Clunking sound when I take my foot off the gas

[johnmarkp]

I just started getting a clunk sound when I take my foot off the gas.  I also get it when I am slowing to a stop at a couple of miles per hour.  I will put it up on stands tomorrow and check the CV joints and anything else I can wiggle on the front end.

Has anyone has a similar thing happen?

[kruzr1]

I also seem to have this issue. However, sometimes it seems to come from the front and other times the rear. But it's not the same sound or feeling. I also have the event when coming to a stop at around 11 - 13 mph. This has been previously mentioned in the forum here. I'll probably take it to a shop I trust where they can put it on a lift and get a better look at it then I can. I still have my extended warranty.

[johnmarkp]

With on side of the car jacked up I get a clicking sound when I move the front wheel back and forth in the direction of rotation.  It is the same for both wheels. (the other front wheel is on the ground).

Is this normal?  I can't remember if it made this sound in the past.

[Samurai Edge]

A little more clarity needed.  Are you saying you put your hands on the tire and then rotate the tire forward and backwards?  When doing this you get the clicking sound?

 

What happened to the clunking sound?  These are completely different noises.

 

As far as the clicking sound, check the cv joints / boots and check your brakes.  The brake pads may be loose in the calipers.

 

As far as the clunking sound, this sounds more like something transmission related.  Check your driveshaft, universal joints, mounting points and check your torque mount.

[johnmarkp]

The more I think about it.  The clicking sound when I jacked up the wheel is probably normal when the car is in park.  I think I have heard it before.

The clunk when slowing down is slowly getting worse.  Time to a drive to the dealer.  Luckily it is still under the Ford extended warranty.

[johnmarkp]

When I was doing a brake job on the car.  I grabbed the CV half shafts and tried to move them.  Both would move in and out slightly.  (in line with the direction of the shaft).  The right one gave a clicking sound when I did this.  Kind of like what I was hearing in the car.  Could this be the problem?  My guess is no.

The sound seems to be temperature dependent.  We have had unusually cool weather the last few days and the sound is less noticeable.  I did not seem to get much worse as the car heated up.  

 

[johnmarkp]

I took it to the dealer and of coarse they did not hear it.  Next time I will ride with them.  I have six more months on the warranty, so I hope to get it figured out soon.

[Fingernip]

I had this same issue. Retorqued the axle nuts and it would go away for a while but eventually return. 

[johnmarkp]

Thanks, I will give it a try.  Do you know the torque spec for the axle nut?

[johnmarkp]

I retorqued the axle nuts and the sound has gone away.  I was getting from both sides.  I guess this means that the CV joints are loose.  Now I need to figure out how to get new ones under my extended warranty.

 

Thanks for the help.  

[bav108]

Is the sound similar to this? 

 

 

 

[johnmarkp]

No it did not sound like that.  

[1004ron]

If the effect of Re-torquing the axle nut is short lived, it suggests that the splines are worn, possibly due to lack of spline lube during installation and/or the axle nut not being torqued properly.

 

The only remedy would be to replace the axle/shaft and inspect the hub for similar spline damage which would most likely also need replacement.

[omar302]

2 hours ago, 1004ron said:

The only remedy would be to replace the axle/shaft and inspect the hub for similar spline damage which would most likely also need replacement.

The axle nut is supposedly a one time use only. So maybe a new nut would be cheaper first solution for a longer fix?

[johnmarkp]

I was surprised when I did the work.  The right nut was close to the 150 ft/lb spec.  The left one was not near the spec.  I am not sure where it was at, but I was able to tighten it with little effort on the breaker bar.  My guess is that the torque was well under 100 ft/lb and maybe even under 50.

I can see how tightening the axle nuts can reduce the clunking by stretching the CV joint out.  

But what is the permanent solution?  New axles,  CV joints or both?

I have the extended warranty until Feb of next year.  I want to keep the car.  Do I loosen them back to where they were and go to the dealer again.

I really miss the days when most dealers had one or more senior mechanics.  Who had been doing it for years and could diagnose something like this in their sleep.  Now most mechanics are untrained parts changers.

[1004ron]

In my opinion there would be no clunking if the splines were in good condition regardless of the axle nut torque.

 

I expect the permanent solution to be "The only remedy would be to replace the axle/shaft and inspect the wheel hub/bearing for similar spline damage which would most likely also need replacement".

 

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,2017,edge,2.7l+v6+turbocharged,3434543,drivetrain,cv+axle,2288

 

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,2017,edge,2.7l+v6+turbocharged,3434543,brake+&+wheel+hub,wheel+bearing+&+hub,1636

 

As far as warranty goes, you would need to loosen the nuts again for them to witness the fault condition and hope that they don't mask the issue but merely torquing the nuts.

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 09:31 PM by 1004ron