Having some plopping/clunking in right rear 93' Euro

[kehi66]

Hi, guys I am new here but I have owned my car for about 4 years now. Car only has 80k on it, since it was given to me by my grandfather when he passed. Needless to say, this car means a great to me and my father and we have put many hours into it. One of the many things we did were to replace the oringal struts with Sensatracs about 9 months ago. Recently the car has developed a plopping/clunking noise in the right rear. This is especially noticeable when their is a passenger in the right rear seat. I have checked the transverse leaf spring bushings and they are both still there on both sides although they do look dry rotted a bit. My question is can these bushings in the condition that they are in capable of making this noise. I know that these bushing swill probably be pretty difficult to get off, but what is the best way since the factory uses the glue on them? Thanks in advance and please let me know what you think. Thanks

 

BTW: I did purchase a set of the poly blocks at NAPA yesterday. I only need two blocks correct? One on each side? Do I need to grease the top of the poly pucks before I let the leaf spring back down on it? Thanks

[DiscoStudd]

No need to grease the "pucks" at all, and yes you only need one per side. They slide down into the pocket where the spring rests instead of mounting directly to the spring like the stock rubber bushings.

 

When you replaced your struts, did you change out the upper mounts? On these cars, it's imperative you change the upper mounts when you replace the struts, because they wear out rather quickly (especially if you live in the "rust belt.") A worn mount will cause a rather lound clunking.

 

One last thought: have you checked the tightness of your lugnuts lately? I know it sounds redundant, but many people overlook this when they hear any kind of clunk or clatter coming from one of the wheel wells.

[terryk2003]

something else to check it the sway bar bushings...i have a similar clunk/pop sound coming from the rear of my cutlass...i changed the struts and mouts trying to find the problem and i still had it...i finally figured out that for some reason, the swaybar is sliding in the bushings and then i turn a certain way or hit a bump just right it causes a clunking sound...

[kehi66]

I did check the lugnuts today and they were tight. I removed the wheels and tried to change out the factory leaf bushings with the poly pucks and had no success. I had the car on jackstands and lifted the leaf spring with a jack and block of wood. This did not look very safe but it did lift the spring. Damn that thing is got one hell of a load on it. Those factory bushings are cracked and split but I could not get them off because of that damn factory glue. What is the best way to remove that glue and the factory bushing? I know I will need a knife or chisel or something because it is a tough SOB. The sway bar bushings look ok to me, but not sure.

 

 

Discostudd:

 

I did not replace the upper mounts when I replaced the rear struts. The car has never been in the rust belt. Is their anyway to test this upper mount? Can they be changed out without pulling the entire strut? I believe I could if I could get the top nut off the strut mount. The only way I could get it to tighten all the way when I installed them was with the allen wrench that fits the top locked into a vise. Then I could tighten the nut without the shaft of the strut turning.

[DiscoStudd]

You should be able to get the mounts out without removing the strut, although it might be a pain in the ass because you'll have to find some way to compress the strut while removing the nut.

 

When I changed my rears, I mounted the new mounts directly to the new struts so I didn't have to reach into the trunk to tighten that big-ass nut.

 

Here are some pics of one of my "torched" strut mounts:

 

 

 

 

What happened was the mount wore out (and clunked really badly) and since the strut didn't have any charge left in it, the shaft dropped back into the body, causing the rear to get a bit squirrelly.

 

In this pic, you can see my new strut on the floor with the new mount already attached to it:

 

[kehi66]

Does anyone know what is the best way to get the factory bushings off?

[sdwhite]

I would NOT try to replace the monoleaf spring bushings alone. They're a pain and must be done absolutely right. I had mine done by GM and even they had to go back and do them a second time. If they're not missing, I'd leave them alone.

 

I'd bet it's the strut mounts. My own trusted mechanic failed to replace my strut mounts when he replaced my struts. I also had a "clunking" noise. He replaced them for only the cost of the mounts, thankfully.

[Lee]

My passenger side mount came right through the trunk and the shaft was banging on the sheet metal where the speakers bolt to. Replaced both mounts and struts.

 

I put my poly blocks in about ten days ago. The driverside still had the rubber bushing and I fought with getting the block in under it rather than trying to get it off. Well, I tried, then left it.

 

I ground one end of the block to a rounded edge, then greased it and with time and patience, tapped it into place. I WENT IN FROM THE CENTER OF THE CAR, NOT THE WHEEL SIDE. You get a bit more room as the spring curves down further on the wheel side. Best to have someone there in case something bad happens.

 

The passenger side had been gone and I had a piece of thick rubber plasti-tied into place, greased because the first one I tried (not tied) pushed out while driving. I removed that and the block tapped in pretty easy. I decided to stick the rubber back in on top of the block, but it came out since I didn't tie it down.

 

So I did succeed with getting it in under the rubber bushing but it took slight modification and grease to get it in. The grease was just because the rubber....had gripage