Dick as usual offers some sound advice.
One word of caution on the replacement axles. I had one in my hands a few
years ago and it had as much play in the sliding fit as a worn out used one.
After that I've been hoarding good used rear axle assemblies. Maybe the most
recent ones are better, like I say it's been a few years. A badly worn axle
will actually 'hunch up' as it is loaded. Not good! Something that makes
diagnosing axles difficult is that the axle wear occurs in a spot with the
weight on the wheels, so if you jack the car up to check, the axles will
slide out to an unworn area and check out OK.
What MAY be your problem (if the axles and exhaust check out) is that the
bronze spider spacers are trashed or completely worn away, and there is too
much play in the diff. Hold onto one side axle and rotate the driveshaft
back and forth to see how much 'slop' exists before the opposite axle moves.
You'll feel and see it if there is axcessive play. If this condition is
allowed to remain you will eventually ruin your pinion gear.
Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sally or Dick Taylor" <tr6taylor@webtv.net>
To: <6pack@autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 6:27 PM
Subject: Re: Yet another rear clunk question..
> Shannon----Both areas you suspect can cause the clunk that you hear. It
> is rather common in these cars with lots of miles on them.
> You can isolate the sound by gripping the stub shaft where it comes out
> of the diff, and rocking the wheel. New splined shaft pairs were still
> available the last time I checked. Play in the axle shafts have more of
> a "click" as compared to the muted clunk in the differential unit..
>
> If both shafts seem solid enough, put the transmission in gear and pull
> on the hand brake. Turn the axles and or the prop shaft to try
> duplicating the sound you hear. Expect to find some play here also.
>
> It's difficult to get rid of ALL play without replacing or rebuilding
> all of the components. Finding and correcting the biggest offender
> usually makes us feel better, only to find the sound still there to some
> lesser degree.
>
> Don't rule out something as simple as a tail pipe bumping against the
> undercarriage, as the back end first dips during acceleration.
>
> Dick
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