I know I saw a thread on this, but damn if I can not find it now!!! Been looking for 2 days. So if anybody can help out I would be grateful!

Here is whats going on, the rear end sways from side to side (normal), but it makes a clunking and squeaking sound. I had a friend look at it and we determined its coming from the back of each rear wheel, like its the drum brakes and somethings loose, cause everything else is fine (panhard, sway bar, etc) from what I can tell. And the brakes work ok. I grabbed each wheel by the tire on top mid thread and tried moving it side to side and it clunks//squeaks. I know I read that here somewhere and its got something to do with the drum brakes?? Prev owner did the brakes himself, so I guessing he didn't do it right??

 

i had the same thing with my bird....everytime i would hit a bumpo i would hear it.....everytime i made a right turn i would hear it...

in my case it was one of the end links snapped off....u should check all ur endlinks and see if they are in tact
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oo sry i missed the part about ur sway bar being ok....it might be the wheel bearings u should check those out

 

Check your transmission mount. No kidding. Happened to me on upshift, heard the bump or clunk all the time. Cheap fix if thats it...

 

hmm idk i dont have drum rears but if the rear wheel squeeks and bumps when u rock it from the top.... am i understanding this correctly?... im sure they arent that diff but the rears i dont believe there are bushings ouside the axel tubes, sounds like something that would have to do with the shaft...or maybe its stupid like ur lugs on the rear arent tight...mine came loose once on the front and did wat urs is doing. on a front wheel ur prob sounds like a ballkjoint prob bc thats wat happened wit mine as well but the rears dont have balljoints. could be a bearing in the axle.

 

Well, it does the same if I push on it from the side, but i read on here somewhere (still can't find that dang thread ) that if you grab the top of the tire mid thread and push and pull, it makes the clunk/squeak right behind each wheel and it had something to do with the brakes, like a missing part or not adjusted right?? Shifting is fine, no noise there. But the rear does feel "floaty". And yes, the lugs are tight. So, dunno...

 

Check your Torque arm, that connects to a bracket off your tailshaft of the tranny to the rear axle. The bolts holding the bracket to the tailshaft of the tranny rattled loose on mine once and it started to make the rear end clunk everytime i slowed down or stopped. (basically the rear end axle kept rolling into the car without that torque arm working.

 

Sometimes the bearings can wear a groove in the axle shaft. but for that to cause noise you would have possibly heard a bearing growl first. There is a slight amount of movement normally, assuming you have a 10 bolt, pushing straight in a pulling straight out. If you think the problem is there pull the axles and check the bearings. It will also give you a good look at the brakes, axle seals and gears and give it a good taste of fresh gear lube.

 

It does not make any noise/howl, just the squeaking while driving and the clunking when I push on it. Its coming from the back of each wheel, I have not had the chance to look at them w/the wheels off. Besides I dk what I'm looking for to be broke/missing/worn. The rear wanders/loose a bit on real grooved roads. Any other ideas? Brakes not together right??

 

How old are the rear shocks?The valving in the shocks or even the shock bushings could be worn out.The end link suggestion is a good possibility also(a friend's Mustang did this - hit a bump hear a clunk).Check the panhard rod/hardware and the track bar(above the panhard).

 

Dk about the shocks, only had it 3 weeks. I will check all that was suggested, thanks for all the info fellas! Anybody think the drum brakes might have something to do with it??

 

Are you just describing that if you grab the tire it moves in and out slightly and clunks? If so any axle with c-clip retention will do this to some extent. Pushing it in the end of the axle is thunking against the cross shaft, pulling it out it’s the c-clip hitting it’s seat.

There isn’t really much you can do about it. Completely fresh parts with no wear will move less, but even then they’ll move. Disk brakes will tend to dampen that some, drums usually won’t unless you set the parking brake. The retaining springs on drum brakes and the brackets rubbing the calipers on disk brakes can cause a squeaking as you pull the axle in and out.

 

Maybe I'm getting old and cranky but threads like these are starting to annoy me. If you already jacked-up the car enough to pull on the wheel why didn't you just remove a tire and the brake drum to inspect it? Or, stick your head under the car to check the end links among other things? We are really just guessing if you don't do more investigating on your own...

 

Well, I did insect it underneath. The thing is, I do not know much about mechanics (rear ends/brakes more so) and not sure what I'm looking for to be broken/worn or not. To me, everything "looks" ok. Thats why I'm here asking this too see if anybody else has had this prob, cause I know I read this here somewhere but can not find the thread. If I take the drum apart, what should I be looking for to be worn/broken/missing?? I appreciate the "guessing", its very valuable help to me.

 

did you read what I wrote???

there's nothing in the drum that will cause/allow an in and out motion/noise in itself.

And Murco, no, it's not just you, if it's anything more than I described (which can go unnoticed by someone not expecting it), I don't I'm with you 100%, I don't know why it's so hard to take a good look at what is moving and figure it out.

 

Is the panhard bar bent?

 

Nope
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Yes I did read it, thank you. I took off the wheels/drum cover and the drum brake area looks/feels tight so I assume it must be worn in the diff right (if Im understanding what your saying)? I have owned a few of these 3rd gens w/drums and this is a 1st for me as far as the clunking/looseness goes.

 

You know, with the motion that I’m describing I’ve seen cars that have it and make no noise and others that have it and clunk constantly.

Are you saying that you can feel it moving side to side when you’re driving? How far does the wheel move when you grab it and try move it by hand?
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I’m not sure what you’re saying. Without a wheel on it there’s nothing holding the drum on so it should be totally loose and moving around. Either take and grab the hub with the drum brake off and see if you can reproduce it, or put tighten a couple of lug nuts backwards against the drum with the wheel off to hold the drum to the hub (will give you something larger to hold onto to get more leverage to move things), or if you have someone to help you can just move the wheel while the other watches from undernieth. Where is it moving? Find the spot where one side is moving and the other side is stationary, where is that?

 

I will have to do this on the weekend and get back to you, thanx for your help!

As far as feeling it move while driving, I can tell you it feels "floaty", not real bad, but loose feeling. Maybe its just old car talking back. the front is real tight and so is the steering, usually on these cars its the other way around. I also hear a squeaking sound (rear) and some rattling and perhaps that is drowning out any "clunk" that I should be hearing while driving at speed. If I go over a speed bump, all kinds of clunks, rattles, and squeaks coming from the back.

 

I can't "see" anything out of place as I took off the wheels and drum brake cover and moved it around best I could. Don't have the tools nor the know how to start messing around inside the diff. I just know it makes noise and feels like I'm "drifting" when going around a sharp corner....

 

You need to get someone to move the rear tire like you did before and check to see if the the bushing for the anhard bar is worn and loose. I have a feelin that is what the problem is. Ask me how I know. I t might not look like it because you can not see it unless you stick you head under there and see it moving. Again ask me how I know. Good luck.

 

I will do that, thanks. Btw, how do you know?

 

I vote with all the guys talking about the torque arm mount on the tail shaft of the tranny being loose. i had a friends car with that problem and it clunked really bad with any side to side motion. stick your head under the car with it on the ground and have some one shake the car side to side or whatever and get it to start clunking.. it shouldnt be too difficult to see whats loose and causing the noise, most likely that mount or a worn bushing. i highly doubt your axles are the culprit, like someone stated above , you would definately hear howling/grinding noises if your axle bearings were the culprit.

 

Whatever the problem, it 'sounds' suspension-related. So the above would be my guesses too. Check the shocks(top mounts) and the panhard rod bushing.

Top shock nut might be loose or off, and/or a bushing might be worn or broken. Pull up the cargo area carpet behind the rear seatback and have a look.

This will 'thump' and give you a loose-feeling rearend(cause it really will be loose).

A worn panhard rod bushing will be loose-fitting around the bolt. The rod would move up and down, just barely, but it'd still be enough to hear.

This would be a little quieter and not as deep-sounding as a shock mount and could also cause a slightly loose-feeling rearend.

 

Gotta add my 2 cents, for two reasons -

First, this hasn't been mentioned yet, &
Second, I had a "somewhat" similar problem last fall...

The problem that I had was that at about 55 or 60 mph, the rear end of my GTA would start to feel "floaty", literally like it was swaying in a circular motion. (Freaked me out a bit, actually.)

Fortunately, I'd just installed adjustable LCAs, so I had a pretty good idea where to start looking. Turned out that I hadn't tightened one (?) of the bolts down enough, which allowed too much play.

As long as you're under the car looking at stuff, take a look at the condition of the bushings in the PHR, LCAs, etc, & even check to see if all of the nuts/bolts are tight. Should be a fairly quick & easy thing to check, & even if that doesn't solve your issue, you'll know the condition of that part of your car.

"Squeaking" sounds to me like bushings may be involved. "Clunking" sounds like one or more may have given out. Shocks are definitely something to check, but it might also help to have a buddy -with a cell phone, or walkie-talkies- follow you in his car so that he can tell you what's going on (from the outside) when it happens.

It would also help if you could give more info - does it happen at a certain speed, when turning, etc...

Good luck.

 

Def going to check all this out this weekend. Thanks for all the info fellas!!

-I do think the rear drums still may have "something" to do w/it. Cause they pull to the left and the car will "jump" at the same time, and the faster Im going the more pronounce it is. (read that here somewhere) E-brake is weak as well. ButIm sure the bushings/links are prob shot, I just need to look closer as well as the shocks...kinda rough ride for a firebird V6.

 

I vote loose control arms or worn out control arm bushings which would cause the side to side sway.

You need to determine if the axles are moving inside the rear end and making the noise OR if the rear end is moving in its mounts and causing the noise.

 

I have the same clunk sound from the passenger side rear wheel area. It sounds like a loose drum when you sway the car from side to side. It appears not to make the same sound on the driver side rear wheel. I have not jacked the car up yet for further inspection. I will post an update once I get the tire off and have a look.

 

Had a similar problem and swapped the 20 year old track bar bushings for some ES poly and the problem is solved. Before this the end links and bushing mount ubolts were replaced.

 

in my case it was a broken shock mount (the shock was dangling) and the axle is getting old and worn, mechanic told me it will "give" meaning it will sway a bit. got new shocks in back and made a HUGE difference!

 

Well its good to know that it was just the shock mount. Glad you found the problem. Now you can move on to other things.

 

Here is a picture if what appears to be loose. It has about 1/4 play from side to side. I have circled the area in the top right picture. The manual calls it a track bar. When swaying the car this is the area that appears to be loose causing the clunking noise. The bolt and nut are tight. So my question is there suppose to be a bushing to not allow the loose side to side motion? Manual doesn't mention of a bushing.

 

Remove the track bar and you will see the bushings. My experience is if these are worn then be prepared to changes every bushing if they are original. I changed the track arm bushings with ES two piece and the clunk came back. Not the fault of ES. Next in order for me one day are trans mount, torque arm mount, and control arm mounts. Interesting to know these bushings are designed to twist, so evetually they will tear.

 

Are you saying the clunk is not the same problem as when you replaced the original bushings with ES bushings. The clunk is from a different problem now or is it the track arm bushings again? I have checked the Tranny mount, it looks good. I had to replace one in my 89 Camaro so I know what that sounds and feels like.

 

Correct. I have yet to isolate the particular clunk. One day I will find this particular clunk and eliminate it.