Drivetrain "ticking" when accelerating
 

I hear a tick coming from what sounds like directly beneath my feet every time I load or unload the driveline by accelerating or decelerating. It gets pretty annoying in traffic, because as I'm chugging along in 2nd it ticks every second or so. I have the CorkSport RMM inserts, but other than that I'm completely stock. Has anyone heard this before?

Any luck adjusting your axle bolts? I had a torn CV boot repaired at the dealership under warranty a few months ago, so I guess the loose axle nuts could be the issue. I'm also going to re-torque my RMM bolts tonight, even though I used a high-end torque wrench to install them when I did the inserts. Thanks for the input!

I have the same issue. Went to dealer last week and they regreased the hub and splines, so the axle nuts are tight. Noise is still there. They said it was due to my transmission mount, but I dont buy it honestly as I am sure it was there before the mount.

Seeing as all kinds of people are having this issues it must be something OEM and not mod related. Mine is just like the OPs, clicking when there is weight transfer. Someone once suggested it could be the brake pads hitting the caliper bracket, again, not convinced.

Cleaned up the posts that pertain zero to OP's problem, to avoid any confusion.

I thought this was because they don't grease the axles when installing? Others have reported greasing the hub and having the problem go away.

I think there is a tsb on this?

Well thats what I had done and the issue persists for me.

OK so I removed the axle nuts, banged the axle as far in and through the hub as i could to expose as much of the splines as possible. I used a small screw driver to put grease inside the hub. Then from the back I put grease on the exposed portion of the splines on the axle. Then I worked the axle in out several times. I put grease on the back collar of the axle nut and reassembled. No more ticking/creaking.

How would you rate this in term of difficulty of doing yourself? Much to screw up? Sounds like a great how to.... :) Sounds like the exact issue I have (and took to dealer for) but still not fixed.

The hardest part will be removing the axle nuts. You'll need an good impact gun pushing at least 150PSI. Once you get the nuts off be careful banging the axles through so you don't damage the end. You can use the nut on the end and a block of would to get them going. Over all it's 3 out of 10 once you get the nuts off.

Do you need to drain the transmission fluid? I am baffled as to where the axles go when you "bang the axles through". What is it going into on the other end?

OK...Let's replace the word bang with tap.

Now, each axle has inner and outer CV joints. Those joints are designed to move in and out with the travel of the suspension and rotate while turning. so, there is plenty of room to move them in and out. No there is no need to drain the fluid.

It's easy just take it apart. It will all make sense then.

Jamie

Good tip :)

Last question, how much would you say you tap it in? Does the axle get fully removed from the hub or just exposed a couple inches? Once out and greased, it just slides in no problem, or more tapping involved?

I will dive into it next weekend then. I want to get it resolved before I go to the track for peace of mind. Really appreciate the help.

The axle will not go through the hub. You will only be able to get it to go in about 2.5" or so. Depending on the amount of difficulty it took to get the shaft to move and slide in, it may take a little effort to get it to slide back after it's greased. Once it is greased you should be able to work it in and out pretty freely.

I just got the car back from the dealer, it was there for inspection and an alignment. I asked them to look at the ticking noise, and the guy told me he was 100% sure that the noise was from the brake pads. He quoted me $340 (!!!) for a front pad change. I told him to pull the axle and grease the splines and flange. $170 later, the noise is gone! I think the $170 was way steep, and I'm thinking about calling the dealership's service manager for a refund. If I didn't know better and spent the $340 to change my perfectly good pads and still had to put up with the noise I would have gone apeshit. Thanks jbarone!

I'd still go apeshit.
He was 100% sure afteral. And there is a tsb for this issue. It should have been his first guess. The fix is supposed to be labour free and cost only the grease and new axle nuts.

Could you post the TSB number? The only one that I could find only applies to regular 3s made before 2005, and mine is a 2008.

:baby:

ive got a 6 but had this same problem. normally everywhere they teach you, your not supposed to grease axle splines due to the heat created from the brakes.

I had just done my clutch install, the noise was worse. i had torqued the nut to spec. Later on it was so annoying i pulled the nut back off, threw some grease in there, then put the nut back on with an impact. problem solved. 15 mins of work

170 bucks super rip off