1995 Subaru Legacy L rear wheel ticking noise and front end clunk

[Christopher]

I own a 1995 Subaru Legacy L with two wheel drive and 115,000 miles.
I have to different problems that I'm working on, but I wanted to hear
some idea.

1) when driving I get a ticking sound (noise) coming from the rear end
that increasing with the rate of travel. It isn't a grinding noise,
but a tick, tick tick tick. I'm not sure if it's the brake drums or
shoes or a wheel bearing or what exactly.

2) I replaced the front passenger side transaxle (CV joint) with a
rebuilt one this summer and have gotten a single thunk or clunk
whenever I turn and accelerate. While I was replacing the transaxle I
also replaced the ball joint, but it appears to be well seated and the
entire assembly is tight. (in other words if I try and shake
everything from the strut assembly when it's on jack stands it isn't
loose. I've also checked the CV joint and it's well installed. The
locking pin is in place and the retaining nut at the end is properly
torqued.

I would appreciate any help!
Thanks,

 

[Sparky Polastri]

I own a 1995 Subaru Legacy L with two wheel drive and 115,000 miles.
I have to different problems that I'm working on, but I wanted to hear
some idea.

1) when driving I get a ticking sound (noise) coming from the rear end
that increasing with the rate of travel. It isn't a grinding noise,
but a tick, tick tick tick. I'm not sure if it's the brake drums or
shoes or a wheel bearing or what exactly.

On pavement? Check the tread for a rock or stone or other object. One
might not expect the object to hit the ground going very fast, but they
do... and can make quite a pronounced tick on each revolution. (If it's a
nail or something, make sure your spare has air in it before messing with
the object in case it's a puncture.)

2) I replaced the front passenger side transaxle (CV joint) with a
rebuilt one this summer and have gotten a single thunk or clunk
whenever I turn and accelerate. While I was replacing the transaxle I
also replaced the ball joint, but it appears to be well seated and the
entire assembly is tight. (in other words if I try and shake
everything from the strut assembly when it's on jack stands it isn't
loose. I've also checked the CV joint and it's well installed. The
locking pin is in place and the retaining nut at the end is properly
torqued.

Dunno on that.

 

[Jim Stewart]

On pavement? Check the tread for a rock or stone or other object. One
might not expect the object to hit the ground going very fast, but they
do... and can make quite a pronounced tick on each revolution. (If it's a
nail or something, make sure your spare has air in it before messing with
the object in case it's a puncture.)

I'm not sure that this applies here or not,
but I was taught that you can't always judge
front end tightness when the front end is
jacked up. Jacking the car up allows the
suspension springs to expand, taking the slop
out of things.

 

[Christopher]

I'm not sure that this applies here or not,
but I was taught that you can't always judge
front end tightness when the front end is
jacked up. Jacking the car up allows the
suspension springs to expand, taking the slop
out of things.

I'll check for something in the tires. As far as the front
suspension. I've checked for slop while it's up in the air and the
whole assembly is pretty tight. I read the trouble shooting section
in the Haynes Manual and it leads me to believe it might be a bad
inner cv joint (even though the part is brand new it might be
defective.)

 

[Christopher]

I've checked for things stuck in the tire (nails, rocks, bolts, etc.)
but found nothing. What else could make the clicking noise in back?
It's two wheel drive so there isn't any driveline compenents that
would cause it. All I can come up with is either the brakes or the
wheel bearing?

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Christopher

 

[Christopher]

Found the clicking noise in back ended up being the brake drums.
Funny enough, the pads are actually in excellent shape but the outside
flange on the brake drum had rusted apart and actually partly broken
off. I've never seen anything similar ever happen on a car. I'm glad
it's fixed.

I believe the loud clunk in from is probably a poor aftermarket cv
joint. I'll have to take it back to the auto parts store for a
replacement. It came with a lifetime guarantee.

 

[Chris Phillipo]

Subject: Re: 1995 Subaru Legacy L rear wheel ticking noise and front end clunk
From: (e-mail address removed) (Christopher)
Newsgroups: alt.autos.subaru

I've checked for things stuck in the tire (nails, rocks, bolts, etc.)
but found nothing. What else could make the clicking noise in back?
It's two wheel drive so there isn't any driveline compenents that
would cause it. All I can come up with is either the brakes or the
wheel bearing?

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Christopher

Wheel bearing or even a loose hub cap sometimes does this as the wheel
flexes.