Hi gang,
I have an 03 Monte LS. I've come to the observation that when I lifted the whole front end off the ground onto jack stands, I noticed that when I spun the tired, there's a really large squeal from the axle / transmission housing seal area.. From what I can see, the axles look fine but my question would be, if there's a really loud squeal from that area and it's not the rotor or the brakes or the wheel hub assembly, what could it be? Is it typical that the seal gets weak? Is it possible that the squeal will come from the axle joint itself? There's no leaking from the axle seals. Do axles squeal if they go bad? They certainly aren't clicking.

Much obliged.
Johnnie

 

Inside the axles are two sets of cv joints, the inner and the outer, it could be the inner cv joint that is making the noise, with the heat of driving and the cold of winter it causes the grease inside the axle boots to turn into a liquid muck so it may be a good idea to re grease them

 

Squeal to me sounds like it's a rotational thing. Even though the axles spins, I'm not sure about them making a squealing noise (not saying they can't, just not my first suspect).

I lean on brake issue or wheel bearing. If you haven't done this, get the car jacked up in the air, wheel still on, rock the wheel top to bottom, then left and right. Any play? If you have play in all directions, it's definitely a wheel bearing (or a loose lugs allowing the play). And repeat for the other side.

 

Thanks guys,
@Ohara - Yes exactly.. I'm wondering if all I would need to do is pull them out and grease them back up with axle grease to alleviate the noise because if that's all, I'm on cloud 9. Would standard axle grease do it? I think I got that TIMKEN axle grease at the house.

@The Maniac - It certainly squeaks when it's rotating but I was able to identify the noise literally coming from the inner CV / axle seal area. Although it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the wheel hub assembly anyways since it's about 13 years old. There really isn't any play in the wheel though when rocking up and down and side to side.. it was pretty stiff.

Have you guys ever heard of any squeaking coming from inside the transmission housing where the CV splines of the axle go into the axle housing? Seems a little far fetched but I'm hoping it's nothing to do with the axle housing.. I'm assuming there's a bearing inside there past the axle seal as well since the splines match inside and they both spin.

Thanks,
Johnnie

 

Hi Johnnie, honestly, I've never hears of a squeal from either the axle or that seal on the Trans. But weirder things have happened. The Axles are easy to replace. Actually easier than greasing them. If it is your inner CV joint, once taken apart, it is very difficult to put back together. This I because the Bearing in the inner CV joint are Pin Bearings. And there are a lot of them. In order to grease the bearings, you Have to take the joint apart. In my Crazy Mind, at that point you're better off just replacing the whole Axle.
I know this cause my inner joint came apart when I had to replace it last year. I thought the same as you. (Being an old school shade tree guy who learned on 70s and 80s cars.) But as soon as I got the axle apart I realized that my best bet was to just swap out the axle. It only cost me $60 for the new one, and was Farley easy to replace with the right tools.

 

This is an odd ball thought.... Does the squeal happen just driving the car (fast idling forward in the driveway)? I'm wondering if it only happens when the car is in the air, could it be a change in the suspension geometry we're not thinking about??
Not being there obviously increases difficulty to figure out...

 

@Maniac - Nahh. It happens even when it drives. The only reason I lifted it off the ground was so that I could spin the tires. I'm thinking I'm just going to replace the axles like JC Colon said. Just grease up the axle splines and put the new ones in there and while I'm at it, I'm going to replace the wheel hub. Do you guys recommend I replace axle seals when replacing the axles? I don't have any leaks so I don't think I need to replace them but I guess I should consider it.. That way I won't have to worry anytime soon..

Johnnie

 

Nah Johmnie, if the seal isn't leaking, I'd say leave it alone!

 

Right on JC. I'll leave em be then. So I'll probably pick up some axles at Advanced Auto sometime on Monday next week. They got carquest brand.. any thoughts? Should I go with something else? I'm a big fan of amazon.com and found they have these "Cardone".. they got good reviews but figured someone here may be none the wiser?

 

I always recommend, if you are not in a hurry and know just the parts you need, price out RockAuto.com. A large part of the time, they are my best bet.

I hope that fixes up your squealing. Please keep us updated, I'm interested to know if this is it or if you find something along the way.