Hey guys... I've owned a 1984 Firedbird S/E, yes it's a V8, for about 8 months now.

I started hearing a jingling sound about 5 months ago... At first, it was the front bushing's... Those got replaced. Second, my mechanic did the brakes and machined the rotor's... And, now it's still there!

And it's driving me NUTS...

I don't hear it when I first start the car and drive... After maybe 25 miles of in town driving (40-50 mph) I start to hear it... It sounds kind of like a chain is being dragged. And it's coming from the back end of my car... I hear it the most on the driver's side.

Any idea's? My mechanic says he's never heard it.. But than again, I take it to him at 7 am when it's been sitting over night...

 

Welcome aboard!

What V-8 do you have? Does it have an electric fuel pump? Reportedly, even some with a mechanical pump on the block had an electric pump in the tank, or so I hear.

 

This may sound dumb but is it an exhaust rattle? There isn't much in the rear to make noise.

 

Lince plate ? can it be that you hear it on the drivers side because thats where you sit . My money on the exhaust though mine will make some noise too when its hot, dont know why that make any diffence . Maybe due to expanshion

 

Welcome!

check to make sure the hatch and doors arent the culprit, or the T-tops if you have them.

it may even be the hood. I had to do a quickie fender swap once and the hood rattled against the fender until i could get it straightened out right

if youre sure its mechanical, check that all your rearend hardware is bolted on right: panhard bar, trailing arms, shocks...this kind of stuff. I actually saw a caprice the other day dragging a rear shock on the ground, so you never know.

once youve made sure everything is tight, if the rattle is stull there, you may want to look at internals.

keeps us appraised of whats going on, and we'll helps the best we can.

 

If it sounds like coins jingling around in your pocket, it's your sway bar end links. There is a set of them on the rear that are essentially the same as the ones on the front. Get a set of poly ones, you can even get them at Auto Zone. It might surprise you how much better overall that little thing will make the car feel to the driver.

 

Hey guys...

And it's a stock 305 V8...

I am starting to run down a list of what it may be...
And, ya'all will have to be patient with me... I'm relatively new at this!

Total dumb Question - But how do I tell if my car has an electric fuel pump or not?

Exhaust rattle? I have 3 chamber Flow's on mine, the stock is looong gone...

My Lisc plate? Can it make a rattle like that?

I'm going to go replace the sway bar end links b/c it DOES sound like coins jingling in a pocket.

A friend mentioned it *maybe* my wheel bearings... Anyone else have a problem similar to this?

It can't be the hood, doors, etc. B/c everything is fine. I would agree w/ t-tops... Except, mine isn't t-tops... LoL.

Sorry for asking such blonde Q's... I know! But like I said, I'm relatively new at this one... This is my FIRST project car ever... And I'm doing ALOT of it by myself w/ out guidance... So, wish me luck!

 

Sway bar end link washers? Hot, instead of cold? Could be.

Conventional wisdom might suggest the clearances might be greater when the links, bushings, and washers are colder. Then again, it's frequently evident that wisdom is not always so common or conventional. Shame on me for not thinking of that one.

 

Blonde Q: Where's my sway bar?

 

Look along the bottom of the rear axle. You should see a variously bent rod about 3/4" in diameter going from one side of the car to the other below the axle. Follow it to its ends, and see if what you find there, jingles when you disturb it.

 

You guy's are AMAZING! I was under my car today, and lo'and behold, my sway bar (When I found it!) was causing that horrendous jingle... Thank you guys so much!

(Plus, the look on my folks, siblings + boyfriend's faces were priceless when they figured out it was ME underneath my car... Hahaha!)



JMJ

 

Kudos to the Sultan of the Sofa, the King of the Couch, the Dean of the Davenport, the... Well, you get the idea.

And props to you for diving under and finding the problem. Obviously, your siblings and acquaintances have underestimated your resolve. Or, as George would say, "Misunderestimated."

 

wheel bearings will make a grinding noise if going out

 

Hey guys...

LoL.

So that jingling came back again...
And I decided to go ahead and just inspect the total end of my car to see what needed to be replaced...

My shocks..
I wish I knew how to post pictures on here,
but where the bushings are supposed to be at,
yeah, they were completely GONE.
In fact, the metal was all nice and shiney.. While the rest of the shock was all rusted and ugly.

Replaced 'em with Gabriel Guardian, I believe the brand was...
Any opinions of that brand?

Also replaced with my (front) tie rod ends with Duralast... Again, any opinion?

Thx!

JMJ

 

Uh oh... AutoZone brands!

[[Scary Music with Thunder Strike in Background]]

 

Are Autozone brands bad?

 

anytime I buy something from AutoZone, I expect to have to replace it at least once under warranty...