Forester clicking sounds when making turns

Maybe a CV joint starting to go bad?

If you inspect the half-axles extending from the rear differential to each wheel, do any of the rubber, flexible boots near each end of each half-axle have rips or tears in them, maybe even small holes?

~Brian

This is often a bad CV joint.(actually 'going bad' is a better term - they can last for hundreds of miles after they start clicking)

But, do you 'feel' any jerking motion in the car when making sharp turns on pavement/parking lots? if so, ask us about 'torque bind'

I suppose it could be a brake issue of some kind.

good luck

Carl

Clicking during a turn is a textbook symptom of a constant velocity joint (CV) joint gone bad. This typically happens when the rubber CV boots crack, throw all their grease out of these universal-joint like areas, and then the joint is open to the road and contaminants that get in and cause the joint to wear.

Replacing the half shafts with something remanufacturered is the usual remediation.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

Thanks for all the responses! I inspected CV joint boots. It seems to me that there is no leaking grease or oil around them. The rubber looks O.K. The clicking sounds only happen when I make right turns. If the CV joints go bad, what is the consequence of that? I am thinking if I need to get someone look at it right away. Thanks.

Some Impreza platform soobs have had issues with rear wheel bearings. You may have detected it early. Often there is a roaring sound at highway speeds, worse when sweeping one direction over the other. Putting the car on a lift and testing the wheels by shaking the bottom or rear back and forth may reveal too much movement. It's extremely unlikely, not impossible though, for a sealed CV joint to go bad. I suppose you inspected the inner boots too?

Sometimes a brake pad will knock, often just once when changing from reverse to forward or fwd to rev.

I dunno

Carl

Hi Carl, Thanks for your response! I had rear wheel bearing replaced half year ago. The clicking sounds on right turns happened even before that. So I suspect it may not be rear wheel bearing. I am not good at cars. What are inner boots? Thanks.

The axles (half-axles) that connect the wheels to the driveline (front and rear differentials) flex at both ends. The front inner boots I know can split or have other difficulties(one is near the hot exhaust) - though the outer (at the wheel) boots are more prone to problems - especially on the front. I would not discount the wheel bearing. It is tricky to install properly and the original unit MAY have been the old ball-bearing type. many folks were putting Legacy style needle bearing type in. I THOUGHT it was years earlier than yours in which that was problematic. Sorry my memory is not good about the details. You might consider taking it back to who did the wheel bearing and see if they can test drive it. put it up on a lift and eliminate that possibilty at least. When were the brakes last inspected?

Carl