SIngle loud click when accelerating

[Y]

Hi,

The other day I had my winter tires put on the same rims and since then I can hear a single loud click on the front driver side when I start accelerating (most of the time), I can even feel it a bit through the floor board. It’s also starting to get cold outside (below freezing).

When I was at the garage, they didn’t do anything else besides remove and reinstall the wheels from what I could tell. They also wire brushed my rims and put some copper grease inside the rims where they seat on the hub.

I didn’t get a chance to check the torque on the lug nuts but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t mess that up… they did use the gun though.

Is there anything else that would be causing this noise?

My car is a 2000 accord 2.3L MT

Thanks

Topic

[george gonzalez]

Oh, yeah, the nut keeps the hub in the bearing. I dunno about bearing pre-load, the bearings I’ve seen on the front looked solid, not your tapered side-loaded kind, but I could be all wrong. Also 180 ft lbs sounds like wildly excessive for preloading. Whatever the situation, the symptom sounds like exactly what you’d get from a slightly looser than optimum spindle nut.

[Kevin Criswell]

In this case pre-loading only ensures the outer shell is properly aligned to the inner shell. Too tight and there is a slight misalignment of the shells, too loose and the hub and outboard inner shell half will walk out and misalign.

[Y]

Good thinking with the axle nut, at first that seemed like it could possibly be the problem.

However, today was much colder outside and as I started driving I heard the same noise but now I could clearly hear a noise like ice breaking or dislodging from the driver’s side rear upon harder acceleration. It’s confusing because sometimes I feel like I can hear it from the front too so I don’t know if I’m hearing two separate things. Even as I was driving, I could hear an obvious high pitched knocking or tapping (like loose plastic) coming from around that location (the driver’s rear). After driving for a while the noises start to disappear.

If it was the axle nut, would the noise start to disappear after driving for a while??

It almost sounds like suspension parts that are frozen stiff.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I’m not so sure about the axle nut causing the noise. I also don’t think changing the wheels had anything to do with it. I think the cold weather might be the cause, or is aggravating the real problem. I have run into this issue quite often on those vehicles, especially manual transmission vehicles, and it’s usually the engine mounts. Both the front and rear mounts on that vehicle can go bad, especially on a manual transmission vehicle. Try rocking the vehicle back and forth in gear with the engine off and watch and listen to the engine as you do this. This can help prove out an issue with engine mounts if that is indeed the problem. You may also find the information and videos in this article useful to help you locate and repair the problem.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car

[Y]

Thanks Eric,

You’re probably right about those engine mounts; I’ve been suspicious of them for a while. I noticed the engine moves quite a bit when opening the trottle by hand and I also have lugged the engine more than a few times. I didn’t try the test you suggested yet but I will next time I get the chance.

[Author]

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