Hello all. I have a 2001 Forester with approx. 130k miles 5 speed MT. Sometimes when making a low (5-15mph) speed right hand turn I hear a mild thunk thunk thunk thunk emanating from the front pax corner. The frequency seems linked to the speed. Curiously, I do not hear the noise every time I make a right and I have yet to notice a trend. My partner drives the vehicle more often than I but doesn’t make any connections either.
I am relatively certain that we replaced that cv joint/axle this past June.
I will check my files.
Hope someone can help.
thanks
Most CV axle replacements these days are rebuilt units. A huge proportion of those are terrible and either immediately bad or short lived. So I wouldn’t rule it out. It would be a bit odd if it was ONLY a low speed issue with no similar sign at higher speeds.
But do yourself a favor and check your lug nuts. Then you probably just have to get a shop to look it over & take it for a drive.
Definitely have it checked out.
And understand that this type of thunking sound when turning could be coming from the axle on the other side too. You have two types of CV joints on each axle. The outer on is like a ball joint with slots, and small bearing balls entrapped in the slots between the large “ball” and socket. They’ll tend to click when they’re worn as the little balls move too freely within the slots.
The inner CV joint will have radial “posts” with bearings on them that are entrapped within a slotted housing. The axls has to be able to cange length as the steering and the suspension move through their gemoetries. That one can thunk when it’s worn, as the bearings bang against the outer slotted housing.
I’ve enclosed a link that hopefully will provide some clarity.
http://tijil.org/Scion_Docs/05_tC_Shop_Manuals/Repair%20Info/Repair%20Manual/Drive%20Shaft-Propeller%20Shaft/Front%20Drive%20Shaft/conponen.pdf
Much appreciated. Thanks for the manual blow up. Will follow up once its looked at.