Max, last winter on really cold days - 10 degrees - I would get this
knocking or clacking from the right rear until I rand down the road
aways and the bearings warmed up a bit. Then it went away. I decided I
had a worn CV, good enough for most running, but the cold seemed to
change dimensions of things in combination to the accumulated wear, that
it would knock. When it it warmed up, the small dimensional changes
closed and the knocking stopped. When I installed new CV's the problem
was gone.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Max Wellhouse wrote:

> My 90 GL was making a strange metal sound the last week or so.  when
> starting it up and driving off to work near or below zero, I heard this
> sound which seemed to come from the driver's side rear axle.  it was
> noisy
> the better part of the 3 mile drive to work.  When it was 20 degrees that
> afternoon, driving home I heard nothing.  Initially I thought it was the
> wind flapping my loose fiberglass panel against the body, but it also
> happened the next day identical circumstances.  Now that it's above 32
> degrees F, there's no noise.  Taking advantage of the warmer temps, I
> crawled under there only to find some rotting of the inboard axle boot
> but
> no seepage of CV grease.  Had slightly worse rot on the passenger side
> inboard boot and some signs of seepage.   The CV joints have some
> miles on
> them and re packing was in the plan for April, but what gives?  Could
> water
> have migrated to the inner workings and frozen to the point it was
> preventing grease from getting to the metal?  I am not an experienced
> vanagon driver in real cold weather, so help for the Northern newbie
> would
> be a big plus.
>
> TIA
>
> Max
>