I think the clicking noise is from a bad universal joint, it does it when i make left turns and hard acceleration (never heard it on a right turn). And the rear end whines on the highway like a mother ffffffker. Stops when i let off the gas. If anyone in the Virginia beach area can help me out with putting in the universal joint (if thats what it is) i'll will pay for labor and help working on the car. The rear end is another story for now, i know thats gonna cost an arm and a leg so im' not worried about that right now, it's been whining for a year and some change now. Thanks

 

I'd help if I was near. But anyway, U-joints are pretty straight foward, as far as the rear end take the fill plug out and at least make sure there is fluid in it.

 

i believe there is fluid in there, i know i changed it with half synthetic, half lucas and it still whines. that was about 10 mos. ago, so im going to change it again within a week or two and am wondering what is the BEST to put in there to keep things from getting/sounding worse. MAYBE even sound better

 

Clicking while turning left, but not right, isn't a U-joint. The U-joints have no way of knowing which way the car is turning, or even if it's turning at all. I don't think that'll make much difference. Which is not to say that you don't have a bad one; only, that a click when turning left only, isn't caused by a bad one.

As far as what's best to put in it to stop the whining, I'd suggest new bearings.

Fluid and additives will get you nowhere.

 

I've seen exhaust pipes click against the rear pinion yoke when turning (as the body lifts or drops or even with engine torque) so you really need to find the cause before starting to replace stuff. If you know, for certain, that the rear end is bad you can buy a complete, used, open rear end for around $125-150, at least in these parts.

Don't throw fluid (and money) at a bad rear end..a rear diff oil change can be 10-15% of the cost of a replacement.

 

On the rear, try replacing the pinion bearing - you are removing the driveshaft anyways for the ujoints, Pinion bearing goes in where drive shaft connects to rear - under the big nut (pinion nut). You'll need a new pinion nut - they are only good once.

 

There are six different bearings in the rear end (two for the pinion). I'd hate to swap them out one at a time to find out the fifth or sixth one is the problem, or worse, it was something else.

If you're unsure, call a shop in your area and ask how much to inspect the rear end. Without opening it an experienced mechanic may be able to get a good idea what's wrong. They can put it on a lift, run it and tell you right away if your u-joints are bad and check several other things. Could be money well spent if the alternative is replacing parts in seemingly random order.

 

Ok so imma have to get the rear end checked out, hopefully they can tell me what that clicking noise is too, i know it comes from under the shifter so it has to be somewhere in the tranny area not the rear, im assuming. Thats why i was thinking it was the U joints but now im stumped so i guess my best bet is to get it checked out by a pro. ANyone in the VB area (757) know anyone (or themselves) that can check out and diagnose whats wrong with my car? Thanks again for all the help.

 

Mine does that exact clicking from my exhaust somewhere only from idle-1000rpms. So make sure you check that

 

Half the problem solved, and no it's not the exhaust or anything like that, which i predicted. It was the tranny mount, which was in two pieces. The noise i was hearing when turning left and under hard accel was the tranny moving around, now its solved. Now i need to figure out what to do with the rear, i'm thinking about changing it out to a posi trac or something that will be good for a v6 now and good for a v8 later.

 

The one pinion bearing is not that hard to get - just remove the driveshaft from the rear (mark it so it goes back in the same way) - but leave it in the tranny end, remove that big bolt, and there is a bearing and crush sleeve in there - they are pretty cheap to replace, and rear doesn't have to come out of car - also get a new pinion nut, and when tightening, tighten to specs - the crush sleeve is named that for a reason, you can crush it. Replace driveshaft. Assuming you'll need to buy a big socket for that nut, a new nut, crush sleeve, and bearing, it might be a $35 -$40 job, and may take care of the whining - it did on my rear.

 

Iight sounds good, im going to get someone professional to do that for me and replace the u joints while the driveshaft is out, might as well it can't hurt but it could help. thanks again