Background -
Well I've had the suspsipcion that my front right CV joint is on the way out, hearing a faint klunking noise making sharp right turns like out of my parking lot onto the street. I've also been hearing it on occasion driving. Well before yesterday I kinda chaulked it up to maybe it was my ears but yesterday it started making that dull clunking sound from the front right wheel while going down the road. I put the clutch in and coasted, noise went away, reved the engine a tad with the clutch still in - still no noise. Let the clutch out and start applying power to wheels and it immediately came back.
Today -
I called my mechanic whom I trust very much, family has known him for 20+ years, great guy, etc. etc. Anyrate, he told me it would be cheaper for me to put in a new axle with new joints and boots for cheaper than it'd cost to change the cv joint. He quoted me at 130 for parts and labor. I finally have a week off from school (fall break) and so I'll have time to work on the car myself though not a lot. This being the case, does 130 for parts and labor sound reasonable and how does it compare parts alone and how much time it'd take me to do this, I've done CVs once before on my brother's old jetta and my old colt vista and it was a bit of a pain in the ass.
My other question is will the new axle my mechanic would be putting in work with my anticipated turbo and AWD conversion after I get out of school. Right now if I can get my baby through school I'm planning on going turbo, AWD (currently just FWD, but I'll have some dough and like that 4.44), etc. etc., basically I'm trying to figure out how to justify a new axle to my parents so I can borrow some money from them . Thanks guys.
Yes, they can be swapped over when going AWD, they are different but will fit from what has been said on the board.
$130 sounds like a good price for parts and labor. How long is the half-shaft warrantied for? If you can get one with a lifetime warranty, then that is worth its weight in gold. Replace it once and never worry about it again.
a reman'd axle should be about 50 bucks...give or take 10-15.
Doing it yourself isn't too bad. I prefer to loosen the struts because getting the spindle off is not fun. I've also read that you can loosen the bolt on the front A-arm and that'll give you enough room.
The FWD axles will work fine with the turbo tranny. That's what I got in my car, and they're beefier anyway.
Thanks guys. I'll call mechanic monday and see about the warrenty on the half axle. Stupid question but, what is a 'reman' axle?. I'll probably just try and talk my parents into the money to take it to the shop to do it as if I'm going to hassle with loosening struts and such I'd just as soon spend the limited time I have over break doing something else since I will have no time once I get back from break. Thanks and I'll keep you posted. And it was good news too to hear that my axles will work with an AWD setup.
For $130 I'd pay that and buy a six pack, and drink it while someone else does the work.
That is a righteous price in my opinion, some would charge close to $130 for the part alone, plus two hours labor. I usually hear around $200 for half shaft replacements, give or take.
I am dropping off my car at 1 today and he's going to be doing the work, then aligning it (he's charging a little more for the alignment, it's seperate I don't care) and I checked - lifetime warrenty . This evening I should be back in top shape.
Well good news and bad. Good news is that I have a new front right axle/joints and all four wheels aligned but the bad news is I'm out 180 and the knocking still hasn't gone away. It is rpm dependent if I have the clutch engaged and am applying power. However, as soon as I put the clutch in the knocking goes away. If I'm just rolling down the street with my foot off the gas and the clutch still engaged no knocking. It is definately coming from the front and I thought it was my CV but apparently wasn't . Any thoughts? I'm hoping something not too expensive. Thanks.
Yeah it's definately not an axle problem like I thought it was , though the steering feels tighter now.
It is RPM dependant. It will make the knocking in all five gears and if I'm going down the road and its knocking and I upshift to a lower rpm the frequency of the knock drops accordingly. It is also definately depenedant on whether or not the engine is trying to turn the wheels or if they are just coasting and the engine is just acting as a brake. I don't know much about our transmissions but - output bearing? The rest of the transmission seems fine, shifts fine and doesn't have any synch problems other than the occasional double clutch to get into reverse.
Why I asked if it's speed or rpm dependant, if it was speed dependant, I'd then fault the driveline/transmission/something. But you say it's rpm dependant...
I hate to say this, and I hope I'm not correct, but I dunno what else to say besides an engine bearing.
Well to be honest with you that might be the better of the things to go. I'm guessing I can find a used NA engine for cheaper than the front end of an AWD transmission since if I'm going to have to replace my transmission I'm going to give myself AWD capabilities once I could afford the back end. An engine bearing would not surprise me too much since I had my troubles with the crank pulley. Is there anything I can do to check the driveline/transmission or the engine to try and isolate the problem? And if it is an engine bearing, any ideas on how long she'd hold together and I could keep running the engine without doing damage to the driveline? So far the knocking is still intermittent (sp?) but it's becoming more regular. Thanks again.
its your throwout bearing! Or at least some part of you clutch. I have replaced a couple of motors this year and everytime the thowout bearing was SERIOUS TOAST! Like missing connecting springs and grinding. Then there is the bearing that gets pressed into the flywheel. Ususally this one "grinds" when old.
Good news?!?! Probably not your engine.
Bad news. Clutch replacement aint cheap if you pay someone, or fast if you do it yourself. A shop will charge you at least $450 and that is a steal I think.
If you are up to it, I would yank the motor and rebuild it while replacing the clutch. Other than the engine hoist rental cost, you can get a new clutch, rebuilt heads, new rings, new pistons if neccessary, all gaskets and various other parts for less than $750, $550 if you can get hooked up. I would give it 25 hours for a talented first timer. I just did it for the third time this year and it took about 14 hours and cost $550 without new pistons.
Reddevil, Awaiting new heart, will it ever happen?
1990 wagon, EJ25 12.3 @ 116.5 FAST Family wagon getting new motor soon
1992 wagon, wifes daily, high compression
1992 Touring wagon, should I keep it?
I know clutches aren't cheap because I had a new clutch kit and a flywheel resurface just over 20k ago, as in like 70 miles. It was my old trusted shop that put it in but it was a time when his mechanics were slipping, I had to take my car back to him after they did my clutch because they forgot to hook up my speedo, then I had to take it back for one more thing I think. The guy that originally started my old shop is back in business again down the road so I'm happy. If it is the clutch do you think it would be warrentied? 20k doesn't seem like that much. I'll admit I'm not always the easiest on it but my shifts are pretty much always smooth. Also, why do you think clutch instead of an engine bearing? As far as tearing down the engine. My crankshaft is already out of spec as far as balance goes. It may not be much but it is, that and then there's the fact that the crank pulley is JB-welded onto the end of the crankshaft.....
I should also mention that I am planning on getting a turbo motor once I get out of school so I don't want to have to invest in too much now engine wise. And what I do to the drivetrain I'd like to keep my next hp output in mind. Thanks for everything so far.
. Thanks guys.
. Any thoughts? I'm hoping something not too expensive. Thanks.
