Well, that was the first thing that came to mind.
It is pretty unusual for the CV joints or halfshafts to wear out, but I
suppose with the kind of mileage that you've got on the car anything is
possible as you are kind of in un-chartered territory.
There is also a carrier bearing for the stub-axle at the transaxle. Could be
those ...
Only other thing that I've seen once that took me forever to find, was a
lose race for the pinion bearing in the differential housing. Caused a high
pitched whine that changed with speed as I recall. Never saw it again, so I
don't know if this was a rare one-time occurrence or just that I haven't
seen or heard of any other failures of this nature.
Jeff
-----Original Message-----
From: B.D. Zelazny [mailto:bdz@domain.elided] Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 9:45 PM
To: Jeff Greenfield
Cc: 'Alfa Digest'
Subject: Re: [alfa] Rear axle noise on high(est) mileage GTV6
Thanks for the advise, Jeff, but it's definitely not the wheel bearings -
BTDT many, many times (more accurately, my Alfa specialist has). Don't feel bad, you're the second reply indicating such.
It's the "short shafts" or "half-shafts" worn out from all my hard
cornerin'. My specialist replaced 'em w/used ones years ago (at about
300k) and it made it better, for a while. Since then, they've gotten
worse. Now I want to REALLY fix 'em.
'nardo
driver, NOT a mechanic
'83 GTV6 w/420k+ (s)miles
TX LP: 3M ZTA3
Jeff Greenfield wrote:
Most likely the rear wheel bearings. They are not terribly long lived ... back in the days when these cars were (relatively) new, I could count on them coming into the shop at 40,000 miles for a water pump and rear wheel bearings. Replacement is not too difficult, provided you have the proper tools and things aren't too rusty. In the proper tools department, you need the special socket for the bearing retainers, a very large air impact wrench, and either the special alfa tool for removing/installing the bearings.Also, oxy-acetylene torches will help greatly most times.
Wheel bearings should be readily available from any of your favorite Alfa
parts suppliers, or locally through any better parts stores that know
European stuff. The bearings fit many other applications (VW/Audi/Saab,
etc).
You will also need replacement retainers.
HTH,
Jeff
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided On Behalf Of B.D. Zelazny
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 7:12 PM
To: Alfa Digest
Subject: [alfa] Rear axle noise on high(est) mileage GTV6
Happy holidays to all!!
My '83 GTV6 has a "cyclical" noise in the rear wheel areas on whichever
side that's takin' the load when I corner - the faster I corner, the louder it gets. I've never seen/heard of another GTV6 w/this problem,
>>but then how many GTV6s are there with 420k (s)miles on them? I believe >>the noise is caused by the worn splined short shafts and the female >>receptacle (for use of a better term) they mate with to drive the rear >>wheels.
Can this be repaired or would they need to be replaced? If they can be repaired, how? If they need to be replaced is there a source for either new or very low mileage components to replace the worn ones with? Grazie in avanzamento, 'nardo - Alpine, TX 83 GTV6 - currently being repaired in Austin, TX
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