Wheel clicking after alignment (seems to be gone now)

[irelynx]

I had an alignment done Wednesday, as well as snow tires put on. Ever since then I sometimes get clicking in the LF (sounds like left) wheel, but if I apply just enough pressure to the brake pedal to make them engage (but not enough to slow me down or anything), it immediately goes away. When it's happening it's a very audible clicking. If it decides to come & go when I'm at 55+ it's not that easy to notice, but the slower I go the more spaced out and louder it gets. It sounds like you were clicking two marbles together.

It doesn't matter whether I'm making a turn from a stop, taking a curve in the road, or going straight. It doesn't matter what speed I'm going. Sometimes it's there for a stretch, and vanishes & returns whenever it pleases.

What should we be looking for here? Our ideas so far were axle, bearing (but I've never had bearings sound like this, or pop up loudly this suddenly), or maybe something's loose? It could be very audible and will go absolutely silent if I apply the slightest brake pressure, and come right back as soon as I let go, which makes me think its a brake issue. But then there are times where it just goes away on its own. Could there be an issue with the caliper, such as it not being fully seated or something from when they did the alignment?

Edit (update): It hasn't been making the sound during the last few trips I've made. I'm pretty sure it's gone, rather than just being tuned out by my ears.

[DTMAce]

The only thing I know of to click in the way you describe would be the CV joint. I suppose its possible the alignment may have moved the axle around enough to where it now clicks? Still sounds odd.

Though with all you have had to do to that poor car lately, who knows. Maybe the place that did the alignment could tell you more, since it started after they adjusted it? Can't hurt to call and ask them anyway.

[Barry]

Check to make sure the rubber bushing that the pins on the brake caliper isn't torn or gone causing metal on metal contact.

Somehow mine fell out. No idea how that can happen but it did

[berettaboi]

she might be referring to the sounds of the ABS (module?) kicking in? not exactly a clicking, but a few 'burps' (lack of a better word at 2am). i get it when flying around corners at times slightly on the brakes... i need new shocks and struts soon...

[DTMAce]

It sounds like you were clicking two marbles together

I don't think that will be the ABS making that noise at all. That most likely caused by two metallic objects hitting each other.

My question would be this:

Is it rythmic, meaning does it happen evenly outside of how fast you go, or is it a random clicking?

[irelynx]

It's rhythmic when it does happen, it's just not making sound all the time; sometimes the car is silent, and sometimes the clicking shows up. The slower you go, the more space there is between the clicks, and the faster you go, the less gap between clicks. Where we live I've dealt with ABS kicking in many times on snowy slopes, and it's definitely not that same sound as that. I'll see if Will can check the caliper & whatnot for anything worn/loose or missing.

It did seem like there was more of a chance of the clicking showing up if I was on a roughly paved road compared to smooth or new pavement, but it would also sometimes just show up while driving on smooth pavement. We were out of state over the weeked so I got to drive on alot of different roads, like a 500mi round trip, and the clicking would mostly seem to come and go as it pleased.

[DTMAce]

Not sure why the caliper pin(s) would cause that noise that way but who knows. Either that or the CV joint as they will click when worn. My thoughts are when the alignment was done, it shifted things enough with the axle to where the clicking is now present, that's all.

[irelynx]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the CV, just annoyed. I mean the current axle was put on when the subframe was bad (been on for 2yr or so I think), and the new (JY) subframe was the main reason for doing an alignment, so I could see there being issues with it after driving like that for so long. It's had an alignment every year pretty much (every 5k mi or so), but I'm sure they didn't hold well with the condition of the old subframe.

We'll just have to pull it into the garage and see if anything seems out of place. But would the sound just vanish completely with barely touching the brakes if it was the cv/axle? That was the main thimg that stood out to me, that I could put the tiniest pressure on the brakes and the sound would immediately vanish completely (and come back the instant I released).

[DTMAce]

To answer the sound going away with the brakes, honestly I don't know. I have yet to have a clicking noise or a bad CV joint. The only other possible would be the rotor not sitting flat or something, but you would know, as the car would shake when you step on the brakes normally since it would cause some shuddering in the braking.

Check the caliper pins as was suggested, see what you find. Could be as simple as that.