car axle not spinning equally

[tim.moore]

I am having car problems,  and like Ted Sanders I had a cold for a couple weeks and gasoline has been my mode of transportation for the first time in six years for a full month. 
       Today I finally got out to put on the belly pan.  HERE is the PROBLEM the car on jacks rotated fine through the gears.   But did notice that the driver side wheel rotated at only 1/4th the rotations of the passenger side wheel (obviously front wheel drive).  I put the belly pan on  and went for a drive but heard a loud clicking on the driver side front wheel .  I returned and put the car on jacks a removed the belly pan.  I inspected the front wheel drive axle  as well as the other shaft of the motor and found nothing obstructing them.  QUESTION: what could be making the noise???.  Again it only happens have the tires are on the ground, and happens half as much when I have the car in reverse.  Could the front driver side brake be frozen up from the tow trucker driver equipment???   I also checked the tire mounting okay, and they were just recently balanced 708-236-0272 or email.

[tim.moore]

I checked with a Joe Downing who has the same model car and he said the rotation is different for the drivers side, and I also checked the brake and it was not even warm so I discounted the brake situation completely.  I am at a loss, now because I am having problem getting the car to move at all now on the ground.  I think I am going to have to take the full belly pan off and then inspect more.  I might even have to take the full motor off again. A learning experience.

[rich.carroll]

I assume this is the Escort, I will base my remarks on that.

It is still possible it is a brake problem, not all brake problems cause hot rotors in the cold outside weather.

You really need to go through the front drive carefully.  Wheel bearings and CV joints can certainly make clicking noises, and
these noises preceed an expensive failure.

The noise happening when the wheel is on the ground can be a trigger for either a wheel bearing or a CV joint to make noise. (The wheel bearings are side loaded only when supporting significant weight.  The CV joints take much more torque in driving the car, rather than freerunning a wheel when the car is jscked up)

My suggestion:  See if the noise is greater when coasting in a straight line vs turning left vs turning right.  If the noise is louder when turning either way than running straight, it could be CV or wheel bearings, but I would suspect wheel bearings.  If the noise is loudest when using power and turning right or turning left, I would strongly suspect a CV joint.

I do not understand the part about the tow truck driver.  Could he have damaged something?  Yes, it's possible, depending on how the car was picked up.  Some trucks pick up with forks under the wheels.  If these are put in place correctly, it should not damage the car.  If the car was picked up with a sling, it could have bent something underneath that is now interfering. What kind of equipment was used?

Rich

[todd.dore]

Tim -

I don't know when you get out for the holiday break, but when you do you may want to take the car over to Jim Dawson's shop in Downers Grove - assuming he has some time and your car can make it.  It would seem to me that if the motor wasn't mounted properly you wouldn't have been able to go or you would have heard some noise right away.

[tim.moore]

Thanks Todd, that reassurance is just what I needed to hear.  I do believe the CV joint is the problem, but doubt  has lingered about the mounting of the motor.  Having known that you mounted and remounted your motor makes me feel like I may have gotten that part right, as you said it should of sounded when I first tested it with the 12 volt battery

[tim.moore]

Turned out to be the belly pan.

[rich.carroll]

Was the belly pan bent by the towing operation?  That might have been the problem, particularly if the operator used a sling, or used chains and hooks and hooked to a frame member behind the pan, but had the chains across the bottom of the pan.

Rich