new cv shaft - clicking noise

[alpop]

'99 Legacy wagon w/ auto transmission and ABS

 

Inner boot on passenger side front shaft was blown so replaced the whole shaft with an Import Direct SB8011HD fully new shaft.  I picked this one since they seemed to be making the case that design improvements would eliminate any vibration problems due to worn transmission mounts.  O'Reilly website said it was for my car.

 

I used the method of removal of the top strut bolt and loosening of the bottom one.  Made sure to mark the top bolt and re-position it the same later.

 

The old shaft did NOT have a 44 tooth ABS ring on it when I removed it, whereas this new one did - well I put it on anyways.

 

After re-assembly (re-torqued everything to specs) I only drove 10 feet out of the garage and had this very audible clicking sound from the right front wheel probably 1-2 times per wheel revolution. Sure doesn't seem right.

 

Can't help but think its related to this mystery toothed ABS ring?

 

Any ideas?

 

thanks, Al

 

 

[Fairtax4me]

Axle is a cheap pos. It's defective. Take it back. Get a boot kit for your original axle and re-build it. The inner ends are super easy to clean up and rebuild.

[DaveT]

+1 don't use aftermarket axles. If the original is clicking, get a new used one from a scrapyard, and re boot it. If you look closely at the original, you can learn to identify originals vs aftermarket.

[1 Lucky Texan]

probably a bad axle.

 

did you torque the axle nut with the weight of the car on the wheel? Subaru FSM wants you to torque the axle nut with the hub in the air. Not sure if that could be an issue - just reaching for ideas.

[DaveT]

Loose axle nut maybe could do that, so worth a check.

[alpop]

Well yeah, I did torque the axle nut to specs (125 ftlbs) with the tire on the ground as per some instructions I saw somewhere.

 

The boot was ripped in half on the original and it was making a terrible noise (sounded like rubber against rubber) which I thought was probably the boot, so I took off most of the boot (to test)  and drove that way for several weeks with no noise, then squeaking started - probably due to loss of lubricant from the joint.  Never any clicking with the original joint.  Then I figured I needed to do something before winter.

 

Maybe re-build the original? 

 

Anybody know anything about this mystery ABS ring thing?  Original didn't have it and the replacement does?

[1 Lucky Texan]

maybe try re-doing the axle. I used a big screwdriver in a rotor vent, bucked-up against the caliper, when torquing the nut. or a helper on the brakes?

 

worth a try - just a hassle, no $$ involved.

 

99s probably had a model with ABS as an option.

[Fairtax4me]

Original Subaru axles are tough. If it has green paint on the cups just go ahead and re-boot it. I'm running two in my 96 that I've rebooted even after running them with split boots for 6-8 months.

 

Axle nut should be torqued to 135ft lbs with no weight on the hub. I use a big screwdriver to jam the brake rotor. Torquing the axle nut with the wheel on the ground with a new wheel bearing ca ruin the bearing. With an old bearing it's probably fine.

You should re-torque it to 135 though and make sure the axle nut is staked in place.

[Caboobaroo]

The axle you have will also fit 2000 through 2006 which use the tone ring on the axle. I have seen the newer axles in older cars before without issue.

 

I'm voting for a bad axle out of the box.

[alpop]

ok.  I heard the noise while turning the wheel in the air before final torquing on the ground so doubt it has to do with how I torqued it.

 

I will loosen the axle nut and re-torque in the air as indicated and see if this makes any difference.

 

Otherwise will re-build? re-boot the old one?

 

Al

 

[idosubaru]

Crap axle. Seen it countless times.

 

Maybe it's the tone ring or dust shield is rubbing something, but it's not torque, newer subarus aren't sensitive to that. I've done 100 or 3 axle nuts and never even bother with a torque wrench, waste of my time.

 

Reboot yours

 

Or start with a fresh OEM (green inner cup) axle.

www.car-part.com, pull it yards, eBay have original subaru axles for cheap. $15-$35 have one shipped to your door.

 

Get a 2000-2004 axle the outer boots have more convolutions and better materials and last longer.

 

Also - subaru boots last longer than aftermarket a as well if you do reboot it. You can often only reboot the inner joint on those newer axles.

 

The tone ring axles are a 2000-2004 axle but they work in 95-99 vehicles as well.

 

I knock the tone rings off before installing them in 95-99 models, but I don't think that's necessary. It just taps off.

Edited September 21, 2016 by grossgary

[alpop]

So yeah I knew this was a can of worms but worse than I expected.

 

I decided the clicking noise was coming from the outer CV joint of the new Import Direct one so I removed it and slapped on another I happened to have lying there from Autozone - just in case.

 

 

Well this one was great no clicking or other noise when I rotated the wheel - but when I tightened the axle nut down good (not even torqued to 135) I could not even budge the wheel, even when I put the wheel/tire back on.  Something wrong with the specs on it for this car I guess.

 

So my original does have a green inner sleeve so must be Subaru OE.  Probably still good considering all it was doing was squeaking?

 

Do the re-build kits have directions?

[idosubaru]

rebuild kits don't have directions.  it's really easy though - just terribly messy.  

 

i've only done this with inner joints but the vibrating/noisy inner joints i've regreased/rebooted are perfectly fine years later with no issues.  i would presume the same is possible with outer joints. 

 

some people swap axles from drivers to passengers side as well - idea being the loading is different internally - so that's another option if you're worried, but i dout it matters. 

 

have cardboard or somethign to work on so you can throw the big greasy mess away. 

 

remove boots

cut off boots and clamps

remove circlip holding cup onto joint with a screw driver - it's hard to see as it's covered in grease and sets inside the ID of the cup right on the lip, close to the end. 

slide cup off

keep track of the end joints that'll slide off. 

remove circlip on end of axle stub so you can slide the entire jiont off the axle shaft. 

 

now you just cut off the outer boot and slide a new one all the way down the shaft (after cleaning out the old joint). 

 

then reboot the outer joint - install boot/clamp, slide joint onto shaft, install circlip that holds it onto the shaft, install the little balls of the joint, slide it into the cup, grease it, install cup circlip, install boots and clamps. 

[alpop]

Cleaned up the old joint - no wear - re-greased and re-booted and by golly when I put it back on and torqued down the nut there was no clicking sound like the "new" Import Direct one, and the wheel would spin unlike the "new" Autozone one.

 

When drove it there were no noises and all seemed fine.

 

Guess I could have saved myself some time and frustration and skipped the circus with the local parts stores.  Oh well, now I know-

 

BTW none of the local auto parts stores or hardware stores carried the roll pin for holding the axle joint on the inner stub from the transmission (I mashed my old one up pretty good).  I figured out that its a 6x45mm, and they all had 6mm diameter but nothing longer than 25mm.  So I just used two, a 20 and 25, I think it should be fine, but will keep an eye on it for a while just in case.

[DaveT]

That should be ok. All the roll pin does I'd keep the thing from sliding off the splines.