79VetteGirl

Hello All,
I'm new here so be gentle :bb
My problem seems like a strange one. I've never ran up against one like this.
It's like I'm driving on a square wheel. It's on the back passengers side only and it makes a terrible clunking sound. I barely made it home. I thought that the whole right rear was going to fall off.
No one around here seems to know a thing about Corvettes and I'm afraid to let just anyone work on it but I hate it even more for it just to sit there....not being able to drive it.
Any suggestions? :auto:
Tee (in East TN.)

78 Vette

It sounds like you need rear u joints if you do then it is unsafe to drive. Any mechanic can fix it just take it to someone you trust . There is a total of 4 u joints in the rear suspension. good luck :cheers:

Van Steel

:iagree: You have 2 half shafts in the rear of the car. They are just over a foot long and connect from the wheel bearing to the differential. You'll notice that each half shaft has 2 joints on them. One at each end. Check under there and see if you see a brown powder like substance by these joints. Thats a good sign indicating they are bad.

Oh Yeah, Welcome to the Forum :thumbs:


[Modified by Van Steel, 12:59 PM 9/4/2003]

Fevre

Welcome aboard! :cheers:

Sure there will be a flood of eager forum members in your area clammering to take a look at it, and you. :)

Corz

ahh yes.. nothing like the sound and feel of a bad u-joint.. welcome good luck, and beware of the leghumpers :thumbs:

79VetteMike

Nice dude. Advertising already? :lolg:

tabbruzz

Welcome...... Does it make the sound all the time or once the car gets hot after a little driving???

Tony

wcsinx

Oh my god what a small world. I used to date a girl from your little town. You wouldn't happen to know the Parton family would you?

btw, yeah, definitely your U-joints going south ... easy and cheap to fix

Bluegirl77

Hey There!

Here's a female opinion (keep in mind I'm far from a mechanic)! :rolleyes:

I had a similar problem this past summer. We thought is was the U-joints but when we checked them, they were fine. Turns out that the bolts had backed off some gear inside the differential and were getting "chewed up"...big job and lots of $$$.

Hopefully its not this, but if U-joints are okay, let me know and I can get you more information about our probelm and the fix for it. Thank goodness my hubby is good with cars and he was able to fix it, but we wasted most of the summer trying to discover the problem!

Corz

:leaving:

79VetteGirl

Thanks for all the info. As far as the question "Tabbruzz" asked about when the sound starts....well that's a tough one. I was driving home that night and it was sorta like I hit a little bump in the road and that my tire was going flat. It made a scrubbing sound so I figured I better get it back to town quick. The closer I got to town the worse it got. Then when I was about a mile from home it sounded like something fell off and was dragging under the car. I pulled over and looked but saw nothing....got back in....put it in reverse.....no noise.....put it in forward.....all ____ broke loose....I idled it home with it bumping and jumping on that right rear.........It hasn't been moved since.
I've been asking around for info.......I've heard everything from.....gears in the differential to u-joints (thanks Bluegirl77 for that info too) to wheel bearings. I don't want to start replacing parts that I don't need.
And to "WCSink".......you can't get near the "Parton Family" any more...LOL
We do have a Chevy garage here in town but the closest thing to a Corvette that they've worked on is a Camero. :confused:
Leghumper?????? hmmmmmmm
Tee

dath

Take it to the Chevy garage (on a flatbed) if you aren't comfortable working on it or inspecting it yourself. Have them check the U-Joints and go from there. It shouldn't be difficult for an experienced mechanic to find the source of the trouble. There are simple checks that can be made as others suggested already. I like the one from Dan (Van Steel) about looking for the red powder around the u-joints. I had a mechanic friend tell me the same thing a few years ago... Sure enough, my clunking joints had the red powder... If it's not the u-joints in your case, they should be able to very trivially check the bearings and differential...

Keep us posted and certainly post any questions you have, I know it is *NOT* fun to be in a position where you have to trust someone you don't know to fix your things and not rip you off...

79VetteGirl

NOT being ripped off is exactly what I'm afraid of. About 2 years ago I paid a machanic (not from the Chevy garage) $500.00 to replace the u-joints and bushings in the rearend. Then I took it to an alignment shop and they told me I still needed something replaced. He pointed to it but I couldn't see anything. It had something to do with the alignment process. I took it back to the mechanic and told him what the alignment guy said....the machanic said he had replaced everything he could........now this happens. Can u-joints go bad in 2 years?
Tee

I know it is *NOT* fun to be in a position where you have to trust someone you don't know to fix your things and not rip you off...

427V8

About the square wheel, are you sure it's just not out of balance??

Isn't there a member near this Vettegirl who can help her out?
I hate to see people ( especially vette owening women ) getting ripped off...

Another Idea, Can you take pics of the underside of the car? We could possibly help that way...


[Modified by 427V8, 7:15 PM 9/4/2003]

mnow

Gosh, if its making that much of a noise while you idled it home, the u-joint might have snapped already, and the halfshaft just flopping... what I would do is go out under the rear of the car, and start shaking things. Make sure one side of it under there looks like the other. You really have to squeeze back under it a ways(past the tire carrier to the big wishbone looking thing) to get near the halfshafts, and rear suspension. Shake everything you can.. it all should be tight. Then go grab the tires by the top, and try to rock them in and out.. they shouldnt. If anything is moving on you, thats likely the culprit.
Also stand behind the car, and look at both the rear tires at the same time.. are they at the same angle? or is one cocked a bit more than the other?
I agree, if you can take pics, that could help us help you.
Good luck, I've been there, and feel your pain.
~Michael


[Modified by mnow, 5:36 PM 9/4/2003]

dath

The only suggestion I really have if you do not want to be ripped off is to figure out what the problem is before you take it to a mechanic. Mechanics are just people too and they make mistakes and sometimes go through the same process as us shade-tree guys do in replacing parts that don't need it. Most of the time the end customer doesn't realize this and sometimes they end up paying for parts that weren't necessary. Probably most mechanics don't set out to rip people off, but a few stories sure give the whole lot a bad rap sometimes...

It is really difficult to know for sure what your problem is without more information than you've given. Get a set of jack stands, some grubby clothes, and raise the rear of the car up to take a look. It may all look foreign to you at first, but you may be surprised how easy it is to spot a problem, especially one of the magnitude you describe. You've really got to talk the talk to be certain you don't get ripped off these days. Same goes for anything really, not just cars... As I like to tell folks who live far away... If you were closer, I'd be happy to take a look free of charge, but I'm no expert either, just another Joe who doesn't see the point in paying other people good money to fix problems that I can make worse myself :jester

mnow

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Hey Dath, youre just up in beaverton... you can come work on my car !!! :lol:


[Modified by mnow, 6:16 PM 9/4/2003]

79VetteGirl

Get a set of jack stands, some grubby clothes, and raise the rear of the car up to take a look. It may all look foreign to you at first, but you may be surprised how easy it is to spot a problem, especially one of the magnitude you describe. You've really got to talk the talk to be certain you don't get ripped off these days.

I've had my car up on jack stands for a week now with both rear tires off. I've tugged and pulled on everything....there is some movement but not like I expected. I expected something to just fall to the ground once I got it jack up. I can turn the right side hub (the wheel is off) and I can feel and hear the popping but still can't tell where it is coming from. Could the differential be locking up? That side does NOT turn freely or smoothly. Or the bearings in the wheel bearings be lapping over the other bearings? Or maybe the u-joints are coming apart? By moving the right side by hand it sounds and feels more like grinding and popping.....but driving it that night it was like that side was running over potholes with a terrible noise.
I can take pictures of the underside of the car but I don't know how to get them to you. I don't know how to post a picture to this site.
The Chevy garage is about 2 or 3 miles from me....should I chance driving the car to them?
THANKS sooooooooo much. YOU ALL are soooooooo helpful. This is a wonderful site!!!!! :grouphug:
Tee

427V8

Well I guess if nothing is falling off pics may be useless, But then again we could point out potential problems...
If you Email them to me, my427v8@hotmail.com , I can post them for you.

If you don't see anything happening it probablt not the U-jounts, that should be visable.

Question, When you turn one wheel does the other one turn also? It should turn the oppisite direction.

I'm thinking wheel bearing or posi clutch failure. Both invisable from the outside :cry


Oh, I'd call the Chevy Garage and see if they are interested. If they hesitate don't bother!


[Modified by 427V8, 10:36 PM 9/4/2003]

GDaina

Could be the posi plates or the spiders. I wonder if there is gear lube in the case...could have leaked out due to a bad seal...if that's the case...major bucks





[Modified by GDaina, 12:26 AM 9/5/2003]