Ok, I have recently (within the last month and a half) heard a knocking noise similar to an axle while driving.
The noise is NOT the motor checked into it and everything is good there.

The noise apears while turning as well as driving in straight line while accelerating. The repetion of this noise also increases as the speed increases.

The axles are not torn or in bad shape, the boots on the CV joints are fine, the axles are fairly new.

I am stuck on what it would be. The wheel bearings do not seem to be an issue as they do not move when pulled on as well as while rotated in the air they do not catch on anything and roll smoothly.

The only thing that I have noticed is that the upper ball joint on the passenger side is very loose and when pulling on the wheel notices that it was moving with ease and making a similar sound to that of what I am hearing. The driver side upper ball joint seemed to be the way that it should be not loose and completely 100% in shape.

My question is could this upper A-arm ball joint be the issue or is their a possiblity with something else being wrong?

Thanks.

 

Well fix the upper ball joint and see if that was the problem. Most likely it is going to be the wheel bearings though

 

Thanks. I think that is going to be the plan.

Is there a better way to verify whether or not the wheel bearings are bad?

 

Lift the car up on some jack stands and grap the wheel on top and bottom (north/south) and wiggle it like your trying to take it off. You will hear play in the bearing if it is really bad.

 

another way to check for a wheel bearing is to spin/or put in 1st gear and let the wheels spin and grab the upper arm to feel for any vibration. if you have vibration, you have a wheel bearing problem. sometimes wheel bearings cannot be physically noticable when taking the wheel rocking it back and forth, sometimes they just put off some vibration before they really start to go out. this is just another way to check it out in addition good luck

 

Wheel bearings cause a grinding noise not a knock noise.The test you told him to try is going to test the upper and lower ball joints and inner and outer tie rods more than it will a wheel bearing problem.

 

Hate to be captain obvious, but are your lug nuts tight?

 

i had this same problem....so i took the whole frickin tranny off and got a s20 tranny...when i looked at the old one i found out it was the input shaft! i was so pissed i sennt so much money for a little part. oh well got some experince out of it and somer good info...hope it helps u out...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by instructor74 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wheel bearings cause a grinding noise not a knock noise.The test you told him to try is going to test the upper and lower ball joints and inner and outer tie rods more than it will a wheel bearing problem.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes that is a way to test upper and lower ball joints, you can also check the wheel bearings that way. Rocking it back and forth will only give you feedback if the brearings are severely shot. Just another test in addition to the many others. And my boy larry is also right

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SLVRSTN_DC4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">another way to check for a wheel bearing is to spin/or put in 1st gear and let the wheels spin and grab the upper arm to feel for any vibration. if you have vibration, you have a wheel bearing problem. sometimes wheel bearings cannot be physically noticable when taking the wheel rocking it back and forth, sometimes they just put off some vibration before they really start to go out. this is just another way to check it out in addition good luck</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

correct, we are all just trying to give helpful hints before spending money on expensive parts that may not need to be replaced. easy and accessible tests are the best way to eliminate different failures. we all know the frustration and time consumption in these little pesky problems. again good luck with solving your issue

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by a_s_ol_ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hate to be captain obvious, but are your lug nuts tight?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes sir. That was the first thing that I checked. Again I know that the upper ball joint is worn and moves very loosly while testing for the wheel bearing (i.e. north to south wiggle).

The parts are on order to fix the upper ball joint. However I am starting to get the feeling that there may be more involved with the noise than just the ball joint.

Thank you for all the feedback! It is truly appreciated. I will let you know what I find out once I receive the parts and get them on.

Hopefully it is just the ball joint!

 

UPDATE:

As of 8:39 Oklahoma time on Monday the 7th,06. I have isolated a possible noise making device.

The passenger axle that the last time I looked was good is no longer in that condition. Both CV joints have the boots torn and there is no grease left in the joints themselves.

I was under the car looking for any other possible issues since the parts to fix the upper ball joint will be here in a few days and that is what i found. I will take some pics in a bit.

Also what is the best and least expensive way to fix the lower ball joints on my car. It appears both are fairly beat down and need to be replaced.

Never done that before so any suggestions would be really helpfull.

Thanks agian.