Left rear clunk

[XfireZ51]

If it has not been mentioned, one other thing to check is the torque on the half shaft to hub nut. It may come loose and only held in by cotter pin.

[mike100]

Originally Posted by XfireZ51

If it has not been mentioned, one other thing to check is the torque on the half shaft to hub nut. It may come loose and only held in by cotter pin.

and I will also add to put some grease on the axle splines. it gets lightly rusted and dry and if it can't slide smoothly- it can make a 'pop' noise every time you add or remove torque.

[secondchance]

Murcielago,

It helps if you can describe the type of noise and when it makes the noise.

If you are hearing one "clink" moving forward from stop in 1st gear, stop the car, go into reverse and back up. If you hear same "clink" (or clank) one time, it is your rear hub bearing. I believe factory manual originally called for 160 or 170 ft-lbs. This was revised later by Chevrolet to 190 ft-lbs. If this is your noise source, you might get lucky and noise might go away after re-torquing the axle nut.

If you are hearing clanking noise while driving and going over bumps where car is swaying left/right, I would suspect sway arm bushing (lower and/or upper- two on each side).

Good luck!

[MuRCieLaGo]

Originally Posted by RussMcB

Is the clunking a steady frequency, such as every wheel or driveshaft revolution? In other words, do you hear the clunks twice as fast when you're going 10MPH compared to 5 MPH?

If yes, the problem is in the drivetrain (transmission, driveshaft, differential, halfshaft, hub/wheel/brakes).

Do you have a small video camera (i.e., GoPro)? Perhaps you can mount it close to different components (close enough to help hear the clunk source). I think the audio might be more useful than the video.

I have a cheap mechanic's stethoscope. Perhaps you could use one, or have a passenger use a big long screwdriver in a similar fashion, hold it against the shifter the see if the clunk is coming from the trans. Maybe since it's only at low speeds it's related to first gear? (wild guess).

I like the e-brake suggestion earlier. That's a good way to see if it's related to rear pads, rotor.

Can you put on different rear tires/wheels for a test drive to see if the clunk goes away?

Can you put a buddy in the back with the hatch open to see if it's coming from one side (or from the front or back)?

Changed trans and diff fluids recently? Anything other than clean oil come out?

Can you hear a clunk when the rear wheels are turning with the car up on jack stands?

Good luck.

It's coming from rear driver side only. I can't hear anything for sure when the car is up on jack stands. Thanks for all the ideas!

Originally Posted by secondchance

Murcielago,

It helps if you can describe the type of noise and when it makes the noise.

If you are hearing one "clink" moving forward from stop in 1st gear, stop the car, go into reverse and back up. If you hear same "clink" (or clank) one time, it is your rear hub bearing. I believe factory manual originally called for 160 or 170 ft-lbs. This was revised later by Chevrolet to 190 ft-lbs. If this is your noise source, you might get lucky and noise might go away after re-torquing the axle nut.

If you are hearing clanking noise while driving and going over bumps where car is swaying left/right, I would suspect sway arm bushing (lower and/or upper- two on each side).

Good luck!

secondchance, once again you won. I just tightened the axle nut (barely tightened it) and the 2nd noise (low speed) went away.

Gotta work on the clunk now. Like somebody said earlier, I will remove a link end to see if the noise goes away. It should help pinpointing the problem.

Thanks all!

[MuRCieLaGo]

Oh well, it was only fixed temporarily. Same noise came back. Gonna try to tighten the axle nut to exactly 190 ft-lbs.

EDIT: It was too tight, I tighten the nut to exactly 190 ft-lbs and the noise went away... For how long?