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Transmission

Trouble Shooting Problems with Front Wheel Drive Axles

 

  • A clicking noise is coming from the front of the vehicle after you have replaced the front wheel drive axle.  Did you torque down the spindle nut to the proper specification?  Improper torque can cause many problems:  too tight will cause damage to front wheel bearing, too loose will enable spindle nut to come off.  If car has been serviced by someone other than yourself, it is possible that it may have been over tightened by them.  Damage to the wheel bearing makes a very similar sound.  Be sure to inspect disc brake pads for looseness or excessive wear.  In short, play the role of detective and inspect the vehicle, looking for anything out of place or loose which might cause a similar sound.

  • The drive shaft is coming out of the transmission.  Inspect end of driveshaft to see if snap ring is on the inboard joint spindle.  Reinspect the old shaft against the new shaft, being sure to check the overall length of the shafts.  If everything checks out o.k., look at the frame for any physical signs of the vehicle having been in an accident.  Check motor and transmission mounts to be sure they are still good.  Both broken motor mounts or a bent frame will make axle attempt to be longer than originally engineered to be, many times causing the shaft to override the snap ring clip and slide out of the transmission.

  • Vibration noise is coming from the axle shaft.    Vibration noise is normally an inboard problem.  It can be caused by a bent shaft, broken inboard housing, or component parts inside inboard housing.  Many times a customer will replace one axle when a car has broken motor mounts or bent frame because that side is coming out of the transmission, or inboard housing has a crack in it.  Remember if one side is trying to become longer then the other side is trying to become shorter.  This will cause the inboard components to bottom out in the housing and go bad.  Always replace both axles when this problem occurs.

  • Many people believe that replacing the outboard end will solve all of the problems with the axle shaft.  Many times this is not true.  Keep in mind that while the damage occurs faster in the outboard joint, damage is still occurring in the inboard joint.  The CV grease is made up of a soap base, with age it breaks down, moisture can and will enter the joint as the rubber boot starts to heat-up, crack and rot.  The only way to ensure doing the job one time is to replace the complete axle.

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