Joel's_84_944

Hi,
I was enjoying a leisurely drive to my Bank to deposit some cash, when I noticed a grinding noise that started to get louder by the second. It stopped when I stooped at a light. When I shifted to first and accelerated the noise came back, If I shifted higher it got louder. I limped the car back to my job and called a tow truck. He dropped the car off at my house, where I lifted it up and drained the gear oil. Ther was no shavings in the oil. I replaced it with 80W90 Gear oil and closed thew filler plug. I then started the car and put it in first and slowly accelerated out of my parking spot, and the Noise was still there. Now I am not sure of the problem. Could it be a CV joint going bad. I washed the car yesterday, maybe some water got into a boot and washed out the grease?.. I don't know. this is frustrating...I only had this car for 3 weeks and two days.

any help will be appreciated.....Thanks.....
<img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

TomH

Washing your car is not going to get water in the boot and "wash out" the grease. CV joints is a strong possibility. But, the only way to really confirm is to remove them and inspect them.

Ahmet

My guess would be pinion bearing in the transaxle. CV joints are still possible, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check them.
Ahmet

Skip

Does the noise stay there with the brakes applied while slowing? If not, this may be a simple pad/rotor/caliper problem.

Does the noise vary, or is it constant and consistent with speed? Does the frequency equate to road speed, or driveshaft speed?

Grinding is not the normal failure sign of CV's... sounds more like a bearing or rubbing of some kind.

Does the sound get worse during cornering?

Good Luck!

Joel's_84_944

Sorry for the delay, I had to take my F150 to work. Anyway I test drove the car with my wife listening on both sides of the car when I drove by. We noticed that the sound is coming from the drivers left rear side. I checked the tire and it is O.K. I doesn't vibrate or make any noise when Idle. It makes the noise and vibrates when I am in gear (forward and reverse) It gets louder and vibrates harder according to the speed. I'm Going to lift the car up again and check the rotor, calipers,etc. I noticed my exhaust pipe is loose so I will tighten it up also. when I corner it still makes the same noise as when I'm going in reverse or forward.

any suggestions?............

Joel's_84_944

OK, Now i'm really in the dark. I jacked up the car and spun the drivers rear tire and I hear the noise. It sounds like a loud tapping somewhere inside the center of transaxle, where the CV-Joints enter. I also noticed that the opposite wheel makes a clicking noise at the same spot when i spin the drivers rear tire. For each revolution, you hear a tap. The faster you spin the tire, the faster the tap.

Does someone know what this is or could be...I am at a loss. I hate leaving my car parked, it needs to be driven.

Danno

Uh oh... sounds like it might be a R&P problem like Skip had. Does the sound occur once per revolution of the wheel?

Also as a test, disconnect one end of the driver-side axle so you can spin just the wheel without spinning the tranny. Does the sound go away with just the left wheel spinning? Then if you go and spin the right wheel (and the tranny) does the sound re-appear?