I have a 2000 ES, 3.2L, and Autostick. WHen turning from a stop, i.e. slow speed, and audible and feelable click is noticed in the front end. I have read up on this thinking I've got steering problems. All ball joints are snug, all tracking arms are snug, all suspention components are snug. What I did notice has to do with the drive shaft. The CV joint that attaches to the axel stub from the transmission will pull away from the stub a little bit. Not coming off of the stib but still moves. The distrubing thing is the stib from the transmission has a vertical play on the passenger side of about 1/4 inch! It's not leaking any fluid, it is a lot of play. The question is: Is this normal? If not, what went wrong? Is it internal to the transmission or is it the CV joint, (Wouldn't think so.) Is it a DIY-er or should a certified mechanic dive in.

By the by, it's got 116K on it. Not problems thus far. Oil changed religiously every 3K, trans fluid and filter changed @ 80k. Regular maintanence.

 

Not familiar with FWD.

However, according to a vehicle book I have: "A popping or clicking noise when turning indicates a possbily worn or damaged outer (C/V) joint. To help identify the exact cause, put the vehicle in reverse and back up in a circle. If the noise gets louder, the outer joints should be replaced."
A friend of mine bought a FWD vehicle recently, and it has a clicking on turns, the previous owners took $500 off the price because "the C/V joints are worn out."

C/V joints get my guess. As far as taking it to a mechanic, wouldn't know. It probably wouldn't make my day to replace one, but it wouldn't make my day to pay a mechanic to work their magic.

 

As "rules" says, this is typical of a CV joint. Naturally, when one goes, they both are suspect. (Although, the other may well have many K of miles left, since most sharp turns are in a single direction.)

You should check the manual to see if you can handle swapping them out. Generally, they aren't hard to do, but a few cars do require special tools... at least "special" in that many home mechanics don't have them.

If it's just started making the noise, you can check into rebuild kits. What happens is that the CV joints can't be lubed and the grease gives out. With a rebuild kit, you get a small amount of grease and a split boot. You remove the clamps on the old boot and cut it away. Grease everything up and put on the new boot. I would purchase a can or tube of the same grease and get a bit more in there... not too much but the kits are fairly limited in the grease they supply. With the kits, you don't have to do more than run the rig up on jackstands and spend a couple hours under the car. Not all cars have kits available and not all kits are equal. (I usually use a small stream of silicone cement to make sure things are sealed. Water does these no good at all.) Once you get the boot off, you can look for actual damage or rust or pits. Any of these mean the unit must be replaced... but rebuilt CV kits are available, complete with axle. There are, of course, also the kits that don't have the split covering. For these you pull the axle out. (Not a bad move, if the axle isn't hard to pull... such as being simply bolted in place. The one piece covers last longer, I think.)

BTW, with a Subaru, I did all 8 units, in the late 80's, for about $250. The boots were cracking. In the 90's, my Hyundai had a terrible imbalance in the left front wheel that took years and many $ to locate. It was an out-of-balance CV joint (factory) and for $100 I replaced it. No more probs. Each job was done in 1 day.

 

screw the rebuild kit, jus get a brand new axle shaft, if you know a mechanic, you can easily pick one up for about 50-100 bucks, if you don't they still aren't too expensive, most shops don't rebuild, they just replace, it's easier, cheaper and faster

 

just go with a rebuild kit start small first dont go jumping the gun like turbo here.
Sounds like you just need the joint rebuild kit look it up have a mechanic inspect it first though to make sure that is the culprit.
after that its all cake simple and a good way to ignore the girl lol good luck.

 

Ok, I've replaced the drive axel's on both sides, actually a pretty easy job for cheap. ~100. I also replaced the inner tie rod bushings. Really sured up the steering.

Problem: in replacing the axels, I noticed, as mentioned in the first post, the stub axel coming out of the transaxel has perpendicular play, (up-and-down or side-to-side movement). Much more on the passenger side than the driverside. I'm pretty sure from looking at the service manual, there should be no play from the stub axel. I'm guessing this means I'll be replacing the stub axel bearings, both inner and outter, OR does this mean I'll be replacing the entire differential?

 

I belive it is the c/v joint

like everyone else is saying

 

my 2001 had the same poping sound when turning and sometime when when in a slow roll early in the morning....i took it to my dealer and had to replace the bearings on that side...cost an arm & a leg...but now, no more popping...lol