sleekblackroadster

i have a couple question about these loose axel nut problems.. it is driving me absolutely nuts. and the noise has gone from a click every once in a while to clicking, clunking, and squeaking everytime i drive the car under 45 mph. please help me out.

is it only the left rear that is affected? or both sides or the car?

does this loose nut have any affect on the brakes? it seems like the inner most part of my rotor is beginning to get scraped by the edge of the pad even though there is a lot of life left on my pad. and the squeaking noises are usually brake related aren't they?

if i take my wheel off is the nut going to be visibly 'loose' or will it only be noticeable in the fact that i will be able to turn it even tighter than it already is? also will i be able to see or hear what parts are actually 'clicking' against each other or does the click only happen under the full stress of driving?

also what size is the nut? yesterday i attempted to tighten it myself but i think i tried up to 30mm and it was too small to fit around it.. so i will need to borrow a larger size.

thanks a bunch i'm planning on trying again after work!

dmfitz82

I think it's a 36 mm nut

xviper

It's a 36mm nut. You should check and tighten both sides. You cannot tell by looking at it if it's loose. The nut has a sort of collar on it and at one point, this collar is pounded in to the matching notch on the axle to prevent it from turning. The nut doesn't come loose. It's the wear on the other parts that makes it hold on less tightly. Both should be tightened to the new torque of 220.
A slightly untorqued hub nut should not cause the brake problems you speak of. If there is scraping, it is caused by something else.

sleekblackroadster

thanks fellas

i hope this does the trick

sleekblackroadster

gotta bump this before i go home..

i was looking through some old stuff i had saved since the search hasn't been working and i came across this in a common problems thread:

23 REAR AXLE NOISE
"A small number of owners report Rear Axle Nuts problems. Rear axle nuts are not loose, they just need to be retorqued to keep the hub from shifting on the axle splines which make the tick tick noise. The axle nut is "staked" and will not come loose from the axle. This is distinguishable by a clicking sound during quick starts in forward or reverse; however, don

xviper

The brake pad noise is generally associated with using the brake after driving in the opposite direction from when the brakes were last used. This is not uncommon and is not considered a big issue unless the noise is particular loud.

If you get clicks and squeaks while driving, this could be caused by many things, including a loose wheel weight or a slightly "draggy" brake pad that does not fully retract. Check you wheel weights and perhaps consider a brake fluid change.
Such noises can also be attributed to a foreign object being stuck in the tread (nail, rock, etc.).

sleekblackroadster

thanks for always chiming in x.. you're the best

..ok well i've never driven the pads in the opposite direction. i'm guessing that would mean that i had them mounted on the opposite side of the car and switched them over or something?

also i know its nothing to do with tires its a pretty loud metallic noise that has been around long before i last changed my rear tires. and i spun the tire around last night to look at the tread wear.

again i hope its just from a low tourque of the axel nut, but i am going to need to take the car in if i can't fix it soon so i want to know as much about the possibilities as i can. are wheel weights just the tiny rectangles stuck on the inside of the rim? they all appear fine and too small to cause such a noise. how do they get loose?

i definetely could see a possibility of it being a draggy pad because of the scratches on the rotor and the top inside edge of the pad itself appears to be slightly jagged. is changing the brake fluid the only way to change the contact of the pad with the rotor? there are no adjustments that can be made with the caliper/pad/rotor itself? if the brake pad contact is the case, would it be wise to get new pads or should the rough edge wear itself out with use once the pads are contacting the rotor normally?

xviper

You might be misunderstanding me when I'm talking about braking in the opposite direction from the previous braking action. When you drive forward and brake the car, the pads get shoved towards the forward position in their slots. Then, when you drive in reverse and stop, you shove the pads towards the rearward position in their slots. This movement may only be a tiny fraction of an inch. It will happen again when you drive forward and then apply the brakes again.

Yes, the wheel weights are those little square lead things that are stickied to the inner surface of the rim. They are only held on by double sided sticky tape. (Non-alloy rims use the typical curved weights that are hammered onto the edge of the rim near the tire rubber.) If the sticky tape looses its adhesion from the weights being put on a dirty rim or if you use harsh cleansers, the weight can "flip-flop" about as the wheel turns. You should grasp each wheel weight and gently try to lift them up. A thread was posted here some years ago where a road speed dependent clicking turned out to be a wheel weight that had become "unstuck".

Do the brake fluid flush and bleed first as this is easier and cheaper than changing out pads. If you have air or water in the system, the air will expand with heat build up and the water could boil. This will put pressure on the pads when there should be none.

Another thought that comes to mind is that you "may" have a CV joint that is on its way out or an internal differential issue. Go with the easy stuff first before targetting the expensive stuff.

Nobody

What's the best way to uncrimp the nut? The only tool small enough to get in there that's strong enough is a not so inexpensive knife.

Slows2k

Just loosen the nut. It will uncrimp itself on the non-threaded are of the axle.