Name that noise!

[zmatt]

Seems i got in late, my first guess was CV or power steering pump. After reading, it's definitely the CV joints. It's a Hyundai so parts shouldn't be bad. You will need two jacks to get the front up, some metric wrenches, new half shafts, a shop manual ( I prefer Helm's ,a little tub of grease and an afternoon. I redid the entire front suspension and steering on my Fiat spider in one Saturday, but there was two of us and I knew what I was doing. It was also rear wheel drive which made the front less complicated.

I would also go ahead an replace both. The second one will be faster once you know what to do and if one is going out the other probably isn't far behind, unless you are Jeff Gordon and only make left turns that is.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

A bad joint can last years, or days. Out of the cars I have driven, nearly all of them have a clicking noise and bad CV joints, but, with money being so tight, I have let them go for two years, though, the noises are getting slightly worse, I take the boot off once in awhile to inspect the joint for damage.

 

[zmatt]

My first car had a bad CV joint and after i replaced it the ride quality and handling improved greatly.

 

[Jayce]

My first car had a bad CV joint and after i replaced it the ride quality and handling improved greatly.

Do you recall how much it had ran you, cost wise, all said and done to get it fixed?

I took a 600 mile trip to South Carolina yesterday and I began to notice something that I figured I'd relay here in case you guys could help me figure out which side it is.

Think of a clock. When I'm going down the road, dead center @ 12, I hear this strong humming noise. If I turn the wheel to the left so it's at about 11:58, the noise disappears completely. While doing this @ 70mph, it's enough to slightly begin swaying to the left out of my lane. Very subtle, but it's not something I can sit at for the entire duration of the trip since clearly I need to go straight.

The humming continues, but does not get better/worse, as I begin to turn the wheel further right while on the highway. There were times I'd be switching lanes while the lanes were on a strong curve, and even then it didn't get better/worse. The clicking I only notice when going very slow in parking lots, etc.

There is no sound from 11:58 and on further when turning to the left. Like I said, just dead-straight, and mostly to the right. All of this was noticed at an average of 70mph.

I did not experience any handling issues, and due to some ****ing ****ty *** New Jersey driver who almost caused a car pile up, I realized that my car's nimbleness is still extremely responsive, even with the rear end sagged down due to a full trunk and a pair of bikes hanging off of the hitch rack.

If it wasn't for the clicking when turning in parking lots and the humming I explained above, I'd probably never know there was an issue at hand.

Does what I described above help indicate which side could be bad?

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Hmm, there was a way to tell by which direction you are turning, but, I can't remember which direction your turning, tells which side the CV joint could be bad....

But for some reason, I wanna say right = right, but it could be the total opposite... You may wanna cough up the cash to have a shop look at it, and tell you which one is actually bad.

 

[Jayce]

Hmm, there was a way to tell by which direction you are turning, but, I can't remember which direction your turning, tells which side the CV joint could be bad....

But for some reason, I wanna say right = right, but it could be the total opposite... You may wanna cough up the cash to have a shop look at it, and tell you which one is actually bad.

Someday I hope to do more of my own mechanic work, but the reality is I have one car and I rely on it heavily, so having it back in a timely manner is important. Someday when I can have two beater cars I'd like to do more work on my own so if I have to spend a night googling, come morning, I'm good to go with another ride.

I plan to take it to a shop, after all I have inspection due next month. I just want to have an idea of how much it would run so I don't go to the shop like what's up need this fixed and I'm prepared for dropping two bills and they want 800 bones or something. Ya know?

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Well, buying the parts is $60-$80 after core charges at autozone, expect them to do a markup of 60-70%, then, figure in two hours labor, at w/e you local rates are, and you have a rough estimate, you can ask them to give you an estimate after they find out whats wrong, but its deff CV joints, and POSSIBLY a bad wheel bearing, but, unlikely.

 

[aspire]

You're probably looking at a $400-500 bill out the door from a local mechanics shop. Even more if you want to go the dealer route.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

I called a friend that works at a GM dealer, he said for MY car, it would be $1300, but thats a dealers charge, a local shop wont be nearly as expensive though.

 

[aspire]

I called a friend that works at a GM dealer, he said for MY car, it would be $1300, but thats a dealers charge, a local shop wont be nearly as expensive though.

That's utterly insane, no wonder dealers are hurting, at prices like that, you'd have to be nucking futs to even consider it.