have described so far. I could not hear the clicking in your video but you should check it. Your symptoms sound 'rotational'.
Have you tried rotating the tires front to back? The reason I ask is that on a different car, the wheel weights the shop used were not correct for the wheel and caused a 'clicking' sound when I drove it, increasing in intensity as I slowed down.
The cotter pin is not sticking out too far and rubbing against the wheel?
 
#19 ·
nope, nothing is sticking out. I can hear the click in the video, just used headphones. its a very consistent click click click click. Also there was very uneven wear on that tire. I did rotate the back to front but i'l be getting new tires and an alignment soon and im going to have them check it out.
 
#20 ·
When you started the video and described a grinding with the wheel turned hard left and right while stopped that's your power steering pump. You don't want to be doing that if possible where you hold it there because you reach the stop limiters in the rack but the pump is still trying to apply hydraulic assist. If your power steering pump is starting to make noise take a look at the fluid in the reservoir. It should be a very bright pink/red and clean. If it's never been changed and is dark or burnt os someone put the wrong fluid in you'd want to start flushing the system and see if it quiets down (this will also help with longer service life of the pump and rack).

Make sure to only use ATF+4. Flushing would be best but you can get a small pump or turkey baster, pull as much fluid out of the reservoir as you can, refill with fresh fluid, start the car and run for a minute turning the wheel full left-to-right back and forth a few times, shut car off and repeat until it starts looking clean and fresh. Once it's better you can drive the car for a week or so and repeat until it stays reasonably clean.

As pointed out you have a bad boot that holds the grease in the ball joint (and also keeps dirt and water out). If it's been bad for a while dirt will get in and wear it down faster but if you just changed the axles I'm guessing there's a reasonably good chance it might be recent damage. If you're trying to pry down on the control arm to get the hud/spindle (upright) assembly off the ball joint it's easy to damage the boot if you're not careful.

Let's say it has been damaged a long time. Could it cause noise? Sure, but although I can't really hear the clicking in the video (possibly a little), with what you're describing it does sound rotational. A bad ball joint would usually be clicks on noise and acceleration, deceleration or suspension loading but isn't going to increase in frequency with speed.

Cheap auto part store axles do tend to not hold up well and fail often, so if you have a lifetime warranty and don't mind removing them maybe give that a try first. Why you have everything apart take a close look and see if anything is worn/damaged or there's contact wear from some type of interference. By the way, when I mentioned the torque spec if it was way under-torqued the wheel bearing damage would have been done and re-torquing wouldn't do anything. It's not that it's "in all the way", the axle nut needs to really, really be tightened. The 180 ft-lbs is over what move 1/2" click-type torque wrenches are rated but to give you an idea, you may need to use a breaker bar with another couple feet of pipe over the end of it to achieve that torque spec.
 
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