Amazon: Clicking noise from rear wheel

[Derek UK]

Jack up the car and put stands under the rear axle. Lower car onto the stands. The car is then theoretically sitting the same as it would be on the road. Rotate wheel. and recheck. I hope you have the proper puller to get the drum off!
I was initially going to say stone or nail in the treads but you say it has had a new tyre. Dai's comment about the anti-rattle retainer is valid. If it breaks the pin usually disappears outwards through the backing plate so you will see if it's missing. Spring and broken plate will then bounce around inside until they jam somewhere, often leading to continuous scraping. That can be quiet or noisy and obvious.

[Ron Kwas]

HRA;

...following this thread with interest...to answer your question if anything in Handbrake or HB Cable alignment changes with weight on wheels...yes, since the suspension is lifted...normally that should make any difference, but something is not correct right now, so who knows...I'd pull the Drum and have a look inside...

Good Hunting!

[HRA]

Hi dave morton, I had the clicking noise with the previous tyre and the spare wheel, so I doubt it's a noisy nail. Having said that, I did check the tyre yesterday afternoon and couldn't see or feel anything.

[HRA]

Thanks Derek UK - that's exactly what I did yesterday afternoon. I turned the wheel by hand both ways - no clicking. I then put the car in gear and drove the wheel with the engine in 1st, 2nd and reverse. Again no clicking.

I like the idea of it being the anti-rattle retainer, but if that's the cause surely I'd get the clicking regardless of whether the wheel is on the ground or up in the air with a stand under the axle?

I don't have a puller but the garage does. I think I'm slightly reluctant to start there because the drum was off several times the year before last and all appeared to be fine. It was clicking before that though either more quietly or I'm just listening for it now. In the past I thought it was a "summer problem" before I realised I had to have the radio off, the window open and be driving alongside a wall to get the echo.

[HRA]

Thanks Ron Kwas I take your point - it must be something really subtle to make a difference between wheel-on-road and stand-under-axle.

[arcturus]

Had same problem pebble in tread.

[simonvolvo]

You could try the following process of elimination:

Assuming the tick happens once per revolution of the wheel, does the rotational position at which it happens change if you take the wheel off and put it back on but indexed through one, two, or three bolt positions with respect to the drum?

[Army]

Well every one else has had a go! Now my turn.

The first thing to note is that there is indeed a big difference between weight on ground and hanging in the air.

Have you done the basic check - jack up rear end - grab wheel at 12 - 6 o' clock positions and feel for wiggle movement? Repeat at 3 - 9 o' clock positions...

...I'd do this for both sides of the car. Much like modern CV joints that often seem like one side is giving trouble but it turns out to be the other it is good practice to check both sides just in case.

The next thing to check is how far can you turn a rear wheel before you see the propshaft turning (gear box in neutral!)? If you can "measure" differential backlash in light years (or see it) then there might be some mileage in considering axle trouble...

[kishor]

Originally Posted by HRA

Thanks swedishandgerman - I'll put it on the list of things to look for.

I'm not sure that the clicking sounds like something broken rattling around in the drum - it seems far too rhythmic for that - it really is a steady beat. And it's odd that it only does it with the wheel on the road and not when I've got the car jacked-up. Does any part of the brake mechanism alignment change when the wheel is off the ground?

I think you should remove the drum as you may find that the hand brake lever that attaches to the shoes might be touching against the inside of the drum.

Ta
Kassie

[Faust]

I had an annoying clicking noise from the rear of my Amazon a few years back which took me ages to find... the cause?

The woodruff key was slightly worn and was not sitting correctly. Every so often it was moving and made a clicking noise which would then go away for a while.

Might be worth checking yours.