Ball joints replaced - new clicking noise

[mtoll24]

I have a '95 Subaru Legacy Outback, and yesterday I spent 8 hours at
the garage getting my front ball joints replaced. After an adventurous
job (a screw broke in the spindle and that had to be replaced, and then
when the mechanics were heating up the old ball joint to get it off the
spindle it exploded, hitting one guy in the arm and sending him to the
hospital!)...as I was driving home I noticed a rather audible clicking
noise coming from under the front passenger side. The guy at the
garage tried to convince me that it was due to a rusty sheet of metal
rubbing on the rotor, but the noise is getting louder and is consistent
with the rotation of the tires, stays the same when I turn either
direction. Any ideas?

 

[Jim Stewart]

I have a '95 Subaru Legacy Outback, and yesterday I spent 8 hours at
the garage getting my front ball joints replaced. After an adventurous
job (a screw broke in the spindle and that had to be replaced, and then
when the mechanics were heating up the old ball joint to get it off the
spindle it exploded, hitting one guy in the arm and sending him to the
hospital!)...as I was driving home I noticed a rather audible clicking
noise coming from under the front passenger side. The guy at the
garage tried to convince me that it was due to a rusty sheet of metal
rubbing on the rotor, but the noise is getting louder and is consistent
with the rotation of the tires, stays the same when I turn either
direction. Any ideas?

I'd say there's a fair chance that
the mechanic is right. The sheetmetal
shield over the rotor is pretty easy
to bend and considering your story,
certainly could have been bent.

Take it back and have them fix it.

 

[AS]

I would never take the car back to the same shop. Using a torch to
loosen a ball joint is not in my books.

You can try and see if the shield can be put back in the right position.

Good luck

 

[mtoll24]

Thanks for your feedback. My only issue is that I've had to fix the
shield over the rotor before (just bent it back) but the two noises are
completely different - the rotor noise was more of a constant grinding
(moreso when I turned), whereas this is a clicking/popping noise. I'll
check it out...

 

[k. ote]

I have a '95 Subaru Legacy Outback, and yesterday I spent 8 hours at
the garage getting my front ball joints replaced. After an adventurous
job (a screw broke in the spindle and that had to be replaced, and then
when the mechanics were heating up the old ball joint to get it off the
spindle it exploded, hitting one guy in the arm and sending him to the
hospital!)...as I was driving home I noticed a rather audible clicking
noise coming from under the front passenger side. The guy at the
garage tried to convince me that it was due to a rusty sheet of metal
rubbing on the rotor, but the noise is getting louder and is consistent
with the rotation of the tires, stays the same when I turn either
direction. Any ideas?

Bet it is the rotor shield. I had all kinds of weird noises from my '02 WRX
that were traced to one of those damn things bent up, and bending them back
fixed them all immediately. Each noise was distinctly different. On the
other hand, I never had clicky noises. Mine were all grinding or similar.