92 Civic AT clicks in reverse
 

92 Civic Hatchback DX, 4-speed AT, 104K miles.

Moderately loud metallic clicking noise ("plink, plink, plink"; I think 1 or 2 plinks per wheel rotation) when I reverse AND wheels are turned (especially reversing to the right, and I think left also, e.g turning as backing out of garage).

* Noise is not temperature dependent.
* Noise is much less (perhaps not at all) when reversing straight.
* No noise when moving forward.

Thought it was the CV joint or bearing or something hitting the brake calipers, but mechanic today looked closely and he said noise is coming from transmission. (Had it looked at by local Honda dealership 6 months ago, but they couldn't replicate noise enough to diagnose it. Noise has since gotten a bit louder and much more consistent.)

What could be wrong?
How bad ($) to get it fixed (not myself; shop, metro New York)?

I've owned & loved this car since it was new, and I figure it's cheaper to fix it than to buy a new one!

sounds like a bad cv axle to me, will it make the sound if you drive forward and turn really sharp with a mild acceleration ?

Tested again in (empty!) parking lot with steering wheel at full lock, and 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 turn off full lock. Low & "high" (~10 mph) speed, forward & reverse.

REV: Noise turning left or right; noise at lock & 1/4, 1/2 turn off; no noise at 3/4 turn off.
FOR: No noise at all that I can tell. If it's there, it's much quieter.

Sometimes the noise sounds like a somewhat deadened click, sometimes more like a hammer hitting metal. Turning left, about 14 clicks as car turns a full circle; turning right, about 19 clicks; the difference in click number seems reproducible. I also get a screech sometimes (brake caliper?), especially/mostly at full lock.

If it is the CV axle, is it left and/or right?
What should I tell the mechanic to fix? Too many visits with the mechanics saying nothing is wrong, so I want to be sure I point them unambiguously to the problem!

Thanks!

i would say the driver side cv axle, since you have more clicks when you turn right,

Thanks. OEM is $287; Cardone remanufactured $69 (Autozone). Raxles...?...need to call them. Feel a bit dumb asking, but are the Cardone's good enough? (Do want car to keep going & going!). Or are they (as I've read here & elsewhere) possibly ground through the case hardening?

ALSO, would you do both sides (esp. if I go with the Cardone)? Given car's age, if one is bad, isn't the other not far behind?

Thanks!

i would go with autozones axles, they also carry a lifetime warranty :)
ive used autozone's reman axles and never had any problems and i love the lifetime warranty.

i would replace the driverside one first to see if it fixes your problem which i believe it would,

i forgot to ask are there any tears or rips in the cv axle boots??

I know there is a tear in a left boot...but the mechanic today said it was on the steering rack ("...and we don't do racks"). But I don't know if it is indeed the rack boot, or the CV/axle outer boot. I can look again (axle boot in center of wheel; steering boot offset, right?).

If it's the steering boot, I guess that needs replacement as well? Is it advisable to replace just the steering boot? Or is it like the CV...need to do the whole assembly (I hope not!)??

if you catch the tear in time you can replace the boots, but if its been a little while and and contamination (dirt, water) has gotten in there then replacing the boot will do no good.

im pretty positive you have a bad driver side cv axle.

There's a chance the transmission is not coming fully out of park. The park mechanism has a once or twice around noise when partly engaged. Try pulling the shift handle slowly toward neutral while driving backwards. If the noise goes away (yet the transmission stays engaged in reverse), it could be cured by adjusting the shift cable.

Thanks, will give that a try.