Rear suspension noise

[fenderman]

Just had the driveaxle replaced under warranty, and now that the rear axle has been removed and a new one installed, whenever I go over a bump with the driver's side rear tire the suspension makes a horrible noise, almost like a groaning/popping sound.

I know what every one is saying... take the car back to where you got the work done and let them worry about it. That will be a problem for me since I work weekends and am now back to school full time. The dealership where I got the car from is 50 miles away through poor traffic conditions. I would like to remedy this on my own. Are there any ideas? I will tell you what I have checked so far.

I raised the vehicle up off the ground, and as I did so I noticed the noise as the car was going up. All suspension components look good and tight, except the rear springs are riding on bare metal at the base where they slide over the bumps affixed to the top of the axle housing, and look a little loose. Is it possible to misorient the springs or were there supposed to be rubber cushions on these metal bumps? I'm baffled as the car did not do this before. Any help would be appreciated.

[hockeyman]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by fenderman:
the rear springs are riding on bare metal at the base where they slide over the bumps affixed to the top of the axle housing, and look a little loose.<hr></blockquote>

They look, or ARE a little loose?? They shouldn't be loose at all when driving. If they are, then it could be your springs, shocks, or both that are making the noise.

-Marc

[fenderman]

They are loose with the car body raised up in the air.

[hockeyman]

Ok, well, I guess my next step would be to get under the car and try to move things around to see if the noise makes it appearance again. Could be something as simple as your I-Pipe rubbing on the rear axle housing or a broken shock. Get under there and inspect the hell outta it!

-Marc

[Jimmy Lee]

depending what kind of noise it makes, your problem might be as simple as greasing up the bushings. my car make a loud metal banging noise, i took it to the dealership. when i got the car back, all they did was grease up the sway bar bushings. the service advisor said the bushing would bind and then release, causing the noise.

Jimmy.

[fenderman]

Well, after getting nowhere with the dealer where I purchased the car, and advised that I would be charged a 65.00 "diagnostic" fee from the local Chevrolet shop, I sought some outside advice. By simply explaining my problem to a friend's father, he told me my problem might be shocks. I was a bit upset by this because I was really hoping to be able to save for Bilsteins but because of my current budget I had to settle for Monroe Sensa-Tracs at 19.99 a pop from O'Reilly. I stuck them on the car and noticed something else while under there that I had failed to look at before in the dark. The passenger side spring was oriented differently than the driver's side spring. It turns out that one was 180 degrees off, facing backwards in relation to the other. So while the driver's side shock was unbolted I raised the car up high enough to take weight off the spring without it coming out, compress the spring by hand off of its mount on the axle and rotate it 180 degrees. If you look at the bottom of the spring, you'll notice that the flat part which levels out is inches away from one part of the coil above it, while at the other end the two touch each other. I suspect what was happening is that since the spring was oriented backwards, that the amount of rebound the rear part of the spring received caused those parts that touch to rub together and also bind, which would violently pull apart as well possibly creating the noise I was hearing.

Am I sorry that I purchased shocks? No. There is a noticably stiffer ride now than I had before in a good way. The noise is gone, so whether it be one or the other or a combination of both, I have solved the problem. Thanks guys for all the help.

[Ian]

dude, my car was making a horrible noise from the rear passenger side when i hit bumps and stuff. and during slightly rougher roads, it would make soft "thuds". i tried everything to fix it! then i found out it was the control arm bushing. grab the control arm and pull it side to side. if it moves, thats your problem. get some bushings or better yet, new control arms. I ordered lakewood ones, but have yet to install them cause im at school now.

good luck with that.

[fenderman]

Thanks for the suggestion, Ian but if you read the post above yours, I have fixed the problem. New shocks and a 180 degree rotation of the driver's side spring to match the orientation of the passenger side.

[Ian]

oops, my fault.

[fenderman]

No harm, no foul... I do appreciate the attempt to help.