knocking sound coming from steering/wheel assembly

[findlay]

I recently replaced the ball joint, outer tie rod, wheel bearings and
seals and axle on the passenger side of my 1988 GL, and now there is a
knocking sound coming from the wheel assembly when I accelerate or
turn. I've torn it apart 8 times now trying to figure out what it is,
but can't see anything wrong. What could be causing this sound?


Justin

 

[Stewart DIBBS]

I recently replaced the ball joint, outer tie rod, wheel bearings and
seals and axle on the passenger side of my 1988 GL, and now there is a
knocking sound coming from the wheel assembly when I accelerate or
turn.

Could be
- a caliper that's binding because the pads are unevenly worn due to the old
wheel bearings.
- Main axle nut is too loose. Pull the split pin, loosen the nut and then
retorque it up.
- faulty outer CV. Was the axle rebuilt or simply another used one? There
should be NO rotational slop in the outer CV if it was rebuilt. The inner CV
that slides in-out should have 0-0.5mm also, but when its worn you rought
points where the rotational slop can be 2+ mm. A symptom is that the
steering wheel vibrates as though the wheels are out of balance.
- strut top insulator bearing
- engine mounts?

Since this happens when you turn I'll first guess a CV issue.

SD

 

[findlay]

Could be
- a caliper that's binding because the pads are unevenly worn due to the old
wheel bearings.

The brake pads look evenly worn.

- Main axle nut is too loose. Pull the split pin, loosen the nut and then
retorque it up.

The axle nut is on quite tight, though I could try this too.

- faulty outer CV. Was the axle rebuilt or simply another used one? There
should be NO rotational slop in the outer CV if it was rebuilt. The inner CV
that slides in-out should have 0-0.5mm also, but when its worn you rought
points where the rotational slop can be 2+ mm. A symptom is that the
steering wheel vibrates as though the wheels are out of balance.

This is a rebuilt axle. I checked the angular slop before installing
and it was quite small. I am getting some steering wheel vibration
though.

- strut top insulator bearing

The knocking almost sounds loose like it could be the inner tie rod
ball joint jiggling around. How could I verify that the strut bearing
is loose?

- engine mounts?

When the knocking occurs it's frequency roughly equates to the angular
speed of the wheel.


Justin

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

The brake pads look evenly worn.




The axle nut is on quite tight, though I could try this too.




This is a rebuilt axle. I checked the angular slop before installing
and it was quite small. I am getting some steering wheel vibration
though.




The knocking almost sounds loose like it could be the inner tie rod
ball joint jiggling around. How could I verify that the strut bearing
is loose?




When the knocking occurs it's frequency roughly equates to the angular
speed of the wheel.


Justin

Maybe check the strut's top mount?
Just throwing out another idea.

Carl

 

[findlay]

I jacked up the car this afternoon to check things out again. I
checked the torque on all of the strut bolts/nuts, ball joint bolt,
and axle nut and they are all good. The tie rod seems good. The
slightest nudge sideways on the tire turns the steering wheel. I also
greased the outer tie rod ball joint even though it was pre greased.
I wasn't sure about the motor mounts as I've never done anything with
them before. There is a piece of the mount on either side that moves
slightly when I push/pull on it. There is a lot of grime and dirt on
the mounts, so I couldn't tell whether there was anything obviously
fractured or separated.


Justin

 

[findlay]

I took the car by CompuTune this morning and the guy there thinks it's
a bad CV joint. That seems logical, but I wasn't willing to believe
it because I had just put the rebuilt axle in and how could it
possibly be broken? It's always good to get another perspective when
you're stumped, and I should have believed Stewart when he said
it.

Since I have an axle ready to do the other side, I'll just put that
one in and see if it fixes it and then take the other one back to
autozone for a warranty exchange.


Justin

 

[findlay]

Since I have an axle ready to do the other side, I'll just put that
one in and see if it fixes it and then take the other one back to
autozone for a warranty exchange.

I changed the axle yesterday and that didn't fix the problem, so I
took the car back to the shop today and the guy found that the sound
was coming from the transmission. Hopefully that's it. Lucky for me
that I have a backup transmission ready to go.


Justin

 

[findlay]

Since I have an axle ready to do the other side, I'll just put that
one in and see if it fixes it and then take the other one back to
autozone for a warranty exchange.

I changed the axle yesterday and that didn't fix the problem, so I
took the car back to the shop today and the guy found that the sound
was coming from the transmission. Hopefully that's it. Lucky for me
that I have a backup transmission ready to go.


Justin

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

I recently replaced the ball joint, outer tie rod, wheel bearings and
seals and axle on the passenger side of my 1988 GL, and now there is a
knocking sound coming from the wheel assembly when I accelerate or turn.
I've torn it apart 8 times now trying to figure out what it is, but can't
see anything wrong. What could be causing this sound?


Justin

Sounds like you've torn everything apart and looked at everything...

except the linkage for the steering column. It's a U-joint similar to the
rear drive shaft. They get aged on older cars. Hit it with some grease,
but check it first. They last a LONG time, but nothing lasts forever! If
it looks like it's falling apart, get a new one! NOW!!!!

(I'm betting the grease will fix it. This happened on a Corolla I own, a
Camry my Mom owns, and a Suby 88 GL coupe I bought last summer. The
grease took care of it...)