Could a dry or bad CV "whine" instead of "click"?

initial · 11-09-2007, 07:16 AM

Pelicanites,

After doing right hand turns (in a spirited way!) I hear a repetitive high pitch whining sound coming from the rear right of the car. As I slow down to a stop, the duration of the whines increase.

Example: "Wee Wee Wee Wee Wee" (after a turn). As I approach the stopsign , it changes to "Weeeeee Weeeee Weeeee Weeeeeeeeeee Weeeeeeeeeee".

When I take off from the stop, It's gone, until the next hard right hand turn. A sharp left will also get rid of the whine.

It seems symptomatic of a CV Joint that needs greasing, but everything I read after multiple searches indicate that CV Joint's should "click" and not do a high pitch "whine".

Thoughts?

Jack Olsen · 11-09-2007, 07:42 AM

I'd look at wheel bearings.

Superman · 11-09-2007, 07:48 AM

I doubt it. Like Jack, I would look at wheel bearings. But first I would look at brakes. Something is rubbing, and between the bearings and the brake friction surfaces there are several square inches of rubbing potential.

Cory M · 11-09-2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

I'd look at wheel bearings.

+2

Zeke · 11-09-2007, 07:54 AM

Or pinion. Is is louder at a certain speed or it gets louder with increase in speed? How about when turning?

ZOA NOM · ZOA NOM's Garage

Do you have limited slip? The clutches could be going. Bearings usually squeal under load, and your description indicates a whine coming from the right rear after a right turn. I would expect the left rear bearing to make noise in a right turn.

JohnKo · 11-09-2007, 08:37 AM

Something rubbing.
For rubbing over degrees of wheel rotation "x," higher speed = higher frequency but shorter duration, lower speed = lower frequency by longer duration.
It's a thought...

Seric · 11-09-2007, 09:29 AM

I have the same issue, it's that "wee weee wee" that doesn't really match the rotation speed of the wheel, but is somehow connected to it. Mine seems to be coming from the rear right, so I popped the wheel off and the brakes looked fine. The wheel bearings where tight and didn't make any noise rotating the wheel by hand.

Another thing to mention is that it goes away at around 5 mph coming to a stop.

initial · 11-09-2007, 09:38 AM

Yes, I have the exact same problem description as Seric.

To answer some above questions:

higher speed it not equal to a higher frequency. Same frequency, just shorter duration.

No LSD on the car. It's an 89 3.2 stock cab.

Sound does not get louder with increased speed.

Possibilities based on the above are:

Wheel bearings, brakes rubbing and pinion but not the CV? Any other possibilities?

Superman · 11-09-2007, 09:51 AM

FWIW, the best single word for the sound made by bad wheel bearings is "growl." Sounds like a tank. Like knobby tires. Usually.

Squeaks and squeals are generally more "external." Fan belts, something caught between the brake pad and rotor, that sort of thing.

rusnak · 11-09-2007, 12:43 PM

my left rear bearing was going out about 6 years ago, and it made a high pitched whirring noise. I think it sounded like a supercharger on a chevy small block.

Anyway, the CV joints make a clicking sound which changes to a knocking sound. Both are a pain to change. You can find out by jacking up the car and then simply spinning the wheels.

Change the wheel bearings in pairs.

ZOA NOM · ZOA NOM's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by initial

No LSD on the car. It's an 89 3.2 stock cab.

That doesn't mean it doesn't have LSD. Do you know it doesn't have it, or are you assuming? You can check by simply jacking it up and spinning one rear wheel. If the other one turns in the same direction, you have LSD.

initial · 11-10-2007, 05:02 PM

I spun the rear wheel. The other wheel was spinning in the opposite direction. I take it this confirms I don't have LSD (my gear box and option codes confirm this as well).

When I spun the wheel, I felt no play or noise coming from the bearings. I did however hear faint cracking sounds coming from the axle boot at the tranny. This would confirm a problem with the CV joint.

I'm going to guess that the squeal sound I hear at speed (wee wee wee!) is the cracking sound I hear when I manually spin the wheel slowly.

The Bentley manual states that the CV joint may just need greasing and not necessarily replacing. Is this what is commonly done or do I absolutely need a new one if it's making noise?

spuggy · 11-10-2007, 05:47 PM

Yup, you don't have an LSD, even a worn one.

I first noticed my CV joints were knacked when they suddenly made a horrendous clanking noise pulling away gently from a grocery store late one night. After that, I noticed that when driving anywhere that noise would reflect back to the driver's side (e.g. a wall close to the road), there was a constant "busy whirring" from the rear axles.

Grab the end of the axle just above the CV itself, and push backwards and forwards at 90 degrees to the axle. If it moves significantly (as in goes "donk, donk" from side-to-side), it's completely shot, IMHO. Turn the wheel and test in several different positions, repeat for the other end of the axle next to the gearbox flange (these often don't seem as bad), then do the other side.

If it's just making noise but there's no play, you might be able to just re-pack with extreme-pressure Moly grease, 4oz each (they say, it's a struggle to get that much in). In my experience, if you've got bad play in one CV, you may find that other joints which show little or no play on the car may also be completely trashed when you strip them...

The sorts of damage you may find are chipped bearing cages and surfaces, skidding ball bearings with lumps out of them and blued or broken balls. The ones I did were much worse inside than I had expected.

If you're going to clean the old ones, be prepared to get completely filthy. I used two cans of brake cleaner and a roll and a half of shop towel.

Lookup the threads on using the correct bolts, moon washers and schnoor washers and be careful both to torque and then re-check those puppies...