gpracer1

Just did it....clicks are gone
Used foaming motorcycle chain lube with the little straw on it. Great for getting in between the axle and the bearing even with the wheels on. Total time....30 minutes.

ZR1_368

Hi I wondered is anyone could shine a bit of light on my problem.
I have a 90 zr1 with coil overs from DRM and since I have instaled them the car seems to eat universal joints on the drivers side half-shafts. every 300 miles or so one of the UJ's starts to click and when I remove it the needle bearings in the UJ have been powderised and started to wear the actual UJ. I have replaced the wheel bearing and anti-roll bar bushes but to no avail. Just wondered if this was heard of before or what it could be.
Thanks Louis

dwilcox

My sentiments exactly - I was about to go to my dealer - but I will give this a try first -

CodeName Z06

I get a pop every once in a while, And thanks for pictures and write up i know exactly what to do now. Would it be better to use lithium grease in the areosl form provide better lubrication?

LoneStarFRC

3rd Childhood

I doubt this is your problem, but I mention it only because I can't think of another explanation. Cardan joints are meant to operate at very low angles. If your suspension changes have increased the operating angle of the UJ, service life can be greatly reduced.

jbauch357

Well, they are coming back again
Possibly driving in the rain for over a month straight has something to do with it. I am going for a heavy synthetic grease this time around and see how that holds up to monsoon season here...

I really need a more vette friendly local...

LoneStarFRC

Bummer! Might as well go ahead and throw on a new nut while your there this time.

dbstephens

Thanks to all who have posted their symptoms/results to the problem within this post. My wife's 2001 convertible has been experiencing this problem since @ 28,000 miles. I have not been able to hear the noise, due to diminished hearing induced by too many years of aircraft engine noise in my line of work.

I have checked everything within the rear end to include torque values and physical security of all components to no avail, until performing the hub lubrication technique as descibed within this post.

It has solved the noise gremlin associated with the differential/half shaft problem, as described by my wife.

It was a simple job, after obtaining the proper 33mm socket to perfom the task. I used an anti-sieze grease to lubricate the splines after cleaning the area with spray type Liquid Wrench. The hub nut was torqued to 118Ft/Lbs and the wheel nuts to 100 Ft/Lbs.

My wife is very happy, now that this noise is no longer present in the right rear wheel.

This will most likely become a part of my routine maintenance every 20,000 miles.

This type information on the Forum is what makes it such a great resource for all of us to utilize and share.

Thanks again for all of the input.

Dbstephens@comcast.net

Z06-Nomad

Another satisfied customer !

Did the "noise elimination mod" today. Worked flawlessly. Thanks to everyone involved in this post.

Being a motorcyclist, I also used motorcycle chain lube. Most people here don't realize motorcycle chain lube is the perfect lubricant for this application. It sprays on like WD40 (and is penetrating like WD40) but in a few minutes it becomes thick (so it doesn't fling off the motorcycle chain). Unlike penetrating oil that almost completely evaporates, chain lube (Bell Ray) leaves white lithium grease that will last for a very long time...

MD

tstar

That was an excellent write up jbauch357!!!! Kudos to ya!

fstz28

Had already contacted a shop and was about to have them replace the cv joints. this tech tip worked great. next up will be the baseline dyno at DTP before the modding.

dgrant3830

Just today I started hearing clicking sounds from the rear wheels of my '99 Coupe. Reading these posts, will first be trying this re-lube effort and see if it cures it. I won't complain about the price of new shafts as I've certainly gotten the miles out of these original ones, should it become necessary to replace them. Currently they are showing $233.76 for each. The nice thing though is if re-lubing the splines will save me nearly $500! We'll see this weekend.

LoneStarFRC

Seen this condition posted here too many times to NOT be the first thing to check.

curtbriggs

I've seen this before on drive shafts. Check that the yokes aren't distorted. When the yokes are distorted the U-joint is in a bind and will self destruct. A drive train specialty shop can check them and straighten the yokes.

RED99

I noticed mine doing it some last summer. When I did the brakes, I saw the axle nut is very rusty, along with the threads. I hope it itsn't froze on there.
I am going to pull the tranny/ differential soon, so I will have to pull the half shafts out anyway. Would it be better to coat the splines with some anit-sieze, instead of oil or grease?

Oh! Is boths sides Right hand threads?

dgrant3830

I re-lubricated the splines this morning and the click is gone. I used offf-road motorcycle chain-lube for it. Thank You all for contributing to this Forum as it just saved me nearly $500 for new shafts as that is what I expected to have to replace.

Z06ufgrad2002

100 %

Chuck Harmon

Thank You!



Chuck

brewtoo

I just bought a 2002 Z06 lately. It has the clunk in the left rear. I was certain it was a CV joint or something equally significant.

It sounds just like when the drive-shaft flex disks on a Mercedes Benz are worn out...clunky play in the drive line...except that it is isolated in the left rear rather than directly under the center of the car.

I can't wait to try the oily-spline solution! I sure hope it works!