Ticking sound from drivers side wheel well

06Mazda5

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2006 Mazda 5 Sport
* New member here. I have a 2006 Mazda 5. About 6 months ago I ran over something on the freeway and within a few moments had a flat tire. After I remove the tire, I noticed the him was bent and cracked. I hit something hard. Anyway, decided to get 4 new rims and tires šŸ˜! The reason I am including this story is because I thought it could be relevant to the ticking noise that I am hearing from the front drivers side wheel well area when I am driving. The ticking goes faster as I increase speed. I begin to hear it at about 10 mph. I hear the noise when going straight and when turning either direction. I have read a lot of post about the same issue and I have checked several things. there is nothing stuck in my tire. I have raised the front end and put the car in gear and could not hear the sound at all. I only hear it when it is on the ground. By the way, the passengers side wheel was spinning much faster than the drivers side. I have removed the brakes to check for rocks, cleaned, greased and put them back together. With the tire on the raised vehicle, I held the tire at 12 and 6 and tried to wiggle the tire, there was no movement. I even put one of my stock rims and tires back onto the front. I've checked all the CV boots and all steering components. Everything is good and tight. I still hear that darn ticking noise. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thinking of replacing the CV shaft this weekend. Thank you.
also wanted to add that when i had the front raised and was turning the tire by hand, i would turn the tire about an inch forward and then the same amount backward and i did hear a click and felt A little resistance. The sound was coming from where the CV shaft went into the transmission.

Just a quick update. I have not changed the CV yet. I rolled up the drivers side window while driving today, and rolled down the passenger side window. I could hear the ticking on that side as well. Also, the ticking noise is there weather I am going straight or turning either direction. Could it be something to do with my transmission? What could I check to narrow down this issue? Please, any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

So I raised the front end and removed the tire on the passengers side to do some inspecting. Right away I noticed the boot on the CV shaft was split wide open! That must be the problem, or so I thought. I replaced the CV shaft or i think it may be called the half shaft, then I put everything back together( kind of) and took her out for a spin. She was still ticking. Ticks when I am going straight, or tuning either direction. Sound remains the same, unless I am going in reverse then there us no ticking. When I was working on the CV, I did notice that the seal on the front sway bar link where it connects to the strut is torn. I will be replacing that as soon as I get a dremel to cut off the nut that I stripped. I also stripped the inner hex fitting on the bolt as well. I also stripped one of the built in bolts of my strut bearing plate. On driving on 2 bolts instead of 3 in my bearing plate. Is that dangerous? What a day. Still don't know what ticking noise is. Feeling frustrated and angry. Please help.
 
So the boot on the passenger side was torn and you replaced the CV shaft (which you should). However you were able to reproduce a noise with the drivers side CV shaft and have not replaced that yet? Which side did you strike the object - left or right?
 
I can still hear the noise on both sides. I struck an object on the drivers side. I have not replaced the drivers side because the boots look fine. I should add, not long after I got my new tires and wheels, I also replaced my stock rotors with new drilled and slotted ones and ceramic pads. I did notice Grease when I changed my rotors on the passengers side, but was so focused on the rotors that I did not notice that my boot was torn. I'm sure the boot on the right side has been torn for awhile. Thanks for responding by the way. I appreciate that.
 
Sorry, just wanted to ask. If my CV joint is bad on the left side, would I be able to hear the ticking sound when driving in reverse? I can't hear it when driving in reverse. At least not at 15/20 MPH. Just curious. Thanks.
 
The boots aren't the only way a CV shaft can fail. Classic sign of a CV shaft failing is a ticking/clicking sound while turning, and dangerous when it gets to the point where the clicking persists even while going straight. That in combination with you hitting the object on the drivers side - my money is the drivers CV shaft. Also did you inspect the rear wheels and try spinning them by hand at least?
 
Sorry, one more thing. CV shaft on left side has a weight on it. Probably is the original one and I have over 160000 miles on this girl. Thought the info may help a bit. I mentioned that because when shopping for a replacement none of the shafts I've seen have weights on them. Thanks.
 
I'm not sure about the reverse comment. Seems like you should hear it still clicking. I can tell you one thing it's definitely not the sway bar links. That's more of a clunk sound when going over bumps/uneven surfaces.
 
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I have not a spun the rear wheels. But I will as soon as I get a chance. Am I looking for a similar sound like the front tires?
 
I appreciate your response. I will definitely change the left CV shaft when I have the time. I will update on my progress as soon as I have replaced it. May take a couple of weeks. Again thank you for responding.
 
I think I busted my Transaxle seal. I am leaking fluid where my right CV shaft is going into my transmission. Gotta fix that now too. Is it hard? Are there any threads or videos anyone can point me to? I just replaced my CV shaft and it was herd to push it into the transmission, so I pulled back on it and slammed it into the opening. I immediately noticed transmission fluid leaking out. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.
 
That happened to me on my other vehicle. Just buy another seal and maybe a seal puller from the auto parts store. It's cheap.
 
I think I busted my Transaxle seal. I am leaking fluid where my right CV shaft is going into my transmission. Gotta fix that now too. Is it hard? Are there any threads or videos anyone can point me to? I just replaced my CV shaft and it was herd to push it into the transmission, so I pulled back on it and slammed it into the opening. I immediately noticed transmission fluid leaking out. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.

Look up videos about axle replacement on Mazda 3 and Mazda 5. The seals are easy to replace with the axles out.
 
Transaxle seal replaced and cv drive shaft back in. Everything cleaned and tightened to torque specs. Took her for a spin, still ticking. Raised one rear tire, spun it, heard a slight ticking sound from there. Going to take off tires on the rear, clean the brakes and look for "stuff". Anybody have any ideas why the ticking noise could be coming from my rear tires? Thanks. Going to take a hot shower and have a few cold ones!!!!
 
P. S. Drained 3 quarts of tranny fluid and replaced with new along with some lubeguard platinum and some Mobil one. Old fluid was dark but didn't smell burnt or anything.
 
That will be nice if it's something simpler with the rear and you don't have to replace the drivers cv axle. Glad you got the passenger side all fixed up.
 
Well, I replaced cv shaft on both sides now and the transaxle seal on the left side. Took tires, brakes and rotor off on left rear. Turned the hub by hand and heard a definite grinding noise coming from the rear wheel bearing hub assembly. That has probably been the source of my ticking noise. Thank you bsedgal for suggesting my rear tires as well. Could have sworn it was coming from the front. Guess I'll be replacing both rear hubs in a few weeks. šŸ˜” Oh well, it least it is nice to know where the noise is coming from. Thanks for your responses. I will up date as soon as I have those replaced.
 
Are you sure that the ticking isn't a wheel weight hitting a suspension piece? You said new wheels, and very few people get wheels thinner than OE, so there is a good chance your backspacing decreased to the point it is hitting something like the ABS sensor, or, since yours is <10 years old, the TPM sensor (have no idea where the receiver is, I roll old skool).
 
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