04Z16

I'm stumped. I took the GS to the hobby shop and put it up on the lift fully intending to replace the axle shaft u-joints due to a clicking/popping noise I've been hearing from the rear of the car. I put the car up on the lift and both axle shafts and the drive shaft were found to be tight with no signs of grease leaking from the u-joint seals. Next I looked at the driveshaft beam to make sure the nuts and bolts were tight because the maual claims this can cause some clicking or popping if they are loose. Both ends of the brace were torqued properly.

I had the drivers door open and let the clutch out to try and pin point the noise, to the best of my ability it sounds as if it is from the left rear. There is no sign of grease from around the hub area of the wheel bearing or in the rim area of the tire. All the bushings and the rear were checked with no visible signs of damge. The rear spring was replaced about a year ago and there was no signs of damage on the spring either. Does anyone have any ideas?? I really don't want to dive into replacing the u-joints aftering seeing how much of the rear end you have to dis-assemble just to get the shafts out. Can the wheel bearing cause the popping/clicking noise? Thanks for any help.
Leo :seeya

tdock

My brakes used to click when starting from a stop, I guess the caliper was releasing, but it was just one click, and one click only (Hunt for Red October quote) pads and rotors were worn, replaced them and the click went away.

edsalinas

Think back, was there something you/someone else worked on that could have created the current problem ? ? ? How many miles on the wheel bearings, check to see if ther is play at the hub ? ? ? ? Just thoughts ! ! ! Could the noise be coming from the diff ? ? ? ? :boxing :boxing :boxing :boxing

04Z16

No work was done to the rear end. First thing to look at it is the last maintenance done to the car, 55,000 mile on the wheel bearings. There isn't any play at the hub but with the tire on there is a small amount on the left side nothing on the right side. The noise is not from the Diff, it is from the left rear wheel most definetly! The noise is the same sound as a front wheel drive car makes with a bad CV joint in it, the click pop when they start off. Will a worn or bad hub do this?? Thanks for the feed back. Regular bearings in the rear are easy to tell when they go, the howling will give them away every time. :seeya :cheers:

edsalinas

Then I guess you need to look at the brakes real close, can't imagine what else it could be ? ? ? ? :cheers: :cool:

ittlfly

You have half the battle won as your car is on a lift and you're not working on it flat on your back on the garage floor. :lol: There are several posts on the clicking coming from rust on the spindle shaft. Also, have you tried to rock the tire(s) back and forth while it's in the air to check for bearing and u-joint wear? BTW, it's not that bad pulling a half shaft out. Once it's in the air you can do it in about 1/2 hr.

04Z16

Not too sure about that half hour estimate, just getting that leaf spring out is about that long. Maybe an hour with manual tools. I need some air tools, maybe an early birthday gift. There was no play in the U-Joints but a very slight movement with the tire in place on the wheel bearing. The car has no vibration and no other noises other than the popping when you start out and decel. It is one of those noises that drive you batty. I'll check for some posts on the rust for the spindle shaft. Thanks for the replies. Yes it is nice having the hobby shop close by with the availability of lifts and associated support equipment when you need it.
:seeya

95vettski

You need to clean and lubricate the spline at the hub bearing. Rust builds up and causes friction and the result is a "clicking" sound. For me it was noticeable on take off, as the car shifted weight. Its very simple shouldn't take very long.

:cheers:

04Z16

What all was entaled to do it? Is it the same as replacing the bearing?? Did you still have to drop the half shaft? Thanks for the info.
Leo
:seeya


[Modified by GS487, 8:19 PM 7/3/2002]

ittlfly

If your're just going to do the spindle, you can leave the half shaft hooked up. You'll need a 36mm socket for the spindle nut and a 55 torx for the 3 bolts holding the bearing on the knuckle. You'll have to access them from the backside. With the car in the air, you will probably be able to get them out without to much hassle. A good penatrint(sp) will help loosen them up.
Hopes this helps.

Wadoka

Worn out bushings in the upper and lower control arms also produce a nice loud thump/clunk when you brake hard and then accelerate.

04Z16

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I took the left side apart last night and cleaned the splines. There was a lot of rust on the splines in the hub and on the shaft. I should have taken some photo's and done a little tech thing but the wife was hungry and dinner was my turn sorry. End result test drive with no click!!!! :cool: :cheers: :yesnod: :yesnod: :) :) Now back to the store to return the U-Joints that aren't needed. Thanks again for the great information. THIS FORUM ROCKS!!!! :flag :seeya :chevy

92corvette

Cool. I have given the 'rust on the spindle' advice as possiblities a few time, but people don't seem to want to believe it. They go ahead and replace the u-joints and still have the noise. Glad you got yours fixed the easy way. :flag

Skippy Stone

Excellent thread everyone!

I have the exact same problem and I bet this is the solution. I first thought that the body shop guys had been drag racing the car while it was there and "loosened up" Ujoints or pinions, etc.

Life is so much more simple sometimes than we want to make it.

95vettski

:cool: :cool: :cool:

AquaMetallic94LT1

My car had some strange noises that sounded like the rearend was falling apart but it turned out to be rust in the same area. The dealer replaced the hubs (under warranty) and repacked the area and coated the splines and hub contacts with anti sieze.

CROOZN

uh

92corvette

oh

smurf5995

About December 2012, I replaced all bushings, short shaft u-joints, and the hub on the rear of my 1986 4 +3 Vette. After about 5 months, I noticed a clicking noise in the drivers side rear wheel. Everything seemed to be fine: I checked for a bad wheel bearing the traditional way of wiggling the wheel...all was good. The shock was tight, and the U-joints seemed to be just fine. I found this thread and it sounded just like my problem. Upon acceleration in forward or reverse I would get a clicking noise much like the sound of a bad CV joint on the front of a car. When I took the caliper off I did notice a bad retaining clip, but I reinstalled it anyway since I was doing this late at night and did not have new pads to install. However, I took the hub off and there was some rust on the splines of the spindle. I used WD-40 and a wire brush to clean the little bit of rust. I cleaned the splines thoroughly, and then wiped on a small amount of white lithium grease. I reinstalled everything, including the pad with a broken retaining spring. NO MORE CLICKING NOISE...........Thanks to the person that originally posted this thread.