Clicking noise manoeuvring at slow speed

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PKM_999

Junior Member
Messages
32
Hi, I have a clicking noise when I am parking the car. Seems to be when lock is on and the car is moving.

It's been in the local garage today and he can replicate the noise but can't find the source when it's up on the ramp as it needs to be moving and have steering turned at same time. He said it is coming from passenger side and thinks it could be a ball joint.

Any ideas?
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,789
PKM_999 said:
You will need to enlighten me on that one. Never heard of Tyre skip before.
Click to expand...

Basically the front wheels have to follow paths of different radii. At full lock the only way they can do it is for one of them to effectively skip sideways. Ghiblis are renowned for it. You can see if if you get someone to turn at full lock while you watch

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Zep

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,283
CatmanV2 said:
Basically the front wheels have to follow paths of different radii. At full lock the only way they can do it is for one of them to effectively skip sideways. Ghiblis are renowned for it. You can see if if you get someone to turn at full lock while you watch

C
Click to expand...

It’s because a lot of modern cars don’t have perfect ackerman. Ackerman is the principle that the steering wheels scribe an arc around a common centre point so the wheels are are different angles to achieve this. As you say, the radii are different, but if the centre point is the same then no scrub results.

When perfect Ackerman is not achieved (or desirable, as the outside wheel will have a higher slip angle at high speed) the two steering wheels are traveling in an arc around different centre points. This means the two tyres fight to follow their given arc and one losses and has to skip or scrub back to correct the difference.

Or something.
 
Zep

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,283
So, for a metallic clicking noise, perhaps there is come skip and also a worn ball joint or bush, as the suspension bushes will move to take up the difference is centre point until fully compressed and then correct to normal position when the tyre “skips”.
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,631
If its coming from the rear between first and reverse it’s the rear driveshafts moving in the hub. There is a shim kit that fixes this.

Yours I assume is from the front. Without seeing it, it’s very hard to diagnose.
 
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Felonious Crud

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,182
I had a similar issue once that turned out to be a heat shield that had been badly refitted after some work. It was absolute sod to diagnose, but easy to fix.
 
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PKM_999

Junior Member
Messages
32
Finally got this sorted. It was just a bolt on the track control arm that appeared to be tight but actually wasn't. Had seen a similar problem/solution on another forum so might be a common thing.
 
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