I've eliminated the strut assembly entirely from this problem, the coil is captive at full droop, the mounts are solid and all the bolts are torqued to spec, but I still have a knock in my rear right (I have never once had a problem on the driver's side)
What should I be looking into now?
If I jerk the top of the wheel in and out with the car on the ground I can feel some definite play, but the wheels are torqued down and tight.
Is there anything behind the brakes that could be loose and causing play?
Are all the bump stops thrimmed right?
That's all I got.
does it sound like a metal on metal sound, if so, I just had the same problem and after replacing the strut mounts and that was not the problem,
it turned out to be the bolt that holds the axel to the body of the car.
I had the axel replaced through my insurance from an accident a while ago, and the bolt had come loose.
the sound started out somewhat quiet and got louder.
hopefully that it all it is for u
cheers
steve
When does it make the knocking sound? If it is speed dependant, I had a bad strut that did this. It also caused a terrible vibration between 55-65.
2.2 97 Cavalier......the "Crapalier"
Not speed dependant, also rarely happens going over positive bumps.
it mainly happens going over holes/railroad tracks/other dips in the road.
bradsk88 wrote:I can feel some definite play,
The wheel actually moves? Then you've got a bad hub/bearing assembly.
Not necessarily^. I just had the same issue, turned out to be muffler hangers worn out and allowing more swing then usual and the muffler/pipe was knocking back further under the car. I actually thought it was my sway bar or axle bushings...just a worn out exhaust hanger.
"Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience!" -Anonymous
I have good reason to believe it's my
trailing arm bushings.
I picked up a hub assembly this morning so I could replace it after work today, but after getting the drum off, the hub seemed just fine, no noise, no movement.
So I put the wheel back on and found a 'sweet spot' Where the wheel would rock side to side, I got my boss to look under the car and he saw the the whole trailing arm was moving at the same time as my movements.
Anybody know where I can get trailing arm bushings? Should I look into polyurethane?
are you sure it is the bushing and the bolt is just not loose, mine was and now it is fine.
I didn't know it was called a trailing arm.
good to know
I'll try tightening it, but I don't know if that'll help.
Just for future reference, you wont usually find any problems with bad bearings when the car is on jacks. It usually takes the weight of the car and moving to produce the sign of a bad bearing...at least at first when they first start going out. One of the harder things to identify if you dont know what to listen for.
"Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience!" -Anonymous
Sure, but it sounds like they make more of a grind or a squeal. I'm knocking.
Check the hub. Like josh has said you need to check while load of vehicle is on hub. Get a new hub and torque bolts to specs.
hey,
did you figure out what the noise was yet?
No sire.
Hub's fine. Replaced the trailing arm bushing, still noisy.
If I have time after work tomorrow I'm going to pull the rear tie bar out and see if that's it. On the passenger side I didn't get the bolt fully verticle when I drilled the hole to mount it. Its off by about 30º and it's been on the car the whole time I've had the clunk.
I'll update what I find.
Check the exhaust where it goes over the rear axle. After you lower your car the exhaust gets closer to the axle. Check it out, look right in front under the driver side rear tire.
Just want to finish up this thread.
After having my car to several different shops and having them all tell me it was my Koni yellows, I finally went to a shop and lied to them about having sent my struts into Koni to have them inspected. Claiming they were "certified good", they agreed to replace my
trailing arm bushing.
And that's exactly what it was.
But...ah...wait a minute...didn't you just say:
bradsk88 wrote:No sire.
Hub's fine. Replaced the trailing arm bushing, still noisy.
If I have time after work tomorrow I'm going to pull the rear tie bar out and see if that's it. On the passenger side I didn't get the bolt fully verticle when I drilled the hole to mount it. Its off by about 30º and it's been on the car the whole time I've had the clunk.
I'll update what I find.
So....
That's what I thought at the time.
I sent the car to my dad's mechanic, asking him to change the bushing and my oil. But looking at my bill, the dude just changed my oil and "inspected my car", telling me it was my struts that were the problem. He never even touched the bushings.
Either way, the clunk is gone after having it replaced.
