Clicking while turning right: shop says transmission

[shadow_FIX910]

Hi DSMTuners, I ventured over here from DSMTalk to try to get another set of opinions on what the heck is going on here. Here goes:

The car is a 1992 GSX, 124k on it, mostly stock except for MBC, UICP, AGX struts, and Prokit springs. The car had the transfer case recall performed in Feb. 2009.

My issue is that something is making a "clicking" noise under the car. Before you say CV joints (this is what I thought) I took it to Midas to confirm that this was the issue. They said all of the joints were fine and that the sound was coming from where the driveshaft meets the transfer case...that something internal was making the sound.

Again, this ONLY happens when I make a RIGHT turn...it DOES NOT happen when I make a LEFT.

Am I missing anything? Is this something to do with the transfer case? Should I be contacting the dealership that performed the recall?

Thanks in advance!

 

[AlaskanDsm]

It is possible that the sounds you are hearing are traveling through the shafts and throwing off the perception that it could be the transmission as the shop had originally said. The only other thing I could think of is that the differential as said before could be going.

I'm not very tranny savvy. I recently had a bad CV shaft that was clicking and it solved my problem.

 

[redyute1]

Change the other axle.

 

[shadow_FIX910]

Change the other axle.

Kay, both axles have now been replaced to no avail. The problem is clearly not associated with the CV joints.

Where do I look now?

 

[eeeewidner]

What condition is your intermediate shaft in. Does the carrier have excess play in it? If not, then I would be looking into the transmission differential, not the transfer case. Since the axles do not connect to the transfer case, only the rear prop shaft. Check for lots of up and down play at the tranny also.

Oh, by the way, when the axles were replaced. Were the washers that go behind the lock nut installed. If not, that will cause a noise very similar to a c/v going out.....

 

[shadow_FIX910]

Carrier bearing/intermediate shaft was in good shape when I put it on the new axle, and both washers were put on the locknuts prior to tightening them down. Sounds like a couple of fingers are pointing to the differential...this is an integral part of the transmission, correct? As in if it was bad, I would have to get a new tranny?

 

[Jeff99GS]

The Differential is a set of gears used to allow the wheels to rotate at different speeds. When a car turns a corner the inside wheel will turn SLOWER than the outside wheel. If you had a solid axle the car would NOT want to turn well and would hop around corners.

I'm not a transmission expert but Im pretty sure you could just rebuild the Differential gear set and possibly refurbish the rest of the tranny. I wouldn't say you need a whole NEW trans.


A good way to check the Diff is to jack the car up and turn one wheel forward while having someone else hold the other wheel. If you hear that clicking while rotating the wheel then I would say the diff is BAD.
I mentioned earlier in the thread putting the car on jack stands SECURELY while a friend puts the car in gear and lets the tires spin slowly. To make it easier HOLD onto the tire first then have your friend let their foot off the brake so that the tire opposite of the one you're holding starts spinning. Listen for the clicking sound.

Its hard to explain and it sounds very dangerous, but the tire should be very easy to stop from spinning. As long as your friend isn't giving the car throttle. Tell them to just put it in 1st gear and take their foot off the brakes. so that the tires spins. DO NOT accelerate.

Here is the Wiki info
A vehicle's wheels rotate at different speeds, mainly when turning corners. The differential is designed to drive a pair of wheels with equal force, while allowing them to rotate at different speeds. In vehicles without a differential, such as karts, both driving wheels are forced to rotate at the same speed, usually on a common axle driven by a simple chain-drive mechanism. When cornering, the inner wheel travels a shorter distance than the outer wheel, so with no differential, the result is the inner wheel spinning and/or the outer wheel dragging, and this results in difficult and unpredictable handling, damage to tires and roads, and strain on (or possible failure of) the entire drivetrain.


Also If your Axles were removed or replaced...make sure they are PUSHED back in all the way. If they are NOT snapped all the way in then the CV joint will BIND and create a popping crackling sound.

 

[shadow_FIX910]

Okay it is starting to make a lot more sense now. At first I was thinking there would be no way that the diff could be the problem...I was under the impression that it would make noise going in a straight line if something like that were the issue.

I have an appointment at the Mitsu dealership, and I think I'm just going to go ahead and let them take a look at it. I'll tell them the CV axles have both been replaced, so that variable has been eliminated.

QUESTION, however. When I put the new pass. side axle back in, obviously it needed to snap in...that one is fully seated. However when I took the driver's axle out it just came out...I don't remember seeing a snap ring on the splined end of the IM shaft going into the diff. Is this side supposed to snap in as well, or just *go* in? I just put it back together the way it came out assuming that it was correct.

I am thinking more and more that the diff could be the problem, but I'd like to eliminate other less expensive possibilities before jumping to that conclusion. Thanks for all the help guys...I'm not giving up until this issue is completely resolved.

 

[Jeff99GS]

Well on my 1997 the driver side axle SNAPPED in. It was actually quite hard to get the axle fully seated. Make sure that axle is all the way in or IT WILL MAKE a clicking/popping/snapping/cracking sound when you turn. If the axle is NOT all the way INTO the trans then the CV joint will definitely make noise.

 

[shadow_FIX910]

Yeah, the pass. side was definitely tough to get in there. Well let's cross our fingers and hope that the problem is that I didn't get my driver's axle seated all the way in! *crosses fingers* I'll report back with what I find.