968PORSCHE

It's hard to play what's that noise when you can't hear it, but lets give it a try. Yesterday my 968, (160k miles) started making a little clicking sound at lunch. More sound as it warmed up, and the sound was coordinated with the speed of the car. In the afternoon I had a coworker ride down the street with me cause he thought my dual mass flywheel was going. He immediately concluded that was not it. I agreed because the sound was coming from the back of the car. Next we went to a large parking lot where I got out and stood there and he drove by so I could hear the sound. It seems to do it more in a straight line than when turning and has that unique sound that CV's do when they go bad on a front wheel drive car. when I drove home they were so noisy that I kept my speed to about 40 mph. I pulled the drivers side axle out last night and expected to find a totally f-d up CV joint, but instead they were full of grease, the boot was intact and there was significant play. Hold the shaft still and the CV can rotate about 1/8", or perhaps 2 degrees. I've never seen any play in any of the CV joints I've looked at on my german cars, so while the play bothers me, it is not so obvious that there is really something broken.

Since 968 is apparently different than 944, I'm looking at substantial money to replace the axles an I don't want to find out I was wrong in my diagnosis. Is there any chance it could be a wheel bearing? My friend (also a Porsche nut) grabbed the top of each rear tire and pushed and pulled to see if there was any play and there was none. Any way a bad bearing would make a clicking noise and yet the wheel feels solid?

Any input is appreciated.

Chads996

I think you answered your own question. The CV's are toast.

C.

968PORSCHE

Just needed a sanity check. I since found that the CV's are the same as 944 and some boxsters, but it is the Axle that is different, probably different length. So I bought 4 new CV joints and i'll be done for under $400.00 Thanks for the input though, hard to find any knowledgible Porscheophiles on short notice.

968PORSCHE

Turns out 968 axles are different, probably in length, than a 944. That's why I couldn't get the cheap axle replacement deal. Would have been way simpler, probably 90 minutes or less. I finally figured out by talking to a guy at Pelican that the CV joints are the same as 944 and some Boxsters, which means they were a whole lot cheaper than buying axle assemblies from Porsche which was the only source for 968 assemblies. A little under $400 for all 4. So a few hours later, voila. All is well again.

Pcar944

Maybe it noticed you were having italian again?