jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

I am hearing a clicking sound with the rotation of the tire at full lock when turning in a clockwise direction. I am assuming I have a bad axle CV joint. I am just having a hard time accepting that because both axles are pretty much brand new. Maybe have 200 miles on them. I can reach in and grab the axle and it has a bit of back and forth play. I am assuming that isn't right either.



Mainly looking for advice on should I replace it now because you think it will blow soon or is there something else I should check first?

Kolt

Could be your wheel bearing. Have heard them clicking before when under a load like that on cust cars, esp lifted trucks with oversize tires and wheels. Since you track the car it wouldn't be a bad idea to check it. Maybe swap the bearings side to side and see if it follows or goes away.

jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

Would that click when turning only one way though? I was thinking if it was wheel bearing it would click louder when turning and it is the outside wheel vs not clicking at all when the outside wheel but clicking consistently when it is the inside wheel. Have you seen bad wheel bearings with no play in them?

ProfDNS

I have, just when I changed mine at the beginning of the month. Even though the right side was generating the noise, you couldn't easily spin the tire on the left side, so bearing was shot anyways.

Kolt

Yes and yes, I have personally swapped bearings side to side on my cavi to get rid of bearing noise temporarily
Learned about it when old coworker swapped his on his equinox. Sometimes you can feel one side dragging more than the other but sometimes all it does is make noise under certain loads. Not saying that its the bearing for sure but I have seen it.

jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

Say I do need to replace my wheel bearing. Any brands to watch out for or who makes a good unit?

Kolt

Personally ive always stuck with acdelco but there is probably better brands out there. Since I can get most oem parts cheap I tend to stick with them.

jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

Are ACDelco actually like Timken or something or do you know who actually makes the bearing?

Kolt

I have heard some are but idk about cobalts so I cant confirm that. I wouldn't be surprised if they did though.

jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

Anyone think there would be any issues using a MOOG bearing?

ProfDNS

They have a lot of good car parts, I don't see why not.

I'm also pretty sure that AC Delco stuff while the raw materials are probably imported, the manufacturing is still in the US.

jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

I'd get ACDelco but I like to get parts from and support my local auto store if they are sufficient. Some parts, like timing chain kits, definitely aren't. But some are fine.

jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

Ok one more question about diagnosing wheel bearings. If the wheel bearing is clicking from loading up in a corner it should click even without being at full lock like if I went a bit faster but didn't turn as sharp to put the same kind of load on it? Or in y'alls experience you have seen wheel bearings that only click at full lock? Because I first noticed this clicking two autocross events ago maneuvering around the paddock but I never noticed it on course. Then I went to another even last weekend and never noticed it either. It only seems to do it at full lock. I would think that if it was a wheel bearing it would make noise whenever I loaded it up turning clockwise even when not at full lock.



Sorry for quizzing so hard I just really want to have a fairly solid diagnosis before removing parts.

ProfDNS

It might just be starting to go as well. When you're doing the maneuvers, the stress on the wheel bearing of the friction vs torque going in the autocross events, you're adding additional lateral pressure to the bearing thereby making the bearing "click" - it's possible that there's some errosion of the bearings and with that play and excessive pressure you're hearing it more than typical driving.

I understand these questions, the wheel bearing is a pain in the ass to get to.

jdbaugh1

iTrader: (1)

Alright so I finally got around to fixing this issue and confirmed it was my axle CV joint, on the wheel end, that was screwed up even though the axle is only a couple months old. I have had axle issues ever since I took my stockers off. First I ran some Carquest/Autozone axles and snapped one of those after a single autocross event. Then I went to Napa MaxDrive axles because many people say they hold up really well. I haven't had any issues with them snapping but I did develop the CV joint problem described in this post. I'm guessing this problem was caused either by a faulty out of the box axle or I damaged it because with my Quaife LSD I am actually able to put power down with the wheels turned and maybe over stressed the joint that way pulling out of a sharp corner at an autocross event.

Whatever happened it was easy to confirm the joint was bad when I removed the axle. With the new axle you could pivot the wheel spline shaft assembly to each extreme and it was smooth travel all the way to each extreme. With the old damaged axle the joint would severely bind at each extreme. Also, went and tested the new axle after an autocross event yesterday and no noises at full lock.

Hopefully Napa will refund me for the axle though I don't know if they will do that without a receipt and I'm not sure if I still have it. When I broke my Carquest axle I got refunded without a receipt.