1998 Buick Park Ave Ultra
Asked by Cedric Mar 06, 2017 at 12:50 PM about the 1998 Buick Park Avenue Ultra FWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
This car has been making two very worrying
sounds...
1. At aprox. 1700RPM, the engine begins to
make this "Hum" / "Growling" sound. Usually
starts doing it right before shifting. [My rpm
goes to 2100 -2300 somewhat often, even at
speeds under 30.
Made worse by acceleration]
Its like the engine is shaking, and
VIBRATING against something. (All BUT one
motor mounts are new) Also, I believe that
the TCC lockup is bad.
On the highway, it stays at aprox. 2300 RPM.
And continuously does that vibrating.
You can feel all the vibrating in the "petal
area", and slightly in the seats and steering
wheel.
The second sound is a very disturbing
"Knuckle cracking" sound. Only when turning
the steering wheel at low speeds. Ex.
Leaving a parking space, driveway, ect.
I mainly hear this knuckle cracking sound on
the drivers side. Towards the engine, clearly
coming from something near the wheel well.
ONLY does it when at low speeds aprox 1
-15mph .
Sometimes does it when taking a corner at
aprox. 15mph
8 Answers
You have front wheel drive, that "knuckle cracking" sound could be your CV joint/axles. Get those checked out, you can look yourself, if boots are cracked or worn, they're likely bad. Get them replaced then reevaluate sound (might also be your humming source, or you also have worn wheel bearings). If you're TCC lockup clutch or solenoid is bad, you may notice car not going into overdrive gear, higher RPMs at cruising speed, worse gas mileage than usual. A tranny diagnostic can test it for function. Nothing in your description sounds terrible, just needs some servicing.
Thank you! My main worry was that knuckle cracking sound. Any chance you know how much the bearing would cost?
http://repairpal.com/estimator/buick/park+avenue/front-wheel-bearing-replacement-cost ; Personally I think the costs given by this site are high, but I'm from the midwest and things are just cheaper here. Best thing to do is get more than one estimate. Mind you, it might not be a wheel bearing, it might not even be a CV joint, that was just a guess on my part. Let a mechanic go over it and give you an estimate. However, if you do have to replace both CV joints, front wheel bearings, and possibly TCC/solenoid, you're looking at well over a grand. I would focus on the front end for now, I'm not sure your TCC is actually bad, based only on your description. The vibrating and shaking is more likely from the front end.
I just got done inspecting the CV boot for damage. It seems perfect still. No tears or leaks in any of the boots. Does that mean that the CV axle being bad is less likey? I also drove it in a tight circle at idle speed, no cracking or popping. Any other ideas? Even though the CV axle being bad fits the description perfectly.
No, it just means there are no obvious signs they're bad. Try swerving left and right in an open parking lot, put the car through its paces. Ultimately it may take a pro to look them over.
I brought over a friend, and we determined that the tie rod boot was leaking. He is sourcing some parts and we're going to put it through the works again. I created a post to sell it also. Haha
Star_bartlett answered 5 years ago
My CV boot tore on me do you think I can tape it up and drive it 10 miles back to my house
Star_barlett. Yes, as long as the cv axle isn't beating around, you will be fine to drive on it. Even without tape. The greese is pretty hard to get out ( depending on the damage) As long as it isnt knocking around violently you can drive it. Just put up ~150 for a new cv axle soon. It comes with the boot and everything
