[84brian]

hi guys, the rear of my 84 is giving me a bad case of the clicks, clunks and rattles. Primarly from the driver rear side. so im going in for a check up. my brother works at the shop im going to, and im going to have him evaluate my rear half shafts, as I believe they have gone bad. -( how do you check them? )-

when the car is in neutral and I shift back to drive I hear one heck of a loud clunk back there, so im guessing theres alot of slop, wich probly means the needle bearings have bit the dust? and during cornering I hear all kinds of crazy metal crackling noises from back there. its horrible sounding, but its not always there, its kinda random ? like it comes and goes when it wants to, its soo weird.

so here is my question, whats too much to pay for parts? im new at vetts and dont want to get hosed on quality pieces. but also dont want junk.

rear half shafts? $$$
rear axle bearings? $$$
and other related items that generaly need to be replaced when the rear end starts showing wear?

thank you in advance for any imput you guys can throw my way.

 

[mjames]

bearings are gone

My drivers side bearings went first as well, same characteristics, $83.00 ea E-Bay. (Partsladi) The repair can be done at home. Replace all 6 joints as well, the 1/2 shafts themselves are probably fine.

 

[84brian]

less than a hundred bucks to fix this would be nothing short of amazing.
I hope and pray that it is only the 1/2 shaft u joints that need the replacing. it would make my whole week =)

has any one had to replace the pinnion snubber on the rear end? would a worn out piece cause a bad thud sound when shifting from neutral to drive?

ive been searching all around the old topics and have found that the 1/2 shaft u joints are a common thing that goes bad on c4's is it mainly because they have no greese fittings ? and does any one make them with the fitting so I can keep them lubed? because im slightly worried that under normal to heavy lead foot syndrom im going to be replacing alot of theese in my future. hehehe.

seriously tho, how long should I expect a new set of joints to last me?

 

[raidmagic]

I really think all the clunking your hearing is U-joints.

 

[84brian]

just got back from my shop, the main drive shaft u joints were verry slack alot of play in them the half shaft joints seemed ok, but im replacing all 6 any ways just to save headakes in the future.

squeaking was coming from the rear brakes as well, the pads were worn down and ready to go. so im doing new pads all around and also a new front right calaper because it is leaking fluid.

not that bad, but I wasnt expecting to do the breaks this time. O well, its better to be safe than to not.

 

[MislMan]

Sorry I got in late on this. With the lead foot syndrom you might need to consider that solid U-joints are stronger than the greaseable type. This is because the greaseable type have a hole and tube drilled in them for the grease (naturally). U-joint should last over 40K miles easily enough so having to swap them out often shouldn't be a concern. However, snapping the hollow greaseable u-joint when your car bites hard at the line really blows.

Later ... Larry S.