Ferds

Okay so I have a 1995 Camaro Z28. Recently replaced a bad tranny mount and now I am on to the next problem…there is a clicking noise coming from the rear end. Its the differential or something near it. It does not happen all the time but randomly. And it almost always clicks after a burn out or getting on it. The clicking changes speed with the speed of the car but is no longer audible after about 35mph. The clicking stops when you slightly depress the breaks. Owner before me slid into a curb and broke the rear rim and had to have the gears in the differential replaced. Any ideas????

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

How many miles are on it? The stock differential is junk IMO, mine died at 140k and was doing one wheel peels like a POS six banger; it would leave one very long and dark tire stripe 300+ ft long when you got on it from a stop Clicking can be a symptom of a worn differential. The new Eaton posi I put in it seems to lock up quicker and offer better traction than the stock one ever did, FWIW my Firehawk has an Auburn "cone clutch" differential has been very reliable with hard driving for 165K and is also a very nice improvement over the stock one in these cars.

Camaro_freak

iTrader: (1)

My friend had a snapping sound that was due to a bad U joint in the drive shaft. He had a V6 with the 2 piece shaft though.

Ferds

The car has about 94,000 right now. But the gears should all be new inside. I haven't looked yet. The mechanic could have screwed the previous owner.

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I've had a bad one of those too...more of a "clunk" sound though, and usually has a vibration that gets worse at speed, 60+mph.

There's also gears in the differential unit itself, not just the ring and pinion gear that previous owner had replaced...

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

Sometimes U-joints will exhibit a clicking or squeaking sound before they get bad enough to clunk or cause the vibration at speed.
You need to get under the car with no load on the driveshaft, ie. trans in neutral, to be able to move the joints enough to see a problem.

Blowerman

You mentioned that the previous owner slid into a curb and bent the rim.
You probably have a bent axle flange causing the axle to shimmy back and forth while contacting the brakes. Your also probably getting a little noise from the axle tapping the pinion shaft of the spider gears.
When you apply the brakes your absorbing the free movement of the axle floating in and out muffling the noise.

Fazz73jr

iTrader: (3)

^ Exactly what I was thinking. I had the same issue on my nova and it turned out to be a bent axle.

Ferds

Well after further inspection I have found that my brakes and rotors have some issues. So I think I'll start by overhauling them and see if my clicking goes away and move on from there. It can't hurt to update the braking system either way you look at it.

Ferds

Well i put new rotors and brake pads in the rear end and the noise quit! one of my pads was worn and started to move around when the wheels spun..hence the clicking So happy the noise is gone!!!!