buddha1682

Hi all, Ive been searching the forums for days and have not been able to find an answer for this issue. I Have a 1998 2.3 CL , 105K Auto. There is a BAD rattle coming from under the shifter / driver side wheel area. You can feel the rattle/grinding under your feet and if holding the shifter you feel it through the shifter. It happens mostly during and after the car has been on the highway over 50mph and while turning right. On the highway the rattle occurs at high speed over bumps and only while turning right (turing left no noise). Ive noticed though that when im on the gas it does not happen , and happens almost instantly after i let go. after i get off the highway its really bad on bumps and on right turns. How is this explainable. Im thinkin its some transmission/ axle part. seems like it does not happen when im on the gas and something is engaged???? cuz when i lift off the noise comes on immediatly!!! and loud.... car feels like something underneath will fall off. I duuno whats wrong... i feel its a tranny/axle issue but someone did someone i know quick checks and no axle part is busted of tranny fuid leaking everything looks fine!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Enyone???

AznX TL

maybe your tires?

buddha1682

Checked tires... actually they are preety new.... the rattle can be felt through the shifter. Almost like a mechanical grinding/rotating... like something is loose out of place.... its something down there that rotates.... and when im off the gas it makes the sound... on the gas no noise... off the gas... lots of rattle....its driving me insane cuz im not feeling very safee about it. Will take to tech this weekend but was tryin to get an idea from you guys so i dont get tricked into repairs i dont need. THANX ALL!

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Could be a bad CV axle or boot, a common rattling is caused by the heat shield on the cat convertor coming loose

artbran

iTrader: (2)

I had the same thing happen the other day... I took the wheel off and looked around and nothing. I put the wheel back on and tightned the nuts. Thats what i think it was. Loose lugs as they came off easy...

buddha1682

Thanks for all the suggestions... i covered the lugs.. they are all snug... just took a look at the car on jack stands.... gonna check around what could be rotating under the shifter area. I see the axle goin straight into the trans... all the rubber boots are in good shape... cv boot included. Axle seems fine and strong... there is another smaller rod that connects to the wheel and angle up toward the middle somewhere... it too has a smaller boot... thinking this is part of my rack and pinion as it moves when my wheel turns... remember it makes the rattle on right turns and over bumps... im going to investigate ths further... where it leads and possible damages to the area directly under my shifter... rattle also is felt around the wheel area so i think its somehting that connects from the middle area over to the wheel area... again im just tryin to pinpoint the problem... not a mechanic and low on funds... would really like to get this fixed and on the first attempt by whereever i take it. I was thinking the Acura dealer and im fine with that.. but im not fine with getting somehting fixed and driving off and having the same issue. I know from reading the forums that this happens frequently and people spend lots of time and money tryin to figure out a sometimes simple issue. Thanks for all your help!

CLpwner

Be sure to get back to us incase anyone else has the same issue...

buddha1682

ok i just got out from under the car... these are by observations.... checked out the steering rack and where everythings connects up... all the boots on the steering rack seem ok and not busted..PS fluid level ok. Checked the axle and boots cv boot... all ok... When i turn the wheel manually with my hand i hear some rotating noises (possibly a rattle) coming from within where the axles go into the transmission... i duuno if its normal... could be just gears spining? now when i try to move around the axle/wheel... u know play around with it... hit it a bit, move it around... i get alot of play and noise within the transmission... I fear the worst but i think this "rattle" is similar to the rattle i hear while driving. Enyone know this area where the axles go into the transmission??? What could be wrong in this area??? Also i turned the car and put it in gear for a second and noticed my passenger side wheel dosent spin... only the driver side... passenger side moves a bit. Enyone?

CLpwner

thats gonna be a bitch i bet...

5-speed

If you have the car up on jackstands and try to rotate the wheel, there should be a clicking noise, but just once and not too loud. some noise is normal, excessive or weird noises, not so much.
Also, since we dont have an limited slip differential, when one wheel has no traction, all the torque will be sent to it. In my n00b opinion, its not that big a deal that one tire spins and the other doesnt. then again, I could be wrong.
You may want to check to make sure that there is no free play when you push the top and bottom part of the tire toward the car or something like that that would indicate a messed up wheel bearing.

Good luck

buddha1682

Update: ok so i took the car by a good family friend/ Dodge dealer technician. Took a road test with him and he heard the noise from underneath the car. His first reaction to the noise was not good. He felt something in the tranny /drive shaft. We put it up in the air but it did not make the noise. He said well its not under load. If it were another bearing like perhaps the wheel bearings, it might wobble or still make a humming... but the carrier bearing /tranny bearing depends on the load... and i gues this makes sense as it gets worse as driving speeds increase. Says also one of my axles have a little too much play as it should. I could get the bearing replaced... but im thinking 2-3 slips enyway so thinking of an entire rebuild... new axles etc. But my questions is... does this sound about right... what does this bearing actually do on our cars... is this a common issue among other 1st geners. Im gonna start shopping around for a good tranny shop... the fam friend /mechanic gave me a list to start with. But Im curioius as to how many others are having this same carrier bearing issue .