"clicking/knocking" sound from the right front

[sga32]

When I turn left I hear a "clicking/knocking" sound from the right front. It only does it under acceleration though. If coasting, it stays quiet as a mouse.

[sga32]

UPDATE: I took the right front wheel off and found the sway bar link missing!
What damage could this have done to the car?

[dscoobydoo]

No damage, just your handling will be all out of whack. People run without front swaybars all the time.

[sga32]

Here's a pic...

[sga32]

I'm thinking wheel bearing or cv joints. The guy I bought the car from just recently replaced the right front axle, so I'm not sure what it is.

Any advice?

[Lunatech]

How do the ball joints look?

[sga32]

The cr's at home, I'm not. I'll have to check that when I get there.

[bry]

sucks that the swaybar isn't hooked up, but that's not what causes clicking in a turn. its your cv-joints. just replace the whole axle with a reman. you can get one for about $60 with a lifetime warranty from autozone. funny thing is, you will be replacing it in 2 years because the rubber boots will crack and sling all the grease out. autozone is betting that you won't keep your car that long. if you intend to keep your car a long time, you could buy the autozone axle, and replace the boots with subaru, or just ante up and buy subaru axles (about $250).... choice is yours, but i know what i'd do, cause i don't like doing things twice and i especially don't like people bringing their cars back to me with a frown on their face....

[sga32]

I had someone tell me it could be the wheel bearing too. What's the chances?

[sga32]

It only does it when I turn right and accelerate at the same time.

[bry]

turn and accelerate = cv-joint, no doubt about it.... and, it's always the outer joint as that is the one that works thru the most extreme angles... but, just replace the whole half-shaft. no need to bother with changing out a joint (it isn't fun). to replace the axle:

*remove hub cap, the using a tapered end drift (aka punch), lift the staked portion of the axle nut.
*using a big .5" drive socket (i forget the size, but it is big, maybe 32mm or so) and a breakover bar with a cheater pipe (or just use a pneumatic impact gun, makes life easy), loosen and remove the axle nut
*put car on jack stands and remove wheels
*remove tie-rod from steering knuckle (19mm socket). if you don't have a puller, sometimes a sharp rap on the knuckle material which surrounds the tie rod stud will make the tie-rod drop out. if not, got to autozone and borrow the proper tool.
*remove stabilizer end link thru bolt (14mm socket with 14mm back up wrench)
*remove control arm inner bushing caps (don't remember the size, probably 12mm or 14mm as subie likes to use the same size over and over = easy to work on)
*crawl under car with about a .25" drift and use a hammer to drive out the taper pin that secures the axles to the transmission stubs. make certain you are pounding the pin out the right direction, or you will just make it tighter and screw it up. it is tapered you know....
*yank the axle out of the transmission
*installation is the opposite, tighten the axle nut to about 150-175 ft-lb and stake it with a drift

this car is waaaayyyy too easy to work on. trust me, i've worked on all different makes and models. easy-peasy...

good luck, you can do it!!!!

[sga32]

Thanks alot! I thought it would be a nightmare. The guy I bought it from had just replaced the same axle, but I was told that if he didn't torque it down enough, it would go out again. Is that true, or is there a bigger problem going on that' causing it?

[bry]

if he didn't run the nut up all the way, and there was a gap, then the bearing is probably toast.... not good, cause that job requires a press. it's quite possible as i just ran into this exact scenario, where a well-intentioned home mechanic tried to install his own axle. however, he bought a new axle nut as recommened in the haynes manual. he bought it from auto-zone and like all auto-zone shyt, it didn't work. the theads were tapered (chinese shyt) and it only ran up so far before hitting proper torque. unfortunately, it didn't preload the bearing and it was destroyed. i bought the car for my nephew 20k miles after he changed the shaft, and had to replace the bearing.

my suggestion, go ahead and reuse the factory nut. won't hurt a thing... if you must replace a non-original nut, buy oe subaru. it costs less than $5.

[sga32]

Thanks. I'll ask the guy if he used the autozone nut. Just went and bought the autozone halfshaft.......I know, I know, but I need my car now. I'll just budget for the good one a couple years from now. Thanks for all the help!