Mad E Moe

OK the history is that about 3 weeks ago I replaced the clutch at 170K
miles on my 01 ELantra , well about 1 week ago I noticed a noise like
that would best be described as driving over a steel bridge grating
(the volumn and pitch of the noise is directly tied to the rotation
speed of the wheels/tires not engine speed or the gear I'm in )
surface . I was very low in volumn at first and then it suddenly get
quite loud after I went 2 miles or so down the road . Today I finally
noticed oil leaking from the right side transaxle seal . I'm thinking
that the internal bearing surface may be cracked in the trans axle
which caused the shaft to vibrate causing the noise . How difficult
is it to change this bearing surface and are the parts easily
available ?

Brian Nystrom

Mad E Moe wrote:
> OK the history is that about 3 weeks ago I replaced the clutch at 170K
> miles on my 01 ELantra , well about 1 week ago I noticed a noise like
> that would best be described as driving over a steel bridge grating
> (the volumn and pitch of the noise is directly tied to the rotation
> speed of the wheels/tires not engine speed or the gear I'm in )
> surface . I was very low in volumn at first and then it suddenly get
> quite loud after I went 2 miles or so down the road . Today I finally
> noticed oil leaking from the right side transaxle seal . I'm thinking
> that the internal bearing surface may be cracked in the trans axle
> which caused the shaft to vibrate causing the noise . How difficult
> is it to change this bearing surface and are the parts easily
> available ?

Before you go ripping your tranny apart, check the wheel bearings. The
noise you describe sounds exactly like a bad wheel bearing. It's
possible that the oil you saw was just a bit of leakage after the clutch
job.

Mad E Moe

On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:58:17 GMT, Brian Nystrom

You are absolutely right Brian , I figured that out on Friday . I
won't have the funds to repair it till the 15 , unless i get a buyer
forone of my handguns off of one of the firearm forums I frequent.

Mad E Moe

On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:58:17 GMT, Brian Nystrom
<brian.nystrom@verizon.net> wrote:

Oh BTW I forgot to add I did replace the seal on Wednesday nd examined
the trasxle throughly , no leaks . I wis the bearins weren't he sealed
type *sighs* to hard to determine if they are bad visually . Off to
Ebay to find replacements because I ain't paying dealer prices ,
hopefully the guy I bought my clutch from will have a lead for
bearings and I do intend to replace them both . just because .

Brian Nystrom

Mad E Moe wrote:
> On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:58:17 GMT, Brian Nystrom
> <brian.nystrom@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> Oh BTW I forgot to add I did replace the seal on Wednesday nd examined
> the trasxle throughly , no leaks . I wis the bearins weren't he sealed
> type *sighs* to hard to determine if they are bad visually .

If the bearings are to the point where they're really noisy, it should
be easy to diagnose. Just grab the top of the wheel and shake it back
and forth. If you feel any play in the bearings, they're shot. You can
also do this CAREFULLY with the wheel jacked up.

> Off to
> Ebay to find replacements because I ain't paying dealer prices ,
> hopefully the guy I bought my clutch from will have a lead for
> bearings and I do intend to replace them both . just because .

Replacing wheel bearings is not something that you're likely to be able
to do yourself. The bearings are cheap, but they're not easy to install.
Additionally, if they're not seated perfectly or you get any
contamination (dirt) in them during the rebuild process, they'll fail
again very quickly. Your best bet is to buy a complete rebuilt hub
assembly, as it will be properly assembled in a clean environment. It's
more expensive initially, but it may well be cheaper in the long run.

Mad E Moe

The kicker is that I did give the shake/wigglee test TWICE while I had
the front end up on jack stands , no give or wiggle at all thats what
threw me originally , fortunately I do wotk at a place where I can use
a press to do the bearings but I haven't found a source to buy the
preassembled hubs which would be my first choice .