Strange sound from Alto front left wheel

[mail4ajo]

My car has run 17000+kms in 18 months. Whenever I stop the car and take a full right 'U turn', I hear a 'tack tack' sound from the front left wheel. It doesn't happen when I steer on the move. Only present when I move from standstill.

Out of previous experiences on many cars, I suspected the drive shaft wear. I suggested checking the shaft. I replaced the left shaft at the authorised dealer under warranty. The sound refused to go. The same day we replaced the tie joint, serviced the strut, cleaned the steering knuckle, serviced the brakes etc. Still the sound persisted.

I was beside the car the whole day from 9:30am to 9pm suggesting whatever I knew. I gave up since the guys were not able to identify the issue.
Later at home I checked for wheel shake. No shake, that meant the bearings are intact.

They now suspect a crankcase issue. The advisor says when the car turns right, all the load is shifted to that side and crankcase issue shows up. He is not able to clearly explain what the issue is. They have to open the case to shim it. That will take a few days to set right.

From what I have heard of shimming, its done to centralise the crank seating and position. Please correct if wrong. Any suggestions or pointers would be of help.

[sumitkalindi]

I am not an expert, but before you go the whole yard, just check if the wheel touches the wheel well at some point. (In case you already have not done so)
I am suspecting this since you would generally turn the steering to lock only you are at a very low speed, or starting from standstill, while on motion you usually never ever turn the wheel till lock.

[nitrous]

Dude, don't go to crankshaft level.
Solution would be a lot simpler than U and the service advisor think.

[abhibh]

Did ya check the axle and bush ?

[Technocrat]

I suspect an Axel replacement this was quite common with older 800s, Zen, after a few years.

[humyum]

Check the engine mountings/gearbox mountings.Weak mountings can lead to the engine or the gearbox touching on one side.hence the sound.
Also check the left apron.Raise the car on ramp and check the apron which has a joint under the body.If that is weak it could lead to the sound.Thats all i can think about right now

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Dude, don't go to crankshaft level.
Solution would be a lot simpler than U and the service adviser think.

I second that, the crankshaft should be the least of your worries. Had a similar issue with my Alto too, & the drive-shaft was replaced. Unlike in your case however, replacing the drive-shaft solved the problem. By the way, I wonder how one "shims" a crank.

Are you sure about the side from which the sound is emanating ? In my case it was a distinctive knocking sound as you moved away on full-lock.

[Jaggu]

i dont think you need to open the engine, check all the mounting points, and also see if your silencer pipe routing has enough space around.

did you start the engine take a U but in neutral.. and checked for sound?

[adya33]

Check bush for wearing out.

I had faced similar problem couple of years ago in Astra when after replacing clutch plate on taking a sharp left turn there was huge grinding noise.
After all silliness of trying everything, it turned out that mechanic had not tightened screws properly.

So yeah before going to extreme measures, make sure you have gone through all simple looking solutions.

[nikkibike]

hmm.... I remember the same issue with my brand new Maruti 800 way back in 1997! As per the experts, it could be of two issues. Your caliper might need some good shimming job OR the second one is a good shimmimg job on the diffrential. That day the technicians have checked both the areas and found that excessive backlash in differential to be the culprit! They shimmed it and the car covered 1 lakh kms wonderfully before I sold it!

Although, as everyone suggested, check the mountings and all other usual rattling parts! Clutch assy could be a strong culprit too!

[vinsen]

May be upper arm / lower arm are to be checked and replaced. This had happened in my previous Maruti 800.

[amit_mechengg]

hello man.....i was surprised to hear u have a same 100% similar problem in ur alto....and that too only in right turn...exact thing happened with mine.....the service station people and myself took 5-6 hours to solve it...we checked all couplings ...lower arms etc.....
the problem is simple....just get the tie rods greased....sounds goes...of rubber bush worn out replace.....
it was horrible....whenever i used to start the car and just begin to roll it i used to get tuck tuck sound....and that too only for right turn...

[Jeep]

Hi Adya,

This happened with the Accent as well.. KTC Hyundai at Palakkad serviced it (long back) and since then there was this grinding noise when a sharp left was taken from standstill (the grinding noise would last hardly a second).. the problem disappeared on its own after sometime.

What screws are you talking about here?

Originally Posted by adya33

Check bush for wearing out.

I had faced similar problem couple of years ago in Astra when after replacing clutch plate on taking a sharp left turn there was huge grinding noise.
After all silliness of trying everything, it turned out that mechanic had not tightened screws properly.

So yeah before going to extreme measures, make sure you have gone through all simple looking solutions.