Few days ago I started getting a knocking noise in my RF wheel when going over bumps, sensation of an extra bounce/ knocking in the wheel from something.

Had my shop take a look and they found Excessive play in my inner CV joint.
The axle was replaced with a Reman Cardone unit and was perfect for a day, steering was much tighter, no knocking noise, no extra bounces. Was very Happy!

Yesterday I hit a pothole.. It was massive, maybe 3-4 inches deep, large enough to house my whole Tire at the base of the pothole.
Made a horrible noise...
Immediately steering felt a pinch off and wasn't to concerned about that, but I slowly started to realize my knocking noise is back! After a few trips in the car I'm sure its the same noise and I have that extra bounce/ knocking sensation again.

Going to get my shop to take another look at it tomorrow see what they come up with.
Only lowered an inch, nothing crazy.
Can't justify a new axle every time I hit a pothole lol, could there be something else wrong here?
Are Cardone axles just **** or what? Should I be looking for an OEM one?

 

Not sure where you got your axle but I know if you picked it up at a store like Napa or Carquest they would warranty the axle. I've warrantied many axles. One was completely snapped off at carquest and multiple with bad CV joints at Napa. Napa axles are bigger/better than the Carquest/Advance axles for manual transmission Cobalts. I assume the same characteristics apply for the auto Cobalts.

 

Axle seal is leaking quite badly, technician is claiming there is internal transmission damage.. kinda scratching my head on this now

 

Car had lots of toe out on the LF side... (0.27 degrees) so getting that corrected now.
Skeptical if my clunk is really coming from internal transmission....:/ Sounds more like its the strut or sway bar knocking around, though the tech claims everything's been torqued to spec.

Yet the seal is steadily dripping so maybe he's right.... time to go to a transmission shop I guess for a second opinion

 

If your axle seal is leaking badly and the tech says the damage is internal I'm guessing he is noticing a lot of play with the axle end that slides into the transmission. Not sure what it looks like in the auto trans but assume similar to my manual. There are two tapered bearings that support the differential/final drive gear assembly which the axles slide into. If those bearings were going out I could see you having these symptoms. I know when I had my LSD swapped in my bearings there were not in the best shape and I only had about 100k miles so it could definitely happen.

 

****.. Appreciated the advice JD.
As always, doesn’t sound cheap haha.

I’ll have to do some hard thinking about this one. How much it’s really leaking, how badly the clunk is bothering me, repair existing unit or look into a new/ used trans.... find out what kind of procedure is involved in replacing those internal bearings...

If I have to pull the trans might as-well throw in some engine internals... IDK what I’m doing at this point lol

 

If you want to see for yourself you can reach in and grab a hold of the hub of the axle that slides into the transmission and try to move it around to see if there is any play. If the auto is similar at all to the manual the worst part about replacing the final drive bearings is removing the transmission from the car. If you pull the trans yourself you may be able to get it done relatively cheap assuming that is all that needs done. If the bearing is bad enough that it is causing the axle to take out seals it isn't long for this life. When it finally goes out it could destroy the rest of your transmission. I assume used autos are readily available but don't know anything about what they go for compared to rebuilding yours. The thing with used is it's always a gamble.

 

Will get under the car tomorrow to take a look.
200 bucks for a 3.63 ratio "tested" transmission with 100000km.
Stumbled on this last night, written by Sharkey

 

Think I'm going to replace the transmission with a used unit..take a gamble.
Found one today, 70,000KM for 300 bucks. Forgot to inquire why the vehicle is at the wrecker...(saw one listed with the notes hit on Right side and I certainly don't want that one lol...)
Called out sister GM store today to find out how many hours it would take for a R&R/ employee cost if hypothetically they were to do it: should have a response Monday if not already on my answering machine.
Going to ask a few guys I know Monday if they would take $$ under the table to do the job, based off the hours/ price GM says. Found out our shop foreman's got a lift now at home so that could be a win-win.

Was able to get under the car today and yeah there's significantly more play on my RF side compared to the other.

 

My brotha i know I'm reviving this thread but I gotta ask did you ever end up replacing your tranny or ever fix the leaking issue? I think I'm going to swap out the tranny or throw some lucas tranny treatment to see if it stops the leak temporarily . If that don't help I might have to save up and find a used low km tranny somewhere.

 

hey man!
i did not replace my trans and I’ve just come to accept that the right side leaks a bit.
when my rear main blew I did replace that seal again (it’s probably been replaced 4-5 times now)
ive noticed it just seeps on the ground, but when it’s in the air on a hoist it will actually leak. So I’ll just check the fluid once a year

 

Sweet my brotha. I found a few trannys local to me about 250 to 300 dollar range but most of them are over 250kms and the lowest was 160kms for like $350. Yeah I replaced that damn seal twice now and replaced the axle twice as well once with a new napa axle and then another one which was oem. I'm gunna drop the pan this spring put new fluid and filter and add one whole bottle of lucas and see it if slows down the leak. If it works i'll let you know brotha.

 

i tried the Lucas stuff, might have slowed it down a little. Ended up draining it and out and refilling just with regular trans fluid.
I’d like to look under more cobalts but I have a theory lots of right CV axles weep with the auto just something to live with. I wouldn’t replace the trans at the chance you might get another one that leaks just the same

 

Yeah exactly brotha. I'm going to drain the fluid out and put lucas in and see what results i get from that. And yeah I'm going to run my tranny until it blows up then get another after that. Aside from the leak its runs fine like yours does I was just afraid if it gets worse but if you are still having no issues then I know I'll be fine for awhile also.

 

Yeah with these Tran's being so abundant and cheap at wreckers I would just run it to the ground, and for power up to 300hp their pretty hard to damage imo. My car will shift funny once a year and thats when I know it needs a little more fluid lol

 

Yeah I find mine does weird **** if I don't let her warm up long enuff before going for a rip. I'll let you know how she runs after i do my tranny service. Thank god these cars are fairly simple and easy to work on. Thats why i've stuck with it lol. And yes with the trannys being in soo many gm vehicles they are pretty common still in junkyards. If it was say a Honda or Subaru it be a freaking fortune brotha lol