Hey gang 88 GTA,

I have a strange "whomping" noise coming from the rear end under acceleration and I am going to attempt a ujoint replacement. I have spent the past hour researching the threads in this forum for driveshaft removal and want to make sure I have everything right.

1-jack the car up from the rear end only (keeping the front wheels on the ground). Support the car with jack stands under the subframe Connectors and then release the jack so the rear wheels hang down freely.

2-place the car in nuetral to make spinning of the shaft easier if necessary. Also mark both sides of the driveshaft (eg small spray paint line) so I can line it back up when ujoint replacement is complete.

3-remove the four bolts at the back connecting the driveshaft to the rear end. Might have to use a pry at to disconnect it. Then slide forward into the trans until the back end of the driveshaft comes outs (taking care to drop it slowly)

4-once out be prepared for some fluid to possibly come out at the trans. Also consider replacing the seal where it slips into the trans.

Do I have all that right? Is there anything I am missing? Thanks everyone

 

Remove the torque arm front bushing completely and the transmission mount.
Inspect both before assuming u-joints.

 

JMD thanks. I assume the tranny mount is the bracket thing right behind the tranny right?Forgive me but where exactly is the torque arm bushing? Do you have any pics?

 

Nevermind I found some pics. It's interesting you mention this. Everyone else has said I should suspect the ujoint. But my issue was that this whomping sound only occurs under load (acceleration). Shifting from Park jerks the car a bit (which i assume is normal). Didn't even think of the torque arm.

 

yeah; both get beat up over time by the suspension movement of the torque arm.

 

I once read a while back that a noise like that can be caused by loose bell housing bolts. Its not a big deal at all to remove the driveshaft, dont sweat it. if you want to torque the bell housing bolts, you need to jack up the tranny a little bit to get the weight off the crossmember, then slowly lower it down after you get the 4 bolts and the nut out. Dont lower it too far or your motor will hit the firewall. Then get a 14mm socket set, a swivel, and either one long extension or a bunch of other ones put together. There are two on each side, easy to get to, two on either side of the hump, and one on top. Tighten those bitches up and get on your way.

 

Might want to look at those motor mounts while you are crawling around under your car.