Help diagnose clicking from rear wheels

[NSXonwheels]

I have used the search feature and found that it could be wheel bearing, mid shaft bearing, sway bar link, cv joint, axle splines moving around, etc. But just 2 weekends ago I spent hours cleaning the suspension parts and sprayed simple green pretty generously all over, I tried to avoid getting it into the end links and rotor and stuff but I'm sure it still went all over.

So could my clicking noise be from the simple green drying something out? Wheel bearing, end link, what should I lube up to see if it works? I hear it when going straight and turning. When I jack up the car and put it on jack stands both wheels feel solid when I try to push and pull on the edges of them. CV boots look brand new, no leaks, tears. But when I rotate the wheel, as it does when driving, and go back and forth it sounds pretty rough in there. Theres also a little bit of play while switching directions. Transmission is in neutral. So I'm leaning that it's some simple green getting into the wheel bearings, what do you guys think? And if you guys have some how tos along with your recommendations that would be great. Thanks guys. For reference, it's a 1991 5-speed 39k miles, ctsc. All maintenance kept up.

P.S: can I blame this on Meeyatch? Lol, I saw his insane restoration thread on his GPW 180k mile beauty and had to go detail something on mine.

 

[angus]

Most likely a wheel bearing. Had it before more than once.

 

[NSXonwheels]

Thanks Angus, what's a reasonable price to pay to have new wheel bearings pressed in? I imagine I would have to do both rears while at it, correct?

 

[venomous42]

Thanks Angus, what's a reasonable price to pay to have new wheel bearings pressed in? I imagine I would have to do both rears while at it, correct?

if you take it off and take it to a machineshop or mechanic garage, they charge around 1 hr labor. to press out old and press in new.

 

[UnhuZ]

Hi,

i had a clicking noise also, and turn out to be the 2 piece RB rotors...

swapped with a OEM rotor and noise went away... i swapped back to the RB and the noise
came back... i heard it's a thing that the 2 piece rotors use to do...no problem at all and
as time passes, the noise is almost none.

Nuno

 

[SFNSXguy]

Have seen two NSXs where the clicking from the wheels turned out to be cracked wheels (spokes). Only the early 15/16 wheels.

 

[NSXonwheels]

Ok, I think I found the culprit. The inner boot on the rear passenger side is leaking around the metal band on the bigger hub side of the boot. I can see a little bit of grease slung around the engine block and side of the oil pan in a linear pattern.

So, where to go from here? If its already making a clicking noise would repacking it and new boot and clamps fix it or do I need to replace the entire shaft assembly?

 

[dablackgoku1234]

The quick fix is to repack it with grease and a new boot. This will eliminate the noise. The more thorough solution is to dismantle the joint and "refurbish" the entire joint looking for excess wear. Kaz has a DIY tutorial on how to do it on the nsxcb.co.uk forums.

Edit: I had the same problem and repacking it with grease solved the noise.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...rom-the-rear?p=1748447&viewfull=1#post1748447

 

[davidf]

I would have to question this being your clicking issue. I'm not ruling it out but just a little grease from the CV boot isn't enough to cause a huge concern. You never said when it clicks. I assume you had the wheels off the car during the cleaning process! Did you torque them back to spec? Yes you need to fix the leaky book but I'm scratching my head weather thats your click. And no you don't need to replace the shaft. If the boots not split, just the band.

Ok, I think I found the culprit. The inner boot on the rear passenger side is leaking around the metal band on the bigger hub side of the boot. I can see a little bit of grease slung around the engine block and side of the oil pan in a linear pattern.

So, where to go from here? If its already making a clicking noise would repacking it and new boot and clamps fix it or do I need to replace the entire shaft assembly?

 

[NSXonwheels]

Thanks David, I did retorque the wheels to 85 ft lbs. I can hear the click when I'm driving slowly with the windows down. It could be a click per wheel revolution, turning doesn't make it worse or better. I checked the tires for nails or rocks, nothing there. Rotors look good too. I don't hear the click when I spin the wheel when the car is off the ground.

- - - Updated - - -

The quick fix is to repack it with grease and a new boot. This will eliminate the noise. The more thorough solution is to dismantle the joint and "refurbish" the entire joint looking for excess wear. Kaz has a DIY tutorial on how to do it on the nsxcb.co.uk forums.

Edit: I had the same problem and repacking it with grease solved the noise.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...rom-the-rear?p=1748447&viewfull=1#post1748447

I hate for,you to waste your 1,000th post on this issues. Maybe go post something genius first and then answer this with your 1001th haha.

I read your thread, your noise sounds like when I had a bad differential in the corvette. Mine is more of a minor clicking. I'll definitely replace the metal band and repack the boot but it doesn't seem like any damage there. Maybe it's as simple as not torquing the wheels correctly that time.

 

[dablackgoku1234]

Haha, I didn't realize my post count hit 1000 already.

Anyways, my clicking started out very minor. Only under certain conditions I could hear it. I knew there was something wrong but during the time I was trying to pinpoint the cause, I kept driving the car. And it got worse and worse to the point where simply rolling down a ramp in neutral at 2 mph with the engine off caused the noise. That was when I knew it was one of the 4 CV joints.

Check the wheel torque first, that you can do for free. If the noise still persists, look into the CV joint. If the boot looks good, just repack the grease and replace the band. Should cost less than $100 all said and done.

 

[NSXonwheels]

Haha, I didn't realize my post count hit 1000 already.

Anyways, my clicking started out very minor. Only under certain conditions I could hear it. I knew there was something wrong but during the time I was trying to pinpoint the cause, I kept driving the car. And it got worse and worse to the point where simply rolling down a ramp in neutral at 2 mph with the engine off caused the noise. That was when I knew it was one of the 4 CV joints.

Check the wheel torque first, that you can do for free. If the noise still persists, look into the CV joint. If the boot looks good, just repack the grease and replace the band. Should cost less than $100 all said and done.

Thanks guys, this is why I love prime. This is precisely the type of answers I'm looking for, instead of replace this and pay $5,000 for that, you guys are helping trouble shoot the problem beginning from simple and working my way up. Thanks again guys. I'm going under the car now to clean the area and see if there's anything else that could cause the clicking.

Has a bad wheel bearing been ruled out since it clicks when I go straight not just turning?

 

[davidf]

Most wheel bearings I've delt with tend to roar at road speeds. 39000 on the clock leads me to think not a wheel bearing.

 

[NSXonwheels]

Upon further inspection I found a tiny screw embedded in the tire. The head was missing so it was hard to see and why I didn't see it upon first inspection. Luckily it didn't puncture all the way through, I pulled it out, did the soap and water bubble test and looks like there's no leak. I put the wheel back, torqued everything and will test it again tomorrow.

If that was the clicking noise then sorry to bother everybody with something I should have discovered myself but in the end, while checking for the clicking noise I noticed the leaking boot clamp so it turned out to be a good thing and will let me fix it before it becomes a bigger problem. If the noise is still there tomorrow then the search for it continues.

 

[HDA]

Good luck with the test.

I had a wheel bearing going bad on a S2000 and the sound is more like when you have the brake pads at the fruit (gone).

 

[NSXonwheels]

The click has now become a faint rattle. I can only hear it when driving with windows down near a wall and can hear the echo of it. Car going to the mechanic later this week for a repack boot and clamp. I guess moral of the story is to put the car on jack stands or lift and take a look under there every once in a while. I could have driven another several hundred miles with the windows up and done way more damage. I'll post how the repack and noise go.