Some dumb questions regarding diagnosing CV Joint Issues

[Tidybuoy]

I had a problem with the car last night (first problem in a long time)

1) It's a 1974 911

2) driving across town on a 50mph road, there was a fairly large bump (gentle incline) as I passed thru an intersection and the suspension extended quite a bit. Not a jaring bump but one that made me get chills in the legs; I had not driven this road in a long time and didn't know it was there.

3) 2 blocks later, the car started making a loud clicking which almost sounded like a bolt on one of the axles was coming loose and hitting something. I drove about 1/2 mile to my destination.

4) looked under the car with a flashlight and nothing seemed loose or missing. Bounced the car and nothing sounded loose. Rolled the car back & forth and no noises. Rocked the car while in gear, and everything sounded as it always does.

5) Unfortunately, I was 20 miles from home and in the middle of nowhere.

6) Proceded to drive home and noticed that the clicking (which sounded like a definate knock of a bolt hitting something) was fairly loud. Windows down, it was definately coming from the rear but I couldn't tell if from the left or right.

7) After a couple of miles on a long, straight road at 25mph, the sound went away completely. Luckly, I only got a couple of red lights in the 20 mile trip so driving was smooth & steady.

8) Sound would go away with clutch pedal engaged.

9) Got home and put the car on jack stands but I could not make the sound re-occur. I ran the car (on jackstands) thru all geaars both fast and slow but no unusual noise.

Lastly: 6 months ago, I replaced torn CV Boots after removing, cleaning, and re-packing. Everything looked ok but you could see minor wear in the joints.

Also, my driveway has a sharp left turn with an unavoidable pot hole. This past week, I've heard a noise each time I slowly hit the pot hole which I thought might be a loose shock. It would only make the noise when the suspension fully extended and my orig plan was to check this out this weekend.

Thanks for any input but I suspect I am going to need to replace at least one axle/CV's but I thought I would post my experience to see if anyone has any suggestions.

Vern

[kodioneill]

Sounds like C/V joint issues but I don't think the noise would go away with the clutch in. They're more likely to click when under load though. I'd pull them clean and check very dangerous to break a joint while driving.

[SchnellSchweitz]

Did you check your CV bolts while you were under there?

[JJ 911SC]

Shortly after doing a full brake job, I start hearing a clicking noise and would sometime go away when I engage the clutch and sometime it did not...

So I put the car up and rotate the wheel. Luckily it turn out too be to much loose in the emergency brake cable.

Try to replicate the clicking sound (by hand) with the car jack up and pinpoint the noise location.

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by kodioneill

very dangerous to break a joint while driving.

Believe me, I'm not going to drive the car again until this is resolved. I took a chance driving it home but I was in the middle of nowhere and did not have much options.

Originally Posted by SchnellSchweitz

Did you check your CV bolts while you were under there?

No, but it was night, cold, and I will definatly spend time this weekend and I will check the torque on all cv bolts.

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

Shortly after doing a full brake job, I start hearing a clicking noise and would sometime go away when I engage the clutch and sometime it did not...

So I put the car up and rotate the wheel. Luckily it turn out too be to much loose in the emergency brake cable.

Try to replicate the clicking sound (by hand) with the car jack up and pinpoint the noise location.

Thanks. I will spend some quality time this weekend. My other thought was the emergency brake shoes or springs coming loose as I had this problem on the 944 once.

[kodioneill]

Hope you find it and let us know.

[Jdub]

Extending the shafts may have stressed your bolts, or pushed an existing CV issue to the fore. Don't know the mileage on your shafts, but if you decide to replace any replace them all. I've had a CV break and it's not fun.

[Tidybuoy]

Problem Solved!

My new axle and CV Joints arrived yesterday and I installed this evening. When I removed the axle on the passenger side, the Outer CV Joint slid right off the axle. The circlip was missing. When I inspected the mounting place (I think this is the stub axle - area near the brakes), I found the broken circlip in the grease.

I installed the new Axle and not only is the noise gone, but the transmission is noticably quieter and it seems like the howl that I've had is gone. This is very good news to me as I was worried that I might not find anything broken and the problem could be something inside the trans. But all is well now. Thanks for all the comments

Vern