Help! YIKES! Loud noise from driver side rear...

[99v6cam]

I've posted about the noise before but now it's different. Before when I turned right or hit bumps or something it made a metallic pinging kind of noise. Now it's louder and not a little pinging noise anymore. Sounds like someone hammering on metal. No clue as to what is causing it. It sounds like it is coming from the driver's side rear tire area but nothing looks broken, wrong, or out of place. I'm about to go outside and take the tire off and give it a look. When it was just pinging my friend Bobby said that it may be a bad axle bearing but I dunno what a bad axle bearing looks like or how to examine it. Anyone have suggestions or had this problem before? All help is greatly appreciated!

EDIT: its about to rain so I'ma have to look later

[ October 15, 2004, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: 99v6cam ]

[99v6cam]

here are pics of the only things that look wrong with that part of the car


Note: camera was held sideways on both pics and i think the second one doesnt look right bc the one side i was a jack and the rest is on the ground. The first pic is referring to the rubber thing (im stupid when it comes to suspension) that is connecting the thing on the spring. it seems like it is falling apart. pieces of rubber falling off, etc. (ugliest explanation ever!)

[ October 15, 2004, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: 99v6cam ]

[99v6cam]

anyone have any idea?

[FunkZ]

Pictures don't come up.

The rubber you're talking about I assume is the bump stop? Prevents the suspension from compressing too far. The axle will hit the bottom of that on bad bumps.

Do you have limited slip?

You can pull the right axle and check the condition of it. If there's any scoring then the bearing needs replaced. Pop the diff cover, take out the carrier lock bar, take the wheel off, push in on the axle, C-clip should fall off, then pull the axle back out a few inches. Look for grooves on the outer end where it spins inside the axle tube.

[99v6cam]

no dont have limited slip yet, the differential is sitting in my room [img]tongue.gif[/img] . I guess I can check all that when I put it in eh?

[FunkZ]

Yup, if you'll be installing that soon just wait until you already have the axles pulled to install the carrier. Also if the carrier is used it would be a good idea to have new bearings pressed on and also get a pair of new races rather than reuse your old ones.

<edit> Oh, and I can see the pictures now, not sure what the first one is supposed to be of (other than the rotor! [img]smile.gif[/img] ) but the second one is the endlink, not the bumpstop. Looks pretty normal for a stock endlink.

[ October 15, 2004, 08:27 PM: Message edited by: FunkZ ]

[5_spd_pewter_v6]

it might just be me, but in that second picture the endlink on the sway bar doesn't look tight enough. you might want to check it. i forget the torque spec for it, but if you can't find it let me know, i have a gm shop manual.