Hello all, I just finally got my 95 z on the road. I had to replace the right front wheel hub due to a bad wheel bearing. I have been driving it the whole week but now it is making a couple of weird noises. One sounds like there is some metal rubbing, I suspect the rear disc rotors as they seem worn and are possibly warped, the brake pedal and the car kind of pulsate when coming to a stop. I have already replaced the front rotors and pads. The other noise is coming from what appear both rear wheels. It sounds almost like a squeak that happens with every turn the wheels take, I suspect bad wheel bearings. Both these noises happen whenever the car moves either in neutral or while in gear.

The third noise is like a constant thump that appears to come from the rear center of the car. I can only describe it as if the driveshaft was un-balanced and was hitting the body of the car with every revolution. This noise happens only when the car is not under load for example when I am going down a slight grade on a upper gear like 5th or so at a relatively low speed. I suspect that there is a bad u-joint or something.

The last two noises began to appear suddenly after driving the car for about 200 miles since being put on the road. Before that, the car sat on my driveway since last March when I purchased it. I know the car was not treated well by its previous owner, I have had to replace the power steering pump, completely burnt probably due to too many donut burn outs.

Based on this I would not be surprised to find transmission mounts and whatever mounts under the car worn as a result.

The car is a 6 speed and has about 162K miles.

I will be getting under it on Saturday but wanted to inquire the crowd about it before that.

thanks very much in advance.

 

The thump thump could easily be the U joints. An easy way to test them is to put your finger between the yokes where the U joint is and try to twist the drive line. If the U joints are good you will NOT feel a change but if they are bad you will feel the 2 halves of the yoke move independently. Also you should get no up or down /side to side movement of the drive line.

Brakes will make the squeek you are describing when the wear indicators are touching the rotor.

Massey

 

Thanks Massey for the comments. I can't wait to figure this out on Saturday. This car is way too much fun to drive that leaving it in the driveway seems like a crime lol

regards,
jim

 

go to Walmart and get a can of brake parts cleaner. Spray the 2 rear rotors through your non factory wheels (you don't still have those salad shooters do you) and go for a ride. Does the rear squeak go away for a while?

If so, then the squeak is coming from the brakes. If you need rotors and pads for the rear it's a cheap and fast job to do yourself. Go get the parts from napa/adv auto/autozone et al

You don't need to go crazy buying performance aftermarket items. Now, ceramic pads are less likely to squeak later on as opposed to the cheaper "organic" pads. Yes, they cost more but it's up to you.

As for the clunk, yup, probably a u joint as they are no doubt the originals and please don't just replace one. And, since you are there anyway, buy some limited slip additive, some gear lube and change the gear oil. RTV works better than any diff housing gasket and get creative and paint the diff housing cover. You have yourself a nice Saturday project.

Oh yeah, if you don't have one, find someone with a bench vise and be sure to have use of another vehicle that the driveshaft can fit inside in case you have to drive to the location of the vise.

 

Well, as I approached the car this morning a faint voice whispered in my ear to check the wheels. I obliged and low and behold, one wheel was loose. Three of the 5 nuts were loose several and I mean several turns. This was on the rear driver's side wheel. I could not believe it. I tightened the wheel and checked all others, that was the only loose one. The noises, with the exception of the "brake pad like" noise are gone.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I still have the salad shooter wheels lol!

jim

 

ceramic pads leave a clear brake dust so it wont gum up your wheels but you deff need to find some nice wheels for that car the salad shooters are whack

 

poor guy comes for help and we slam him for having ugly rims. I know I know, I started it.

 

Yeah yeah, the rims are ugly but for now I need to take care of more important things lol.

In due time I will embellish this thing.

I have three camaros here so I need to take it easy lol

regards,

Jim

 

Oh well, the noise went away with the tightening of the wheels. I just installed new rubber on her and also new rotors and pads on the back. After a couple of miles of riding, I started to hear a thumping noise whenever the brakes were applied. No feeling on the pedals no shaking of the car just a thumping noise that got louder the more I drove. Funny thing it does not make it when cold (scared now). So I checked the driveshaft again and the thing looks and feels extra tight. Can't think of anything else, I will be checking the fluid inside the differential although I do not think this would cause the noise as I would expect it whenever the car moves not only when I apply the brakes.
I did check the caliper assembly and the mounting hardware and all looks real tight. Other than some moisture back there maybe due to a worn pinion seal I do not see the culprit.

any comments will be appreciated.

regards,

Jim

 

Yea I had a dealership rotate my tires and they didnt tighten one properly. A few miles later it started to sound like a U joint. By the time I found it I had sheered 3 of 6 Lug nuts

Massey