So two days ago I replaced my axles which were completely shot. I have no idea how they didnt just fall apart while I was driving but I guess I got lucky. Anyways, it took me awhile to put the new ones in but I put everything back together double checking to make sure I had all of the bolts at the right torque settings and also changed my tranny fluid with penzoil syncromesh (shifts like butter now ). But now when im at a complete stop or moving slowly while turning the wheel, my cv's are still making that "popping" noise. I also noticed that now when hitting a bump sometimes my front driverside will make a slight clunking noise like something is loose.
Im not a certified mech but ive went over and checked and everything quite a few times now everything seems to be solid. Im thinking maybe the tie rod ends or ball joints could be whats making the clunking noise but they seems to be ok too. And as for the axles still making that popping noise I have no clue. Maybe the car just doesnt like being lowered lol? Any ideas would be helpful, Thanks!
Last edited by jbud1291 on May 11th, 2012, 12:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
93 GS SE - Raspberry metallic. K8 - 2 1/4in exhaust w/Magnaflow street series muffler, Custom intake, Kyb Gr2's w/Apex springs, Full kenwood audio - SOLD
There are many options for CV axles. The last time I bought one they gave me the wrong one and it was longer...or shorter...one or the other. Could be something like that.
94' RS/GS/MS/CF Monster Turbo...coming soon.
93' GS SE, the Black Beast, the former love of my life...soon to be gutted and crushed.
94' GS, black on black, now in several small pieces...and one large crushed piece.
2007 Mazda3 GT Sport --- super fun
2004 Honda RC51 --- Lost forever to some theavin' bastard My Worklog My feedback thread Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
The last time I had clunking noise it was the balljoint bolt that bolted to the spindle. It was stripped and the balljoint post was allowed to flex inside the spindle. It turned out catastrophic. May not be your problem, but ball joints/tie rod ends are cheap so why not, especially if you have to tackle those axles again.
Tie rod ends are a suspect - if they develop too much play you will definitely hear a clunk from them at low speed turns (like parking lot maneuvers). I personally have a hard time testing the outer tie rod unless I get it out of the steering spindle.
Ball joints you can usually test with the wheel in the air and some rigorous tugging up and down with hands at 12 and 6 o'clock position on your tire.
Finally the stabilizer bar endlinks are really 2 ball joints. When they get worn and loose they will also creak or clunk.
Keep in mind that all these ball joints are really tight and tough to move with your hands when new. Once they get old the joint loosens up until you can eventually hear creaking or clunking noise. If ignored they fail completely. Check ball joint and outer tie rod ends. If those break bad stuff happens. Do it soon. There are too few of these cars and MX3 fans to take chances.
Thanks for all of the info guys...i didnt really notice or check to see if the axles were different lengths since the new ones seemed to fit fine. But ill look into that.
As for the ball joints and tie rod ends ill probably just replace all of them regardless of thier condition but from what u guys are telling me one or both of them is most likely going bad. And im guessing ill be able to replace them myself if I was able to do the axles? Once again thanks for the info much appreciated.
93 GS SE - Raspberry metallic. K8 - 2 1/4in exhaust w/Magnaflow street series muffler, Custom intake, Kyb Gr2's w/Apex springs, Full kenwood audio - SOLD
theres no point in replacing your links if there in good condition. theres a few ways to test them.
1. dry road test. with the car on the ground have someone sit in the car and turn the steering wheel back and forth slightly. look at tie rods, ball joints, end links and see if there is any play and that everything is nice and tight.
2. jack the car up slightly under the controll arm as close to the wheel as possible. get it so the wheel is like an inch off the ground. grab a large pry bar and put it under the tire and lift up and down. have someone inspect the ball joint for play.
3. jack the car normally and hold the wheel at 6 and 12 and rock back and forth. if theres free play your balljoint or wheel bearings can be bad. now grab the tire at 3x9 and rock back and forth freeplay or clicking noises here mean your tie rods are bad.
a good practice to get into when replacing any parts on your car is compare the new part to the old one. parts stores make mistakes all the time and catching something before you install it can save a bunch of time/headaches later when your trying to figure out why its not working as it should.
if they are bad they are relatively easy to replace. the hard part is getting the old ones out because they are splined and get kind of pressed into their holes when you tighten the nuts. a trick is to remove the cotter pins and loosen the nut till its loose (dont take it off). then bash the knuckle beside the tie rod with a large hammer. the shock from the hammer should cause it to pop out. as for ball joints mazda switched the design in 94 so we have 2 different types. they are almost identical with the only difference being the shaft size. make sure you get the proper ones. 92/93 ones are extremely difficult to find and even if the parts catalog says they are for a 92 doesnt mean they are. i tried like 4 different brands and 2 parts stores till i found the proper 92 ones for my old car. to remove the ball joints its easiest with a pickle fork...
). But now when im at a complete stop or moving slowly while turning the wheel, my cv's are still making that "popping" noise. I also noticed that now when hitting a bump sometimes my front driverside will make a slight clunking noise like something is loose.
