MX-3.com

Ok here is the scoop, i know there is another thread about CV's nearby, but my problem i do not believe is as severe.

I drove the car on some rough dirt roads a few times over the past week. Its a 1994 RS 4 cyl. Driving around this evening I hear a VERY slight clicking sort of sound, kinda like gum is on the tire and is sticking everytime it rolls over, but a little louder than that would be. I figured CV joint is going on this side (drivers side) and want to catch it before anything serious happens. I searched around and read the horror stories. Its only a slight clicking, and I do use the car occcasionally offroad, so im kinda sketch about going offroad again until i get this locked down.

What part can I replace, roughly how much USD$ is it, what is usually the biggest culprit, what can i catch before it rips stuff and breaks?

I have Ground Controls andd have read that more than one person has had this issue that has had GC's, but i DID NOT lower the car at all, it is stock height yet.

I saw these links:

http://www.raxles.com/ordering.aspx (might call them to see what they can offer when i get a better idea of the prob)

http://www.driveshaftshop.com/item135655.ctlg (700$ is a little beyond what i expect to spend, and these say they are for the DOHC.)

Also what wwould be interchangeable as far as parts I could replace, for example I was reading a post and someone said they put a protege axle in????

Thanks for the input. Remember this is just a BARELY noticable sound now, but i want to catch it before it becomes a big issue. Car still runs and drives fine, but im babying it for now and no offroad until i figure this out.

Also saw these on the board:

its either a bad cv axle or a bad wheel bearing cause i just went through this...ive actually had both things go wrong and they sound very similar.....the axle if you want to do it yourself will cost about $100 for the axle.....and if its the wheel bearing it's like $50 for the bearing and its a press in style so you should get a shop to do it so i would say about $100 or so for labour...

Cv's are pretty easy to check on your own...use a lift or climb under the front. Turn your wheels as far as they will go each way and check the rubber boots for cracks and rips. Also grease pretty much all over the place (inside wheels and such). Mine didn't have any grease anywhere cause it sat so long. Who knows when they went out.So I had to check the boots. They were torn all the way across.

YES i did have grease on the inside of one of my wheels i noticed when i changed my tires over.

When does the clicking occur? From my experiences, bad joints only click when you're turning. One way to test it is to find a parking lot, or better yet, a parking garage (echoes). Drive in a circle, listening for the clicking. Don't turn your wheel quite to the max, though, that's terrible for healthy CVs. The faster you circle, the louder and quicker the clicks should happen. Both bad axles I've had also didn't click near as bad when I corner with my foot off the pedal, my best guess is because the wheel alone turning the axle is less stressful than the engine turning it.

check your CV Boot, it might just be that? mine was ripped and it started clicking everytime i made turns. i replaced the boot and greased it back up, now everything is fine.

I have had bad axles knock/tick/grind etc. even when traveling straight ahead.

Dont let the horror stories get you down. 99% of the time its just a couple hours surgery and a few dozen dollars from your pocket to fix the problem. Replacing axles really isnt that bad of a job.

chances are that if you already had grease leakin out of them for a while, and then you were drivin' on some dfirt roads, they're shot. My boot was not actually split. What happened to me was one of my swaybar links broke, and when I turned, it pulled the boot off where it was clamped to the joint. It was noty very obvious to begin with, but Then I noticed that there was grease everywhere. People have found the axles for cheaper, but Auto Zone near me lists them for 89.99. Since it was the dead of winter when mine went bad and I had no garage, I payed to have it installed. The axle that they got listed out for 99.99 and I payed them 65.00 for labor, plus I gave the guy a $10 Tip for fast service. (always tip your mechanic!)