Mysterious noise of annoyance

[Jeddhendo]

Hey fellas so within the last 3 weeks I have replaced steering rack and radiator on my 98 tsr. And was all good ( except for the fact I may have buggered my ps pump doing the rack..dammit). But the other day the wife said the car is making a"noise" and sure enough..it is.

Well aware that this must be one of the most annoying questions to be asked!

The best way to describe it I think would be as if the bash plate on the bottom was lose and just randomly banging around. Sounds metalish..It\'s not necessarily brought on by bumps, or steering or braking or anything really. I\'ve yet to find a way to create it on demand. Sounds as if something might be lose and randomly banging something else? But it\'s random as.. It\'s a pain in the arse.

I can\'t really feel it anywhere in particular like in the steering wheel or pedals etc.

ANY IDEAS WELCOME.

Chur bros

[Marky]

Just a thought

Check all of the splash guards (like all the plastic sheildy shiz) is bolted down. Tracked the same down on the mrs\'s sp23 the other day, was the splash guard between wheel arch and engine bay was cracked and must have flexed with wind at speed

Would every now and then go bang but was no pattern to it

[Rosssub]

Check all your Exhaust Manifold Lower Heat Shields too, I\'ve had a bolt rust/snap, caused an annoying metallic rattle.

Edit: What\'s the PS Pump doing?

[thorpy]

 Rosssub said:

Check all your Exhaust Manifold Lower Heat Shields too, I\'ve had a bolt rust/snap, caused an annoying metallic rattle.

Edit: What\'s the PS Pump doing?

+1

[Jeddhendo]

Sweet ill give it a dam good check over tonight and let you know what I find.

I HATE RANDOM NOISES

With regards to the ps pump..being completely new to the steering system, I read up on how to change the rack etc but neglected to read what to do afterwards..oops..so I filled up the reservoir and started the engine which meant the pump was running dry for a little bit and it made the typical whiny badness..(hindsight\'s a bitch..the minute I did it I thought..why did I do that?!?!)

So now sometime when turning..usually at full lock it makes a kinda "whine noise thing".

Ive heard that running pumps dry is a BIG no no..

[Rosssub]

Not the best, but it should be ok if it didn\'t run dry long, or pump/steer much while dry. The noise at full lock is more likely Belt Tension, try loosening the belt slightly?

Edit: Was it a Second Hand Rack that went in?

[Jeddhendo]

Yeh second hand rack unfortunately. Student budget and all.

Ok so just checked everything and it\'s still doing it. I can kind of do it on demand..kind of. I found that if I was rolling forward only just faster than idle and it made the noise and then I reversed up, and went forward again, it would do it in the same spot. It almost sounds like someone snapping a small piece of brittle plastic.. Could it be the start of a CV going?

Running out of ideas

[Rosssub]

 Jeddhendo said:

Yeh second hand rack unfortunately. Student budget and all.

Ok so just checked everything and it\'s still doing it. I can kind of do it on demand..kind of. I found that if I was rolling forward only just faster than idle and it made the noise and then I reversed up, and went forward again, it would do it in the same spot. It almost sounds like someone snapping a small piece of brittle plastic.. Could it be the start of a CV going?

Running out of ideas

My pump whines at full lock, I just avoid full lock

A snapping/cracking sound could be a CV/Wheel Bearing/Ball Joint/Centre Diff.

Edit: If you keep rolling forwards, does the \'click\' happen every full rotation? On flat ground? What condition are your CV Boots?

[Jeddhendo]

Well that all sounds terrible. I literally just got a wof so they would have picked up on the bearings and ball joints ( theoretically) I didn\'t find any play in the wheel. My left cv boot is buggered tho so maybe it\'s that? Hope it\'s a cv and not the diff.

You think that it would be cyclic tho if it was a cv/diff?

[Rosssub]

If the CV Boot is torn, the grease is gone. CV on it\'s way out. Boots hold the Grease in and keep it clean.

[Jeddhendo]

Yeh. I just thought the noise would be more cyclic if it was the cv. But guess not.

It\'s just one thing after the other with this car!

EDIT: It doesnt happen every rotation necessarily no, it is quite random and seems to be more prone to it if theres some hill or something which i guess makes sense if its the CV. But like i said before it will happen at exactly the same spot if i roll back and forward. Is there anyway to test for a bad CV, or is it just a matter of assuming that if the boots gone and theres a cracking noise, then chances are pretty high..

[Doris]

Some of these are common sense, but double check them regardless:

Subframe bolts

Suspension arm bolts

Top hats (incl the big one in the centre)

Wheel nuts

Caliper bolts

Cable ties that haven\'t been trimmed of excess

Splash guard fasteners

Brake hose clips

Anything else that\'s flapping around.

[Rosssub]

 Jeddhendo said:

Yeh. I just thought the noise would be more cyclic if it was the cv. But guess not.

It\'s just one thing after the other with this car!

EDIT: It doesnt happen every rotation necessarily no, it is quite random and seems to be more prone to it if theres some hill or something which i guess makes sense if its the CV. But like i said before it will happen at exactly the same spot if i roll back and forward. Is there anyway to test for a bad CV, or is it just a matter of assuming that if the boots gone and theres a cracking noise, then chances are pretty high..

Better a CV than a Centre Diff

Which is torn, Inner or Outer?

Any fresh Grease splatted around?

Any clicking/cracking with tight turns/U-turns/Hard Lock?

If you poke your finger in the Torn Boot, is the Grease still clean or gone and dry?

CV replacement Write Up/Thread:

http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic,131.0.html

[Jeddhendo]

The inner boot. Been torn for a while :-\. But no clicking or normal tell tale signs of a going CV.. And its so irregular that im still not too sure if it would be a cv or not?

Ill need to have a better look at it when i get home tonight.

Yeh you\'re right on the centre diff thing tho..that\'d just be my luck! haha

[Jeddhendo]

Just had a thought..when changing the steering rack i had to undo the front sway bar to get the dam thing out. Im wondering if one of the bush\'s is too tight/not tight enough and is cracking and creaking because it seems as if it only really happens on uneven surfaces as the car twists etc.

Thoughts?

[Rosssub]

99% positive the Click is your inner CV dry, wearing out. Inners will click in a straight line, and the click is also effected by suspension travel/pressure/torque/steering rotation and wheel/axle rotation. So may not click every spin, or can seem random.

If it\'s a quiet/small click, re-greasing and sealing the boot, or fitting a new boot might help. Could get another year out of that CV.

[Jeddhendo]

right..well i need to replace the boot so i guess ill do that and see what happens! thanks for the help mate!

[Rosssub]

No worries, good luck. Check all your other Boots (front and back), for perishing/cracking/holes/missing clamps. Last Boot I replaced was about $17, or complete second hand Axles at about $60-$80 a side. Or these are an easy, mess free fix, that you know is good:

http://www.subaruspeed.co.nz/products/new-front-cv-shaft-1989-97

[Doris]

Ooooh oooh can I have your old c.v joint(s) if you replace them?

I need some donors for science.. aka this> http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic,41767.0.html

[Jeddhendo]

Yeh I\'m just gonna get the new ones from strong. Seem like a pretty dam good deal considering adl were trying to sell me a brand new stand alone cv for near 200!

I love science! Sure I don\'t think I\'ll be needing them haha

[Doris]

Sweeeeeeeeet!

[Jeddhendo]

RIGHT!

So changed the axel..and still made the bloody noise! grrr...so i jacked it up and re-torqued everything insight just in time for a mate to turn up and be my "noise spotter" and low and behold the noise decided to bugger off after only making it once after being off the jack and hasnt seemed to make it since. MURPHIES LAW!!

But Doris there is an axel with CV\'s over here when ya want em!