75 Corvette with strange clunking in rear?

[gradymotorco]

My vette has started to exhibit some sort of clunking noise from the rear left side of the car when the car is in motion. You can feel a clunk in the car when you hear the noise. Does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be?

Dave

 

[XS650]

Maybe the half shaft U-Joints. That's serious business on your vintage Corvette, if one of those cuts loose it will ruin your whole day. Check them before you drive it again.

 

[RH+G]

When do you hear the noise? Is it when u turn? Is it after a stop? Does it feel like a binding?

 

[gradymotorco]

You hear the noise any time the car is in motion. Doesn't matter if you are going in forward or reverse. I was thinking either U-Joints or a rear wheel bearing. Do these symptoms sound consistant with either? If so, how would one go about diagnosis?

Dave

 

[9c1]

Rear strut rod bushing going bad. Get it up in the air and look at the strut rods. It will be hard to see the inner one but the outers should be easy to see the edges. A relatively easy job to change the strut rod bushings.

 

[gradymotorco]

How can I tell if it's the strut rod bushings? Will they be dryrotted? If so, how do you go about replacing them?

Dave

 

[gradymotorco]

UPDATE: I started investigating the problem this morning, and to my amazement, I found that the right rear wheel had only ONE loose lug nut holding it on. Also, 3 of the wheel studs were GONE, broken off evenly with the hub. It appears that my mechanic didn't take the time to tighten up my lug's the last time I had him work on the car

. That'll be the last time he turns a wrench on any of my cars. I guess I'll have to find somebody who can put some new studs in my hub.

Dave

 

[Tosh]

Give him a chance to fix his mistake for free before you drop him?

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: Tosh
Give him a chance to fix his mistake for free before you drop him?


I wouldn't consider going near that shop again unless he had -long- history of doing things right and this was one time mess-up. Maybe a courtesy call after the repair to give him the sheared off lugs and tell him they go with the nuts that weren't on the car. Might wake the mechanic up so he doesn't do it to someone else's car.

 

[eljefino]

Have you got alloy wheels? Were the lugs retorqued after 25 miles? Just playing devil's advocate. (Mechanic should have alerted you or offered you could check in the next day)

I saw a lady in a fiero lose a wheel/tire due to loose lug nuts... stopped to help her out... just had work done. Same as you, a couple lugs sheared off and the remaining ones chewed out the mating surface on the rim... new rim time in addition to everything else.

 

[gradymotorco]

I have already had a couple of disputes with him about shoddy workmanship, so this is pretty much the last straw. I don't have alloy's, but he did a 30 mile test drive before I picked up the car, so I assumed he retorqued the lugnuts. I don't drive the vette much, so I hadn't really looked at it since it came back from the shop a few months ago. I've only driven it 15 miles since I picked it up, thankfully.

Dave