help with clunking (suspension?!?)
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Teching In
Joined: Dec 2006
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help with clunking (suspension?!?) ok here it goes, i have a 2002 TA A4 25,000 miles. i lowered the car 1.5" about 4-5 months ago and now there is a noise (loud clunking) coming from under the car now. it happens when i break hard and then give is some gas. also happens sometimes when it shifts gears. So i started to TRY to fix the problem. poly trans mount....no help........got a BMR non-adj TA with poly mount.............no help.......now it seems to be getting a little worse. could it be the pinion angle? should i have gotten and adj-TA? or is it maybe the u-joint? maybe worn from the different pinon angle or something like that? i have had the car up on jack stands and twisted the Drive shaft it has some play but not tons. it is starting to kill me. i also do not have a pan hard bar. maybe this would fix it? I just have to fix it
Thank you in advance for any help!!!!
Thank you in advance for any help!!!!
i just bought a pair from my buddy BMR havn't put them on yet. and I just bought relocation brackets, but again not installed though.......i really don't know why i don't have a panhard bar..................is it a necissity??? could that be making the cluncking noise??? Thanks again
So you say the u-joints are loose? Does it clunk when you bump the throttle at a constant speed?
My driveshaft has some play in it too. I get clunks when bumping the throttle cause somethings loose.
My driveshaft has some play in it too. I get clunks when bumping the throttle cause somethings loose.
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Verdad Gallardo theres grease fittings on the stockers i think. previous owner replaced the stockers on mine, but im pretty sure GM put greasables on.
put the *** on jackstands, parking brake off, and rotate the DS until you see the fittings.
i had to take the DS off of the pinion yoke to expose the fitting on that joint.
put the *** on jackstands, parking brake off, and rotate the DS until you see the fittings.
i had to take the DS off of the pinion yoke to expose the fitting on that joint.
Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Eastern MA
You don't have any Panhard rod at all (stock or otherwise)?
If so, stop driving the car until you install one. The Panhard rod keeps the rear alxle from moving side-to-side. It is a necessay suspension component for our suspension design.
If so, stop driving the car until you install one. The Panhard rod keeps the rear alxle from moving side-to-side. It is a necessay suspension component for our suspension design.
Originally Posted by Revelation Z28
theres grease fittings on the stockers i think. previous owner replaced the stockers on mine, but im pretty sure GM put greasables on.
put the *** on jackstands, parking brake off, and rotate the DS until you see the fittings.
i had to take the DS off of the pinion yoke to expose the fitting on that joint.
put the *** on jackstands, parking brake off, and rotate the DS until you see the fittings.
i had to take the DS off of the pinion yoke to expose the fitting on that joint.
I had something similar, and it was my LCA's. I have a 12 bolt and Spohn LCA's rod/urethane. I had tightened everyting 5 times. I went to change the rod end as the next test and when I dropped the rodend, I found the bushing end was loose. I had to tighen it till I thought I would break the socket and bingo, clunk gone.
When you check tighness you may not have it as tight as you think!
When you check tighness you may not have it as tight as you think!
i have lca's and relocation brackets just not installed yet. so i wouldn't think it would be that..........unless............the stock ones vibrated loose or something, well its something to look at! thanks for the help guys if you have any other suggestions let me know, and for as far as the grease fittings, there is still snow all over here have to wait for a decient day.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
I don't think stock u-joints have grease fittings. They only have little holes w/ plastic in them. Those are the u-joint retainers and you have to melt them off in order to replace the u-joints.
I have a similar clunk too and it almost feels like it is slack in the rear gears.
I have a similar clunk too and it almost feels like it is slack in the rear gears.
I have a mysterious "clunk" sound that I'm trying to track down in my car as well... I posted the following in another thread, but it seems appropriate here.
This past weekend, I checked just about everything I could think of in the rear of the car. I checked the brakes - Rotors not warped, pads looked fine, caliper bolts tight... Checked all suspension bolts, the control arms & torque arm. The TA wasn't bent or cracked. I checked the rear u-joint and it looked fine and was not loose. After that checking, I really couldn't see anything that was obviously worn-out, broken, or loose. Oh yeah, I checked the posi by doing a nice burnout... The traction was pretty even.
I did break out my magnetic-base dial-indicator to check the end-play at outside of the pinion yoke and it was about .045". I'm sure that doesn't equate to what the actual back-lash is between the ring & pinion, and it really didn't seem too bad.
My only *guess* is that when I'm coming to a stop in neutral, the combined slack in the M6 transmission and rear-end, and possibly some kind of interaction with the posi-unit, is causing the clunking sounds.
I have a '95 Z28 w/~95K miles on it, and I'm now starting to hear some strange noises from the rear, similar to what you've described. It *usually* happens when the following is true:
1. I've been driving the car for a while (>25 minutes).
2. I'm coming to a stop, and the car is in neutral (M6).
3. My speed is somewhere between 1-10 MPH (usually lower than higher).
The actual sound is hard to describe - Sometimes it's a quick 'clunk-clunk-clunk' sound, and other times it sounds like something is binding, and then popping with a metallic kind of sound. I wish I could somehow record it because that description really doesn't help.
What I do know is that the car is just about stock and the only change recently is to put new shocks and 1" lowering springs on the car, which did changed the pinion angle. Also, the 'clunk' sound was there prior to the suspension upgrade, but it's now much more prominent and frequent.
1. I've been driving the car for a while (>25 minutes).
2. I'm coming to a stop, and the car is in neutral (M6).
3. My speed is somewhere between 1-10 MPH (usually lower than higher).
The actual sound is hard to describe - Sometimes it's a quick 'clunk-clunk-clunk' sound, and other times it sounds like something is binding, and then popping with a metallic kind of sound. I wish I could somehow record it because that description really doesn't help.
What I do know is that the car is just about stock and the only change recently is to put new shocks and 1" lowering springs on the car, which did changed the pinion angle. Also, the 'clunk' sound was there prior to the suspension upgrade, but it's now much more prominent and frequent.
I did break out my magnetic-base dial-indicator to check the end-play at outside of the pinion yoke and it was about .045". I'm sure that doesn't equate to what the actual back-lash is between the ring & pinion, and it really didn't seem too bad.
My only *guess* is that when I'm coming to a stop in neutral, the combined slack in the M6 transmission and rear-end, and possibly some kind of interaction with the posi-unit, is causing the clunking sounds.
for different cars i've owned the clunk is normal in my opinion. i had 2 2002s both Zs and both would make that clunking. the first one is had was auto and my current is stick. it seems when you hit the throttle and the engine kicks in thru the converter/clutch and hit the rear end, the u joints clunk. that's how i diagnosed it. i've taken my DS down a few times and haven't noticed any grease fittings myself.