Hey guys,
You've probably heard this one before. One of my Camaros is a 91 RS 5.0 TBI. Nothing special, just stock. I'm trying to sell the car, but when people test drive it and punch the gas, the rear end makes a "clunk" noise. It doesn't do it during "normal" driving conditions, only when you at a stop, then "get on it". I'm hoping it's the rear shocks, but I think I couldn't be that lucky. Is it the rear end? I haven't a problem with the rear or replaced the anything, shocks, etc... Please confirm my fears. If it is the rear end, what to I need to replace? It's a non-posi rear. Thanks for your time. John

 

Check the panhard bar and lower control arms for loose bolts. Also check the torque arm mount and tranny mount for the same. You could also have a broken tranny mount, if nothing is loose.

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1991 Camaro Z28
5.7L 5-Speed (originally 305)
13.25 @ 107.18 MPH
Southern California
Member: SoCal 3rd Gen F-Bodies
Webmaster: SoCal F-Bodies
-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

I agree with Kevin, either tranny mount, or could need new U-Joints on the driveshaft

 

Might be the tranny mount. That is where I would start.

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TPI 305,
Gutted airboxes,
gutted MAF,
K&N filters,
Corvette Servo.
14.9@93mph

"Speed kills, wanna live forever, drive a Ford."

 

Trans mount.

 

My guess would be as mentioned above, though my first thought was u-joint, but usually when a u-joint is going out, it will "clunk" when the transmission is engaged. At least that's been my experience with two of them. And then my second guess was the panhard bar.

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"Clear your mind, relax, and float downstream."

 

I don't know if you have checked this or not because it is so simple. But on my frineds camaro when he punches it his car does the same thing. We couldn't figure out what it was and then we had him punch it and hit the breaks so it would do it and we looked under the car and we saw that it was the exhaust flying up and slamming back down on a cross bar that was holding it up. All you would need to do is some how tie it to that bar and it will stay down. That is if this is the problem. Thought I would throw in this just incase. Let me know how it turns out.

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1988 Pontiac GTA
Loaded
350 700R4

 

I lost a bolt out of the panhard bar after doing my 3.73/posi/disc swap.. forgot to check the torque of everything right away. Talk about banging noises! The axle was swaying left to right, and the rear u-joint beat the snot outta my exhaust pipe. I'm glad it didn't bust thru. I found the bolt outside my neighbor's house and lets say I re-checked all the torque specs right away!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

My tranny mount broke because I had put larger tires on. I had a little more torque than I had expected and after I did that everything just went to ****, tranny and all. N-e way the transmission would pop up and down because of the torque bar running from the axel to the tranny. If you got on it the axel it self would turn and lift the tranny up.
U-joints would pop everytime you put it in gear. Every time you stop, every time you go. They would pop. I think something just might be a little loose. You should just crawl under there and tighten everthing up. Push everthing around and make wure it is all tight.