Had a great cruise tonight, and stopped by the local bike shop for some beer before heading home. It was such a nice night, I wanted to go for another cruise when I left, but as I went through town, I could hear an echo off the brick buildings of a fairly loud "thunk" that sounded like it was coming from my right rear. In recent months, I had thought a few times like I had heard a "tick" sound, but it definitely got a lot worse today. So I headed straight home to the garage.

I struggled on my own for a while, then called a neighbor and we got the rear off the ground. We turned the right rear, and could hear/feel a definite "thunk" with each rotation of the wheel. Both wheels turned the same direction when we turned the right rear, and the thunk was once per rev rather than once per 3.08 revs (I have a 3.08 rear) so we concluded that the differential and the posi were working properly. Let me know if I have that wrong.

So, we focused on the right rear. First, we removed the wheel to test for wheel impingement. No change. Then, we removed the caliper to test for caliper impingement. No change. Then we removed the rotor to test for rotor impingement. No change. We inspected the e-brake mechanism, and although we noticed some irregularities with that (see below), we are pretty sure this isn't part of the "thunk" problem. So, I am thinking that my problem is either one of the U-joints on the half-shaft, or the wheel bearing. So, we put the rotor and wheel back on to do the "wiggle test", and the bearing feels solid (as does the other side) so at least it doesn't seem like a worn-out bearing.

At that point, we were tired and sweaty, so I suggested we knock off for now and let me ask you nice folks here for thoughts/opinions. I have a good quality digital camera and I know how to post pictures, so if anyone needs a picture, shout it out and I will post it.

Thanks for any help or consideration.

Detail on the e-brake: When I bought the car, it was supposed to be "restored", but I knew when I bought it that this "restoration" was not of the high-quality frame-off variety. Many of the problems I have dealt with so far have been due to what we call "Sparkie the Rookie" who did a lot of work on the "restoration". When I bought the car, the e-brake barely worked, and the adjustment was all the way at the end of its travel. When I took the rotor off, it looks like the e-brake pads, spring and cable are basically brand new, so I think Sparkie screwed something up on the install, which I will correct along the way on this endeavor into the rear-wheel details. But, since I have been through this job once already, I will try to tackle this one with experience and archives before I expend my silver bullets with questons on this one.

The real sad part is that the car had been running so well (with a few little problems) I was planning on taking it to a car show on Sunday (which would be my first with this car), and now it is in pieces in my garage!

Thanks for any help you can provide!

PK

 

U-joints can make that noise. I am hoping that is what it is. Mine did same many yrs. ago. More of a thump/bump with each rotation. To verify you will need to remove that half shaft and ck. joints. Good Luck. mds...

 

If you had the suspension hanging without support, its going to bind and clank. That would be normal.