Help diagnosing a click noise from front driverside

A little background.

2005 Prius that needed the cv axel replaced on the driver side due to a tear in the boot. There were no issues and no noises prior to the cv axel replace.

There were a total of 9 nuts removed for this job. 5 lugnuts, 1axel nut (replaced with new axel), tie rod nut, and 2 nuts connecting the knuckle to the strut.

About 80 miles after the job I started hearing a single click when starting from a dead stop and another single click when the car comes to a stop. There are no clicking sounds when turning in either direction. No clicks going over bumps. The noise is definitely coming from the front drivers side.

The 9 nuts that were removed for the job were torqued so it doesn’t appear to be a loose nut.

There is no play in the wheel (3-9 and 12-6). Lifted and removed the wheel and there is nothing loose or appears worn in any of the suspension parts.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

It has 144k. So what do you think is the problem?

 

Have you replaced an axle on a Prius? It takes 9 bolts to remove and replace the axle.

 

The replacement was a new Advanced Auto carquest part. I was not going to pay Oem for a car with 144k. I re-tightened the axel nut to 159 ft lbs and the click is now intermittent.

 

Follow-up in case anyone else encounters a single click noise when stopping or starting from a dead stop.

I replaced drivers side CV axle resulting in a click noise. After scouring the interwebs I checked the following and resolved my issue. Not sure which one did the trick but it is worth checking all if you have the same problem. One of the caliper pins was on a lot tighter than 24 ft/lbs.

1. check the lower control arm bushings to see if they are in good condition.
2. check the torque settings of the 2 nuts holding the knuckle to the strut (177 ft/lbs)
3. check the caliper sliding pins. make sure they are lubed and torqued to 24 ft/lbs
4. lubing CV axle splines where it meets the hub (lots of Leaf owners resolved with this fix)
5. torquing the axle nut to 159#

 

Yes, you need to remove the axle from the hub but not from the tranny. I don't use gobs of grease like I do when packing the bearing on my Ford Ranger, just a thin film on all sides.

I did reuse the old nut as the lock portion was not too deformed. I put some White Out to the nut and axle to let me know if the nut moves when I do an inspection on the nex tire rotation/oil change.