well... like the title says, it happens when im slowly backing up or slowly creeping forward (under 20mph). its like a rattling kind of noise, its a pattern of a number of ticks that cycles over and over again. visually i couldnt see anything wrong.

it sounds similar to a bad bearing. but how could it be the bearings, when the car is not even at 8000 miles?

 

Are you lowered by chance?

 

Its normal. its your transmission. its just the gear

 

yes i am lowered but its only 1 inch on swift springs with stock struts. also have the dc stb up front and 17" sportmax 006

but yea, so far its just a noise... it doesnt feel wierd or anything... im just afraid that my wheel might roll off or something.

 

find a safe hill, stop, take it out of gear and let it coast backward.

I have a feeling that it's your directional tires making the sound you're not used to.

 

this only started happeneing recently, quite some time after i got these wheels/tires... and it happens both forward and reverse

but i will try that hill method. hopefully that doesnt turn into a disaster lol

 

I have had the same issues. It does just what you said , but im lowered on tein s techs and stock struts. I'm curious to find out what this could be. Like ryuji16 said you cant feel it it just don't sound right.

 

are you a stick or automatic? i have the 5 speed, i wonder if that has anything to do with it...

a buddy of mine suggested it might be the spring adjusting itself in the perch. its a possibility, but this noise sounds like it wouldnt just be that...

 

OK , I'll try , first- does it do it when you apply power or when coasting/being pushed ?
second-does it make the noise when it's cold ( meaning sitting over
night ?
third-does it make the noise when turning ( ever) ?
forth- have you ever hit a " bump-stop" a little hard ?
fifth- have you ever had it up on a lift to look at real close ?
soon as I hear answers back I'll try.

 

cool... ill answer by number:

1. it happens at low speeds whether i am coasting or applying power, but its the same regardless of what i am doing. it just always happens at low speeds, below 20 mph

2. it happens regardless of the temperature, and regardless of how long it had been before i last drove it

3. it makes the noise when turning, at low speeds. the sound is the same.

4. ive hit bumps hard but nothing crazy. although i do work in west hollywood and the road conditions are crap there

5. i havent had a chance to put it up on a lift

it doesnt happen EVERY single time, but more times than not.

it ONLY happens when the car is in motion

i recently had an alignment done at discount tire and an oil change/inspection at the dealer. i started noticing this noise about 1-2 weeks after. they didnt mention anything out of the ordinary at the time of service.

thanks for all the feedback guys... although i have this sick feeling that its got something to do with the bearings... and it sounds like both sides are compromised

i have really bad luck with axles/bearings... my last car went through them like a batch of cupcakes at fat camp...

 

cupcakes at fat camp

 

i know mine has always done it in rever while turning . or when turning while NOT moving. so it's just a bit of misaligned axles/cv joints. if the clicking happens during turns while moving and only one way(left or right) then you have a bad cv joint/boot.


put it uop on a lift and check out the boots on your cv joints.

the outside joints will click during turning , the inboard joints will clunk when accel , decel , and or on bumpy roads.


and 1 inch lowering springs do not even count as lowered so your driveshafts should still be correctly aligned.

 

Ok, here comes my look at it...

check the disc brake backing plates , they sometimes rattle. this is the cheaper of the 2 I can think of.

now for the expensive idea to look at, get it on a lift and check the inner cv joint. on lowered cars, even an inch, you put a strain on the inners by changing the angle of attack, they may be going , they are not gone yet, but I'd say they are on their way south.

just a quess cause i can't see or hear the noise from here :D

I hope for your pocketbook that it is just loose backing plates.

 

I'd say an inch doesn't put them out of specified range of motion. jmo. I don't know or have stats.


I mean TRD springs are an inch and are put on at dealers...

and true the disck brake backing plates may have come loose or been hit by debris and are suddenly misaligned/bent.

 

sometimes when installing new springs, people let their axels drop and hang, if they flatten 1, just 1, of the needle bearings in the joint, it can eventually grind the race/other bearings down sooner causing enough play to start the destruction process early.

 

very true and said people shouldn't be doing much work on many cars , lol.

still an if though. it'll be interesting to see his and anyone elesers axles who complain of related noises to see whetehr or not that really is their causes.

 

i tried as best as i could not to let the axles hang too far when i did the springs. i had a jack under the disc and everything. however one of the axles popped out while i was trying to manuever the strut back into the knuckle. popped it right back in without any issues though. this didnt happen with the other one.

the backing plates were the first thing i checked but they felt pretty snug. i even tried pushing them back further away from the disc, in case it was rubbing it, but that didnt help.

damn... this sucks... i really hope its not the bearings... and if it is, i really hope its somehow covered under warranty

 

hmm last i checked all cv axles can pop out like that . not all the way out but like you are describing , i don't think that it'd be a problem.

 

the cv boots appear to be ok, i peeked through my rims with a flashlight to take a look. i know damn well what a torn cv boot looks like...

 

hey guys thanks again for all the feedback... i think i will be bringing it to the dealer by the end of the week... hopefully. i am dreading that day.