CV Joint Failure?

My '92 A (no LSD) is developing a new sound in the right rear (unless my
ears deceive me.)
It sounds like a truck with mud tires above about 30 mph. The sound
varies with vehicle speed and is independent of engine speed. There's no
thumping, it's more of a whirring sound. Lateral forces on the car don't
affect it (cornering.)
The drive train feels tight between tranny & drive shaft and all the way
back. No leaks from tranny or differential, all the boots are in very
good condition.
Replaced transmission oil and differential fluid. Both were clean.
Tires have about 10k miles and detailed inspection shows no abnormalities.
The car has 205k miles.

Does a failing CV joint sound like a good analysis? Are there other
things I should check?

TIA
Ephar & Bambi

Ephar wrote:
> My '92 A (no LSD) is developing a new sound in the right rear (unless my
> ears deceive me.)
> It sounds like a truck with mud tires above about 30 mph. The sound
> varies with vehicle speed and is independent of engine speed. There's no
> thumping, it's more of a whirring sound. Lateral forces on the car don't
> affect it (cornering.)
> The drive train feels tight between tranny & drive shaft and all the way
> back. No leaks from tranny or differential, all the boots are in very
> good condition.
> Replaced transmission oil and differential fluid. Both were clean.
> Tires have about 10k miles and detailed inspection shows no abnormalities.
> The car has 205k miles.
>
> Does a failing CV joint sound like a good analysis? Are there other
> things I should check?
>
> TIA
> Ephar & Bambi

ever replace the wheel bearings?

In article >,
"Ephar" > wrote:

> Does a failing CV joint sound like a good analysis?

I don't think so.

> Are there other
> things I should check?

Debris between brake rotor and splash shield? Directionality of sounds
is not very reliable, so check both sides.

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

On Mar 23, 1:17*pm, "Ephar" > wrote:
> * My '92 A (no LSD) is developing a new sound in the right rear (unless my
> * ears deceive me.)
> * It sounds like a truck with mud tires above about 30 mph. *The sound
> * varies with vehicle speed and is independent of engine speed. *There's no
> * thumping, it's more of a whirring sound. *Lateral forces on the car don't
> * affect it (cornering.)
> * The drive train feels tight between tranny & drive shaft and all the way
> * back. *No leaks from tranny or differential, all the boots are in very
> * good condition.
> * Replaced transmission oil and differential fluid. *Both were clean.
> * Tires have about 10k miles and detailed inspection shows no abnormalities.
> * The car has 205k miles.
>
> * Does a failing CV joint sound like a good analysis? *Are there other
> * things I should check?
>
> * TIA
> * * Ephar & Bambi

I would have the tires and alignment checked by a tire shop. Take one
of their guys for a ride and see what they say. Could be a bad tire. I
thought I had a wheel bearing going out and it turned out to be a
cupped tire because the alignment was off. The faster I went the
louder the noise was. The bad tire was also on the right rear and it
was waaaaay out of alignment.

Lanny Chambers wrote:

> Debris between brake rotor and splash shield? Directionality of sounds
> is not very reliable, so check both sides.

that's sounds more like a chainsaw, faster you go faster the lumberjacks
run trough the woods

had one during shortcut_trough_woods_rally_type going home trips...

"Domagoj Bagaric" > wrote in message
...
> Lanny Chambers wrote:
>
>> Debris between brake rotor and splash shield? Directionality of sounds is
>> not very reliable, so check both sides.
>
> that's sounds more like a chainsaw, faster you go faster the lumberjacks
> run trough the woods
>
> had one during shortcut_trough_woods_rally_type going home trips...

Domagoj


I would guess that the type of debris would / could make a big difference
in the sound produced.

Chris
99BBB

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:

> I would guess that the type of debris would / could make a big
> difference in the sound produced.

true

I had a small stone.

Since the car has an "open" rear end instead of a limited slip, it's
possible to jack the side up and block the wheels on the other side,
then use a rod or stethoscope to find the noise source. (Engine running, car
in gear etc. requires careful attention to safety.)
I once had to do this on an Mazda MPV.
Turned out that the passenger side rear wheel bearing had a cracked/broken
plastic spacer between the ball bearings.
It was easier to fix than find.

"Ephar" > wrote in message
...
> My '92 A (no LSD) is developing a new sound in the right rear (unless my
> ears deceive me.)
> It sounds like a truck with mud tires above about 30 mph. The sound
> varies with vehicle speed and is independent of engine speed. There's no
> thumping, it's more of a whirring sound. Lateral forces on the car don't
> affect it (cornering.)
> The drive train feels tight between tranny & drive shaft and all the way
> back. No leaks from tranny or differential, all the boots are in very
> good condition.
> Replaced transmission oil and differential fluid. Both were clean.
> Tires have about 10k miles and detailed inspection shows no
> abnormalities.
> The car has 205k miles.
>
> Does a failing CV joint sound like a good analysis? Are there other
> things I should check?
>
> TIA
> Ephar & Bambi

> > * thumping, it's more of a whirring sound. *Lateral forces on the car don't
> > * affect it (cornering.)
>
> ever replace the wheel bearings?

Based on the first statement alone I would suspect it probably is not
the wheel bearings. Normally when those start to go they get louder
when you apply lateral load.

Chris

Hal wrote:
>>> thumping, it's more of a whirring sound. Lateral forces on the car don't
>>> affect it (cornering.)
>> ever replace the wheel bearings?
>
> Based on the first statement alone I would suspect it probably is not
> the wheel bearings. Normally when those start to go they get louder
> when you apply lateral load.
>
> Chris

i think that noise change (increased or decreased) upon lateral movement
is more apparent if the issue is in the front not the rear. i chased
down a problem that everyone said was cv joints but still had the noise
after both axles were replaced... obviously the op has some work to do
to corectly identify his/her problem.