CV joint sound?

[zoe60]

I'm wondering if anyone knows what this could be. In my '02 WRX, if I drive perfectly straight or turn to the right everything sounds fine. If I turn the wheel slightly left it sounds like a bad CV joint. If I turn farther to the left the sound goes away. If I hit the brakes while the clicking is going on the sound stops instantly. I have looked carefully at the half shafts and the boots are in perfect shape. Car has 132000 miles and is otherwise in great shape. Well maintained and not abused. I hate to replace the half shaft if it is not bad, but it's all I can think of at this point. Any ideas will be appreciated.

[SD_GR]

Lift the car off that wheel and support it safely on a jack stand. Grasp the wheel and see if you can feel play. Remove the wheel and look for debris. Go from there.

[zoe60]

I'll check it out. Thanks.

[SD_GR]

When you grasp the wheel, try holding it from 12:00 and 6:00 and pulling laterally to see if there is play. Failing that, and failing finding any debris when you remove the wheel, look again carefully at the suspension, steering, and axle. Be sure you are not relying on the jack for safety, as it's unsafe.

[zoe60]

I'm thinking it's probably the half shaft by the noise. Found no problems at all with suspension, brakes, or bearings. My Suby dealer has rebuilt ones for $175.00. Looks easy to install. Sure didn't expect it to go bad yet. I've worked on this car a lot recently. Love driving it though.

[SD_GR]

The instal is not bad. Grab a new axle nut and a new retaining pin from the dealer, and ask for all torque values. I am surprised the boots don't leak frankly. Sometimes, the axle seizes on the hub. I solved this by swearing very, very loudly and using antiseize spray and a hammer.

[zoe60]

Well, now I think the axle is good. when I took it out and got the hub to the point where I could spin it I realized that my wheel bearing is toast! Getting a new one and a ball joint pressed in now. I'll let you know how it does after reassembly.

[SD_GR]

Aha, at least you know the issue now. OK good luck.

[zoe60]

Got it! After I repaired the noisy bearing, the clicking was still there. I finally got the idea to actually take the brake caliper off and inspect more closely. Looks like whoever installed the brakes got the caliper pin turned enough so it would not seat all the way against the caliper, resulting in a misalignment which kept the caliper from sliding properly. Over time this resulted in loose pads and the clicking sound. I've seen this clicking issue posted several times and I hope this may help someone else find a hard to diagnose problem. Thanks a lot SD_GR!