98 corolla clicking noise when driving

[ziggy]

Hello allSome 8 months ago or so, i replaced my front struts, with cheap unitys, 1998 toyoa corolla CE model. Work great. Pretty sure i tightened the large bolt at bottom of struts, ect,,.. no driving issues till last night. My other job, entering the parking lock, its kinda like a cement block you gotto drive over a few inches tall, its not fush with the street. i suspect its culprit.]
well last night driving, my front end devloped an audible clicking noise while diving 20-35 moph range. its hard too tell, seems to be more driver side.
its like a high pitch click, like someone put plastic on the wheel and each full rotation, it makes a clicking noise, or like that of aplasticpen, when you use the clicker ontop...but at alow volume. it only does it whiledriving.
what is that? axles? cv joints of axles? sway bar ? ball joints?

 

[EdwardC]

Does the clicking increase frequency with speed?

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Nail/screw/rock in the tire?

 

[ziggy]

NO it dosnt. I mean, thefaster the tire rotates, the click isin sync with it. IT makes it with eachentire tire rotation.as soon as wheelhas made en tire 360turn,the audible click is thier. if i slow down, stop sign, the click is thier, but slow,as the wheel is slowapproaching the sign. going faster, the clickis thier regardless, each 360 turn of the tire.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: EdwardC
Does the clicking increase frequency with speed?

Originally Posted By: ziggy
NO it dosnt. I mean, thefaster the tire rotates, the click isin sync with it. IT makes it with eachentire tire rotation.as soon as wheelhas made en tire 360turn,the audible click is thier. if i slow down, stop sign, the click is thier, but slow,as the wheel is slowapproaching the sign. going faster, the clickis thier regardless, each 360 turn of the tire.

From that description, sounds like your answer actually yes rather than no.

 

[nthach]

Have the front drive axles been replaced previously with either Cardone "remans" or new Chinese ones? While CV joints do make clicking sounds in turns when they do go bad, if the joints have been ground into or not the same grade of steel as the OEM ones, I wouldn't rule out noise while going straight.

I'm not a suspension expert, but if the ball joints were going out you'd feel some slop or a shimmy at the wheel.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Rotate your hubcaps and see if the sound moves. I had a 1st gen Scion xB with a high pitched click coming from the area of the right-front wheel. After rotating hubcaps, the sound moved with the hubcap. I learned to deal with it.

 

[EdwardC]

Have you done a visual inspection? Just take off the wheel and see if there's a twig stuck in something, or maybe the splash shield is loose.

While you have the car lifted, you can grab the tire and feel if anything is loose.

 

[ziggy]

Well, I did discover today, my power steering resivour was empty, bone dry!!! Uses DexII. I use Dex/mercon,valvoline. Filled it up too max line. It was full last time ilooked, september october 2016.Thiers apparent leakage, arond the lower hose oo resivour thasn upper hose. Think that might have something too do with it?
I did notice as well, driving, thiers an apparent thump thump thump noise, seems too becoming from drives side. It comes and goes as i drive. I dont hqave any driveing problems, other than the clicking noise, thethump that comes n goes,and leaking power steering resivour.
coulditbe cv joint? tie rodend?ball joint?

 

[ziggy]

the tires are fullof air for the record. the only thing i can think of,is when i did my front struts, i did not havean alignment done. perhaps that couldbe culprit?