MTVette

Yesterday my 92 auto started making a new sound. :eek: Here's the deal: when I'm accelerating briskly, between 20 mph and 40 mph I hear an accelerating clicking sound which seems to be coming from the rear driver's side. The clicks increase in frequency as the car accelerates, but the instant I ease up on the gas, they go away. Under gentle acceleration I hear nothing, but who wants to accelerate gently with a vette? Going faster than 40 I hear no clicking even when I go WOT. Also, it seems that once the car is warmed up the sound disappears, but not always.

The rear end is the usual 2.59 differential, and the car has about 74,000 miles on it. Should I be worried? What might be doing this? The U-joints on a half-shaft? Enquiring minds want to know.

DETROITc4

mine does the same thing i have noticed also a metal grinding sound, i have no idea what it is either, any help will be appreciated
save the wae :seeya

Rick86

I had similar noise on my car and it ended up being the u-joints. The factory u-joints do not have a grease fitting and when I pulled the drivers side (side I was getting the noise) it was completly dry. New u-joints came with grease fittings, and install was not too difficult.

MTVette

Now I'm wondering if it's something in the brakes. Isn't there a wear sensor that makes noise when it's time for a brake job?

BobMachus

Same here. :yesnod: check those U-joints

War Machine

Just Suggestions:

Feel the rotor for deeper than normal grooves caused by the wear sensors. If thats OK then check your parking brake cables and make sure they're attached and working properly. The parking brake on the 92 uses the caliper/pads so if it's out of adjustment maybe it's not relieving the pressure all the way. A couple months back I discovered both PB cables were disconnected. Mine are the old school style inside the rotor akin to the drum type. When I connected them I lost alot of rear end noise.

Hope you find it whatever it is. :flag

-John


[Modified by War Machine, 10:56 AM 11/15/2001]

Crazy Canuck

Has anyone figured out what is causing this noise? My car has just started to do the exact same thing. Under acceleration there is a pulsating sound like the tires are rubbing against the inner fender. It is not a steady sound, so it must be coming from something oblong. The noise also gets louder the harder you punch the throttle, but when you let off, it dissappears. I've spent hours under the car searching for anything rubbing on the wheels, tires, brakes, half shafts or driveshaft, but there are no marks on anything.
Has anyone found out what this is? :(

scorp508

He replaced his u-joints a couple of days ago and all is good now! :)

95autoLT1

If you guys drag race do not use u-joints with the grease fittings!!!!!They are prone to shattering :cheers: :cheers:

GlennS87

I'm in the midst of this myself. I brought it to my mechanic over the weekend and he inspected the rear end. He found that my rear leaf spring had split. That explained the poor ride quality I've been experiencing over the last 2 weeks. He visually inspected the U- joints and he thinks they are ok. Obviously if the sound continues after I replace the spring (I'm doing all four shocks also) then the u-joints will probably have to be changed also.


[Modified by GlennS87, 7:58 AM 11/26/2001]

Hawaii89vette

It sounds like the U-Joints. Mine did the same. I changed mines and all is much better. To check if they are bad, lift up the car. From underneath the car, grab each end of the driveshaft/halfshaft one at a time and try to see if there is any play/movement in the u-joints. It should be very firm and not move. If there is, then you have bad u-joints. Since my car is an 89, I changed all six of my u-joints. 2 on the driveshaft, 2 on each halfshaft. A lot of work, but I feel alot better since it's done and I don't have to worry about them for a long while. Luckily, I do all the work myself, so no labor costs other than a few packs of beer.

-Tim

Crazy Canuck

Is it possible to have no play in the joints but still be damaged? I checked mine as best I could, and as far as I could tell there is no play. But it sounds like, from everyones opinion, that the U-Joints are the culprit.

LT5

Sounds about right. :cheers:

Hawaii89vette

Yes, you can have no play in the u-joints and it still makes noise. Then, the bearings could be all dried up... no grease to lubricate it. If there's no play in the u-joints, then you have to make a judgement call to which u-joints it is. or you might just change them all like I did. If the u-joints are over 10years old, then it's time to change them. Cost of changing the u-joints is minimal, if you do all the labor (Each u-joint is about $10-$20 each, depending on regular or sportier versions). Usually takes about 3hrs for each pair of u-joints on each of two halfshafts. The driveshaft u-joints may take a little longer due to the requirement of dropping the whole exhaust. It took me about 5 hours. All these times maybe a little longer, but I tend to take my time and clean everything up very nice before i put it all back together.

-Tim

-Tim