knowhoweman

I recently replaced both CV axles and front hubs on my '93. I still have a "clicking" sound when I turn and now have a growling noise when I decelerated going down the road. Anyone have any ideas?

kjc

Clicking noise was there before new parts? Maybe the transfer case?

dave1123

I'm thinkin' pinion bearings in front diff. This is AWD, right?

sandaddik2

How do the u joints in your driveshafts look? And how worn out are the double cardian joints in those as well?

fletchFL

Growling in the front end during decel is almost always a hub bearing, and not unheard of to get a bad one out of the box. Were the axle nuts torqued properly?

Does the clicking seem related to the rotation of the wheels(frequent, maybe you can feel rolling resistance in the vehicle), or is it produced by the act of turning the steering wheel? Does it sound exactly the same as before the repairs?

It's worth giving the driveshafts a look too, as sandaddik2 recommended.

knowhoweman

Thanx fellas for all the tips. I knew the CV axles were bad before the growling started. I replaced them and the growling continued, so I had the u-joints replaced that needed it and it continued. I even took the axles back out to see if I had done something wrong. After the tips as to where to start looking I do believe it is probably the VC in the transfer case. That is where I will go next. Thanks again>>>>It is really appreciated!!

sturoc

I have vibration upon slowing down neutral or in gear stops secs before coming to complete stop. The shop went over the front end and only saw a U joint (rt axle) starting to go. No Hub noise or rough rotation.

What brand Hubs did you use?

knowhoweman

Hey sturoc,
I got the CV axles and hubs in a package deal off of ebay from DetroitAxle for under $160 with free shipping. These were brand new, not used ones.

knowhoweman

I figured out that the growling and the clicking is coming from the front differential. I don't know the first thing about this area, but it seems to me that the place where my new axle slides into is stripped, therefore the new axle is just spinning against the old stripped teeth in the differential. Now I have to figure out how to get this taken care of.

knowhoweman

The reason I thought everything was being caused in the front differential is, I jacked it up and put it on jack-stands all the way around. Started her up, put her in gear and all the wheels turned as planned except the driver side front and that is where a clicking sound was coming from. Accelerated a little and the clicking got worse and the driver front wheel still lagged behind the other three. Well, yesterday, I spent the entire day, through rain, hail and sleet replacing the spider gears and carrier bearings and putting it back together. Let it sit overnight so the gasket would seal real good and put Lucas 85-90 gear oil in it this morning. Took it to town on a couple of errands. Everything seemed a lot tighter, BUT I still have the growling sound coming from it when I slow down. I put it in neutral to see if the growling was coming from something in the exhaust. No change. 90% of the vibration I had in it before this work is now gone, so at least what I did wasn't a total loss, but this growling is really driving me nuts.

knowhoweman

Just had the cardian joint replaced on the front end of the front driveshaft. Mechanic said all other joints we good.

nwagtmustang

Does the growling noise happen until you come to a complete stop? Is it doing it every time you apply the brake and does it do it when you apply different pressure on the brake. For instance doing a panic stop, slowing down gradually or slowing down when doing 20mph? I just created a thread saying something was making a noise when applying moderate pressure. It sounds like something is sliding underneath the floor console or behind dash under floor console. It sounds like something sliding across a textured surface. It does not do it all the time. Only at certain speeds when applying a certain amount of brake pressure

knowhoweman

Applying the brakes makes no change. The growling is more prevalent when I am slowing down on the road. When accelerating, there is no growling but when I take my foot off the gas and start to slow the growling starts. It is most noticeable when I am going over 55 miles an hour, go to slow down and it kicks in at 50 and then slacks off some at around 40.

kjc

I'm having a similar issue on my '93. I replaced a bad u-joint but no change. Watchin' with interest as I track down my annoying 'growling' noise

knowhoweman

Well, it's been almost a month since my last comment on this, but now I have some news.
To recap: I have replaced the front axle hubs (twice now), replaced front CV axles (one new one was bad), replaced brakes all the way around, replaced spider gears and carrier bearings in Dana 30 front differential, replaced rear bearings and seals, had u-joints replaced in cardian joint on front drive line, changed all fluids in transfer case and both differentials. Noise was still there. Took it to a 4 Wheel Drive shop here in Mchenry and the guy there, Ted, told me there was still some problem with the front driveline, and all he did was drive it around the parking lot. Went home took it out and found that the "knuckle" joint (yoke?) was totally shot. Took it back to Ted, who shipped it to a reputable driveline shop in Michigan. They said that whoever changed the u-joints really messed up the driveline. They retubed and balanced it and after getting it back in, WOW, WHAT A DIFFERENCE! In the meantime, I also replaced all 4 tires and wheels just sort of a "reward" to myself for all my hard work (and loss of my sanity over this) and getting so much done and actually getting all the things fixed that really needed it.