TEXHAWK0

Lately, when I go from 1st to reverse, or reverse to 1st (changing directions of loading on the drive train), and let the clutch out to load the drive train, I hear a click or popping noise that comes from the right rear wheel.
Even with the engine off, I can rock the car front to back and get the hub to click. When I put my hand on the outer drive hub, I can feel a vibration when the click occurs, but I cannot tell if it is actually in the CV joint or the bearing.

Has anyone else had this happen? Was the problem with the CV joint, or did it turn out to be in the bearing?

The vibration and sound appears to be coming from the wheel and not the differential, so I don't think it is the clutch pack in the rear end. If it was the rear end, I would think it would also click or pop when going around corners and I don't seem to be getting that.

ajg1915

What year is your car and how many miles do you have on it ?

You don't say if it's an outward motion or turn of the wheel that is making the clicking noise.

I would check the torque on all of the rear suspension parts including the sway bar end links.

Your axles and hubs are splined in and most likely would not have any play in them to make a clicking noise.

Del96lt1

Hey,

Had the exact same symptoms that you describe. 2000 MN6, @ 24,000 mi. Turned out to be the inner CV joint on the right halfshaft. Jack it up and move the wheel fore and aft while watching and holding the shaft. I'll bet you feel a little extra play other than normal gear lash. I just replaced the entire halfshaft assy. Noise gone. Don't forget to put a new shaft seal in the diff since you're going to be in there. It's a pretty straight forward repair. Just follow the book.

Good Luck,
John

SteveDoten

remove the halfshaft from splined wheel bearing, clean/lightly grease the splines, this is 'most likely' the problem

TEXHAWK0

Thanks,
I am fairly sure it is in the CV joint, only mine is the outboard joint.
I can feel the click on the outboard cv joint hub, but cannot feel it when I touch the inboard joint or the half-shaft. I have never had one just start clicking. I may jack it up and test for extra play when I get home.

Did you ever have to replace the other half-shaft, or did you just have a problem on the one side?

Cscokd

anyone know how to service and repair the CV joint? Does it take special tools? Or do you just replace the entire axle assembly?
John

Dan_the_C5_Man

Absolutely positively right on..

And it's not even necessary to completely remove the shaft. Just back the nut off, shoot some lube in there, tighten the nut, you are ready to go.

You should be able to verify this; with the car on a flat surface, roll the rear wheel back and forth with your hands while looking at the nut / center hub. Usually you can see a slight movement along with the clicking.

LoneStarFRC

I agree with you and Dan_the_C5-Man on this one too. Several members have been able to back off the nut as Dan said and shoot some penetrating oil into the spline/hub interface. Kroil and Pennelube are two of the better brands out there. It's definitely worth trying. Cheap too.

RearDriveV8

I just had my left-side half shaft replaced for the exact symtom you describe. Due to where I am living I did not have the ability to try an fix it myself. The repair fixed the problem. 99 coupe 6spd with 43,900 miles.

Seems like trying to put grease on the splines would be worth a try. If it does not work you can then proceed with the half shaft or servicing the joint. I don't know how difficult the joints would be to service. The left half axle was $345.00 (parts alone) at the dealer. I wanted it fixed asap and he warrenteed an earlier rear-end leak for free (also left side). Good Luck.

3rd Childhood

Definitely don't replace the halfshaft. If the joint were worn out you would hear driveline clunk but the popping sound you describe is actually a slip-stick phenomena which can occur at the interface between the bearing and the CV joint (there is also a similar phenomena that can occur in the bearing but it's unlikely). So the guys who spray lube between the bearing and the joint are doing just the right thing.

3rd Childhood

You can't really repair a CV joint. If they click or clunk, depending on circumstances, it means that either the cage windows or the race tracks have been brinelled by the loading through the *****. There's nothing you can do about that except replace. I'm not sure about Corvettes, but some halfshafts are made so the outboard joint can be removed from the driveshaft, some not. Whether you replace either joint or the whole halfshaft, no special tools should be needed presuming you can get the outboard joint out of the hub.

Anyone know if the outboard joints are servicable on these?

Scoundrl

My money is on the bearing. I though for sure mine was a CV joint, sounds exactly the same but it was the bearing/hub. I have heard those cv joints almost never fail. My car had 32000 when the rear drivers side bearing went, and about 45 when the front drivers side one did. Autozone and a few hours and you'll be set.

Good luck!
-Ken

LoneStarFRC

Very possible. If however, you want to try something very easy and very cheap without going to all the time to remove the halfshaft, just remove the wheel and axle nut and spray some good rust penetrant into and around where the axle protrudes through the hub. Re-install and re-torque the nut.
Easy,cheap and worth a shot. Some guys here have had good success with this.
HTH,
Robert

Just Enough

The exact same noise cropped up on my Z a few weeks ago, forward gentle 1st gear starts would produce a pop or clunk noise coming from the passenger rear, I could let off and get back on it lightly in first and cause it to happen again and again. Crawled under and shook the half shafts, rotated the wheels while shaking the half shafts, shook the wheel to induce bearing play, no noise. Read this thread and thought I'll try the lube. Pulled the center cap from the wheel and impacted off the axel nut (1 5/16 socket). Oiled the splines with a few drops of a med viscosity spray lube (Tal 5). Reinstalled the nut with a little blue loctite on the threads and took it out for a test. Noise gone. I wonder how many times the procedure of changing out the half shaft works the splines enough to eliminate the noise and the mechanic thinks the half shaft was the problem. My own experience with constant velocity joints like those on the vette half shaft is that they will make a continous clunking when the ***** roll through the brinnelled portion or the race, and the rolling is most pronounced when the CV is at its steepest angle like turning on a front drive car or when a vett is lifted with a jack. When I lifted my car and did not feel or hear a noise while rotating the wheel and pushing on the shaft I thought the CV probably was fine. I also would never had thought that the popping noise could have been coming from a dry spline. I learn something new every day (too bad I forget two things every day also).

Bill Dearborn

I agree. This was a common noise on C4s. Haven't had it happen on my C5s yet but will not be surprised when it starts. With my 86 it started when I had to change a rear wheel bearing. After that it clicked all the time. When I took the center cap off I could see the splined shaft moving around in the bearing as I moved the car back and forth with the lug nuts and a wrench.

Bill

TEXHAWK0

Well, I finally took your advice and solved the problem.

Since my car was still under warranty, I made the mistake of taking it to the dealer to get it fixed since I did not have a large enough socket.
I told the dealer the noise was from the hub, spline, or bearing because I could feel it on the hub when it clicked. The dealer kept it a day, said it was the brake caliper, and they fixed it by putting some anti-seize on the brake pad clips. Of course, the noise came right back.

I drove it for several more weeks to see if it would get more noticeable and it did. I was about ready to go back to the dealer when I decided just to try to lube the splines myself. I found the right size socket, backed the nut off, and sprayed penetrating oil on the splines. Just for good measure I sprayed some lubricant on the splines that goes on wet, but forms a dry lubricant. Torqued the nut back down, and the noise was gone. I thought I might have trouble getting the nut loose, but it came off almost too easy, so I suspect that it might not have been torqued correctly to start with, which may have contributed to the problem.

As one of the other members noted, I wonder how many times mechanics have replaced the half shaft and thought that solved the problem, when in reality, they just happened to solve the problem by cleaning up the spline in the process.

TEXHAWK0

Most of the clicking noise is gone, but I noticed today that if I back off the throttle suddenly in second gear, I still hear a little pop.

Do I just need to give it more time for the penetrating oil and lube to work in the splines, or do I need to spray the splines with a heavier lube?

Did just penetrating oil work for anyone, or is light lubrication required to completely get rid of the problem?

I think I am on the right track because I could hear the noise everytime I started up or backed up, and now that is gone. Now I only hear it when I am accelerating and back off the throttle, so I guess it is still possible I have a second problem with the joint.

3rd Childhood

This is a well known problem within the cv joint industry. The noise is coming from the splines, but it is caused by motion between the bearing face and abutment face on the joint which sticks due to friction but then slips as it is overcome by torque. When it slips, lash in the spline connection is taken up in the opposite direction and you hear the pop. This is why many auto companies now use a press fit (created by a helical spline) between the joint and hub.

As I mentioned earlier the same can happen within the bearing but this is much less likely. The best way to solve your problem is to lube the other end of the spline as this will let lube get between the bearing and the joint. This will prevent these 2 surfaces from sticking together until overcome by torque, which then results in the pop you hear. Spraying lube on the nut end relies on the oil working it's way along the length of the spline to get where it needs to go.

imxz28

Yes, someone please point me to pics of this fix.
I have the crack/pop sound when you ease the clutch out in 1st or reverse !!!
I want to see exactly where to lube?

jbauch357

Fixed the rear popping and the weird noise under acceleration!

I took the rear wheels off and removed the drive shaft spindle nuts on both sides. Got a can of penetrating fluid and sprayed the crap out of the outside splines on the drive shaft. Also took a brass hammer to lightly compress the drive shaft so that I could work in some more of the penetrating fluid. After a little while of spraying and working the shaft in and out it flowed smoothly in and out of the hub. I then replaced the spindle nut and tightened down to 125 ft/lbs. Took for a test drive and all of the noises are gone!!!

You will need:
6-point, 33mm, deep well socket
torque wrench
penetrating fluid
brass hammer (or you can pad a regular hammer with a rag, just don't want steel on steel cause it could hurt the internals of the CV joint)

The only problem now is I succeeded in making a C1214 code, "check ABS system" and "check traction control" pop up when I punched it in the rain. Seems the troubleshooting will never end...

If I have a chance tonight I will pull the rears off again and take some pictures.