Soooo . . . .Was getting a "clunk" sound near the right front on hard cornering. Car is a 2001 A4 Coupe with 75k, which had the original shocks and plastic end links. I figured might as well upgrade to metal links and also while Im at it, might as well do the shocks and the sway bars (probably could use shocks at 75k anyway). After much wailing and gnashing of teeth (and a good amount if assistance from here), decided to go with C6 Z51 bars and shocks.

Put in these (oem to show size difference)

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

And these

[IMG][/IMG]

Aside from a little glitch with getting the top bolt on one of the rear sway bar brackets to seat all the way back into the hole we had just taken it out of, all went together swimmingly. While pulling out the old stuff, the plastic end links were not really in bad shape, but the metal ones will surely banish my "clunk" for good. Everything else is in great shape, bushings, ball joints, nice tight suspension, cant budge anything....rock steady

All is well, clean it up, back it out onto the street, go to corner, sitting a little high but that will settle down, right onto sidestreet, lets test this baby ....do a little slow speed slalom...."clunk"

WTF? Back to garage, grab mechanic friend that helped me do the install in pass seat, back out...."clunk"
Back to garage, up on lift, check everything.....really...everything. Front end is rock steady, no play anywhere, tie rods, steering rack....really clutching at straws now.

Light bulb goes off in my head. "Put it back down", open hood, check battery tie down, nope....thats tight. Push on battery....."clunk" .....two very happy guys.

Recently put a new battery in (Die Hard Platinum), but have since found out that they gave me the wrong battery for the car (its what their book says a C5 takes, and its correct except for the Reserve Capacity...which is 90 and should be 120...but....its also a bit smaller than the correct one). I knew I tightened it down well when I installed it, but I didnt try to slide it left and right, I tried it front and back and it didnt move. Even with the hold down tightened until its touching the tray, it still slides side to side. I'll be getting the correct battery from them this week.


Doing shocks, sways and endlinks to stop a clunk unnecessarily...$540

Finishing the job to find you havent solved your original problem, then finding you also have the wrong battery in the car . . .well, not so good.

Later finding that your "clunk" was never really the "clunk" you thought it was, and that it is easily fixable at (probably) no cost . . .priceless

 

...but I bet the vette handles better. (trying to find the silver lining here)

Chuck

 

You know you were going to upgrade the suspension sooner or later, might as well have been now.

 

Holy cow! I just installed a new 7-year pro 86 AC Delco battery and when I installed it, I noticed the same thing in that no matter how hard I tighten it down in the tray it still slid side to side. Since I recycled my old battery I never really compared the two side by side. I wonder if I have the same issue?! I haven't heard it clunk, however now I'm wondering if I was sold the wrong battery. Hard to believe since it was a second AC Delco.

Does the battery label tell me the reserve capacity? Does the AC Delco also supposed to have a 120 reserve capacity? I assume the larger reserve capacity means a wider base/larger battery that does not slide around?

 

Now you have great AND quiter handling.

 

Yes, lots of extra and maybe unnecessary work, but you did get a nice upgrade to the handling of the car.

 

Well,,you can take consolation in the fact that you IMPROVED your baby!! No one is perfect,,and as you said upgrading your suspension at 75K,,while maybe not absolutely necessary YET,,,it's not altogether a bad idea!! Enjoy the new ride and handling!!

 

A great post along with the pictures.

Also, nice Michelins.

The ride and handling have to be so much better now. I had my shocks replaced around 45,000 and I have 58,000+. That new sway bar is a lot beefier for sure.

 

might want to leave out the battery part when you tell the wife about "fixing" the Vette -- parts replaced = clunk gone. Nuff said.

 

WOW, you can see the difference ! looks like a great job. And let's face it, you were going to do a lot work anyway, Sooo. . .

 

Remove the flat washer from under the battery hold down bolt retainer.

Russ Kemp

 

You should have posted a help message about your issue. I could have helped. I had the EXACT same issue last year. My battery worked its way loose, and i thought it was in the right front suspension someplace. It was a hard CLUNK when I turned right or left. I put some 3M double sided foam sticky taps under the battery, and tightened it down. Its FIRM in there now. The battery sits on a smooth plastic plate. I'm not surprised more folks don't have this issue...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...ock-sound.html

Glad you figured it out !
Toque

 

I need to do this. What type of sticky tabs? Do they run the entire length of the battery cradle? Any pics? After reading your post, I'm thinking maybe adding some velcro strips to the battery cradle and bottom of battery.

 

When I first found my battery was slipping around I tightened up the bracket, but the battery still moved if i shoved it hard enough. That was not good enough for me.

I just went to Home Depot, and got some of the 3M Double sided foam sticky tape. I lifted the battery, and placed the double sided sticky tape on all the contact points that the battery sits on (around the bottom edges of the battery). Then placed the battery down on top of the sticky tape, and tightened down the bracket. It will not move at all now.

I got the stuff at Home Depot. Its grey, but has red backing on it that you peel off. The stuff I got was about an inch wide.



Hope this helps.
Toque

 

I thought I was the only one to do that kind of a thing! Anyway, congrats on the mods (I'm envious) and on curing that "priceless" clunk!

 

Nice work Joe!
Have you had a chance to wring it out yet...?

Aloha

 

Best advise right here

 

I noticed this on the first battery install I did, but when it wouldn't tighten down I noted that there is a lip on the firewall side that the battery must slip into first then the outboard tie down is secured. Might take a second look to make sure your battery is catching that lip.

I'm using AC Delco 78-6YR/7YR Pro Series. Must have 120 reserve capacity.

 

Yes, the Reserve Capacity should be shown on the label, it doesnt speak to the size of the battery, its more a representation of how long the battery will last with a current drain while its not being charged. Im not a pro at this but Ive done a bit of research. With the parasitic drain the C5 has (draws power when parked and shut down) I wanted to look into it enough to understand what was going on. A very good video I recommend anyone with an interest in battery problems take a look at can be found here.

http://vettetube.com/view_video.php?...25f49408d959ca

Thats "C4C5Specialist" (Paul) up there, he is a world class certified corvette guy and when he starts talking I usually listen . The video is a bit long but it does explain why some problems (TC/AH Dic codes, Colum Lock issues etc) happen, they are often related to battery/electrical system maintenance.

The item you mentioned (Reserve Capacity) is particularly important in the C5, he said you should look to have a battery with at least a 120 RC. There are other parameters (CCA Cold Cranking Amps and such) that you also need to look for (sorry I dont have the recommended number on that for you, but Im sure the one I have exceedes it).

I bought the Die Hard Platinum before I saw his video, when they checked their computer it showed this battery for a C5 Corvette, which is the one I installed:

[IMG][/IMG]

As you can see, its a bit smaller than the tray area

[IMG][/IMG]

and had room to slide towards the engine

[IMG][/IMG]

If it met the requirements Paul outlined in the video, I would have just kept it and solved my "clunk" problem with a battery mat or something, but since I later found that I really should have a different model, I went ahead and swapped the one I bought in April for this one

[IMG][/IMG]

Which we can see has enough RC and is the proper size for the tray

[IMG][/IMG]

One reason I chose the Die Hard was the warranty and easy access to Sears from where ever. I bought the first one back in April, when I went back today and discussed it with them they just swapped out the old one for the new one and started a new warranty period from today (I attribute this to my karma reserve).


Yup, love the Michelins Ben of course, since I had it up on the lift I did find a small sheetrock screw in the right rear but its on the tread and should be easily repairable, will get to that this week also.

Not really but I do notice its a lot more stable on the cloverleafs and the bump steer I used to get at the railroad crossing enroute to the highway pretty much wasnt there the last two times I went by there.


Oh this is definitly a silver lining story Chuck A big concern I had when contemplating changing to beefier sways and shocks was that I didnt want to stiffen the ride up too much, wifey has cervical spine issues and I exercise all my superpowers to give her a "low G" ride at all times

From what Ive seen so far, the ride is worlds better, better when taking it easey (shocks better) and better when pusing it a little, I didnt think I had much body roll before but I can tell ya I definitly feel a difference now. Absolutely not too stiff.

I can see this is going to require extended testing . . . .alone in the car . . .closer to the edge of the envelope.....As soon as I finish some stuff I'm hip deep into around here . . ..I'll get right on that

Need more "vette" time

 

That's the same battery I got... Its a good battery...