Mystery - car suspension knock after turning

nap

if you say so.

I don't know how difficult it is to replace that mount but I have had some that were real mo.., uh, bears....ya, that;'s it, bears to change.

A cv shaft; piece of cake. I think my record is 10 minutes (not counting getting the car on the lift) from start to finish, including removing and re-installing the wheel.

the shaft is more than likely a lot more expensive than the mount though.

I cannot endorse anything at this point as the problem. Too many possibilities and sometimes, if I can't hear it myself, I tend to not diagnose it with much certainty. This is one of those times.

mickey cassiba

I had a 98 Chrysler that made a clunk on right turns only...turned out to be the rear transmission mount broken. That after lots and and lots of driving in circles backwards and forwards.
Disclaimer: I am a "shade tree mechanic" The newer stuff never ceases to amaze, or bewilder me.
Mick

ukrkoz

noquacks, what shape are your cv joints in? THAT you can check, right?

butlike i said few times already. power train moves quite a bit when steering wheel is turned. that's rack and pinion thing. and side-wise engine mount. it's very different on rear wheel drive and longitudinal engine mount.

buddy, if it's that mount, then bingo! i am seriously hoping it is not as hard to replace as one on my ex, 91 Civic. nothing was easy on that car, but one in the back of the engine was an absolute biatch. i tackled that 3 times, and three times i failed, and i finally got it on the forth. there was one bolt hidden by undercarriage, and you have to drop entire crossmember and disconnect steering shaft, or there will not be enough clearance to do it. well, that's books way, we did it without all this. but that's when i bought meself THREE flexible drives, that can go in curves.

also, before you tackle that job, reach to that cardan on steering shaft and yank it this way and that way. but frankly, should it have been that cardan, it'd kick into steering wheel. if you feel it through the floor, it's something attached to it. crossmeber if you have one, steering rack, or power train.

noquacks

Well, thanks again, guys. Man, (scratching 2 day old beard stubble), yous might be right on that rear mount being a pain to change. Should look at it more first. Hey, I could always return the rubber mount if I fail.

Now, UK, oyu ask what shape are my cv joints? How can one tell? Could I maybe jack up the car and with tires removed, grab/twist/shake them at BOTH ends to determine? I mean, how does one tell for sure without yanking it? Thats what Im after. All I know is what Ive posted earlier- the boot was replaced with a split one (driv side) years ago, and redressed occasionally.

I told you it was a mystery. I hate to keep this soap opera going, but thats what it is......

ukrkoz

usually, a torn boot is well enough indicator.
if you had boot replaced - that joint is prolly no good. reason being, unless you do regular inspections and correct this type of things right away, dirt gets inside and is SEALED INSIDE with a replacement boot. thereafter, keeps doing its job, grinding on the joint innards.
i do not want to sound like a rich cat, but nowadays it is more feasible to replace the whole driveaxle with a new of remanufactured one, than boot itself.
i agree with the rest of the folks - CV joint will show itself in a turn at a low speed.
if i were you, and you want to tackle that mount, and they are roughly in the same place on all side mount engines - get yourself flexible drive extension. or, at least, a cardan type one. flexi drive is only 7 bucks on Amazon. unless you can find it locally, i could not.
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CC0Q8wIwAg#

noquacks

Thanks, UK. I never knew of such a tool. Good tip. I do have the universall joint for ratchets but not this. Thanks for all your help over the days. I will ge back to you with what happens. Have a good wekend.

Bigplanz

Replacing a drive axle on an 88 Pontiac should be fairly easy. I'd rather have that job than replacing a motor mount. Hardest part of getting the drive axle out will be getting the hub nut off. Make sure you have a 25 inch (minimum) 1/2 inch breaker bar. A 3/4 inch is better. Oh, don't reuse the old nut. It has to be torqued down pretty tight (around 184 ft/lbs or thereabouts, check the manual). The old one will be no good after you get it off; you need a new one to set the torque right.

Edit to add: I just checked RockAuto. A drive axle for your car can be had for about $45, axle nut included.

ukrkoz

he-he. i have sports interest in this. my gut tells me it's that mount. gut next to that gut says it's driveaxle you had boot replaced on.

btw, quick and dirty with drivexale nut is to drive to any close by tire shop and ask them to break it loose for you. you will have to have a suitable socket also, any major parts store rents - for free - what is called front axle socket kit. after done, hand torque as much as you can with long extension (you will have to jam a prybar under a wheel stud to prevent it from turning; i have turned every single wheel on every single car with a 2 feet cheat pipe and long extension) and then drive back to same shop and have it torqued again.

noquacks

Man, yous must have thought noquacks gave up- quit. But, no way! Just that I had a massive storm hit us 2 wks ago....( 3 tornadoes locally), and made trees fall in our yard- what a mess!

Anyway, I finally got the ball joint popped off, and man, that thing is so beat up!! I did the pop off with a chisel, and the joint tore apart! The bottom of it kinda just fell off! So, im thinking maybe thats got to be the culprit! So, Im gonna get a new joint, then drive it to see if the popping/clunking is gone. If now, hey, no big deal, I'll pop itr off again.

Thing is, on this car, that ball joint is kinda rivited on with 3 huge rivets, it appears. How do I get that joint of? I dont want to buy a whole comnntrol arm.....

Thanks, people!

noquacks

you see, this picture shows my ball joint with threaded bolts(3 of them), not rivets......
http://www.carparts.com/details/Pont...ID=froogle&cpm

Maybe I have to chisel off the rivets? drill them out?

nap

chisel off one side or the other and then use a drift punch and hammer to drive the rivets out.

Bigplanz

You must have the original ball joints on your car if there are rivets. Drill them out, slowly. High torque, low RPM drill works best. A chisel will work, but if you deform the ball joint holes, forget it, the whole control arm has to be replaced. The replacement ball joint will have bolts and nuts. Be sure to torque them to specs! My Olds Silhouette had riveted ball joints! Replaced mine at 88K and once since then. 178K and still going strong!

Buy a grease gun and keep them lubed and they'll last forever. That's what burned up my second set, some DA at the lube place never greased the ball joints and tie rods! Now I do them once every year or so and haven't had a ball joint/tie rod problem in 10 years.

noquacks

Thaks again, people. Update: I couldnt get a drill under the joint to drill out, and neither on top cuz the cv joint end is in the way. So, ground the heads off from underneath to flush. Now, trying to gently bump off the rivets from through the top. Stubborn!!!!!

nap

did you miss my previous post? You can grind or chisel off the rivet heads. Use a punch and drive from the side you ground off. I generally grind or chisel off the top and drive downward. Unless you are on a car lift, you usually don't have room to use a punch and get a swing on it with a hammer from the bottom.

noquacks

OK, Nap. Youve given me one last hope- I did see your post, but Maybe I didnt explain well......I cant get neither a drill now grinder to do the top rivet heads.....CV JOINT IS IN THE WAY.

Now, even chiseling them may be tough...theres not the right angle for it. lemme go there one more time............