Fastrax203

I'm almost done sorting out the little odds and ends on my car but one of the last things that I've noticed is the left rear suspension has quite a bit of rattle on almost any bump. It sounds like...metal to metal contact over the slightest road imperfections. I've picked it up and taken a look and used Betha (my 4' pry bar) to pry on things to check for anything being overly loose and I haven't found anything. The CV axles bolts look to have been replaced and aren't loose (torqued them down just to be safe). It's almost as if there's some piece of metal dangling from a string bouncing around whenever the suspension articulates.

slap929

Bet its your CV joint. The bolts are not the problem as much as the CV joint itself. Either repack it with moly grease or buy a new one. The job really isnt that hard to do and its not bad looking at the condition of the cv. If your boot is torn, or worse, gone then it is time to buy a new one.

CyCloNe!

Ya its not hard... pretty much you need a cheese-head socket to get the bolts off, then take of the mounting plates and the CV comes right out... Slap some grease in that bad boy, reinstall and your done... You could probably do it in around 1hr-1.5hr, depending on how your work area is.

If you need help it me up.

Fastrax203

I've got a good sized garage so work area isn't an issue. Full array of tools. I don't have a 12 point cheese head socket though. I've been meaning to get a set.

Scott H

You can pick up the cheese heads at Autozone if you want to pick them up locally (a little more expensive), and pick up a tub of good synth. grease. It is an awfully messy job so I'd suggest inspecting all 4 joints at one time and repacking/replacing parts as needed.

Djbrand1

If it's not the CV joint, I had a broken shock that you could ring like a bell when I took it off. Was making a metal on metal noise when driving around, drove me crazy.

Fastrax203

@ Scott H, thanks for the tip.

@ Djbrand1, I'll pull the lower shock bolt off to check if the shock is blown. If it is, guess that's another thing on the "tend to" list.

400hp944

Good luck with the lower shock mount bolt. Hope you've eaten your Weaties! Check the top bolt also.
Other items to check: all bushings, sway bar bushings and drop link bushings, parking break cable, brake line clips. Basically lay under the car and put a wrench on every nut and bolt. Eyeball every bushing, clip etc. I would do that before you go tearing into the CV joints. If you do find it's the CV's, be sure to clean the mating surface well before you put the bolts in. If not, the bolts will want to work their way back out over time because you will have torqued grease between the the two surfaces. I had the bolts back out of mine a long time ago and left me stranded.... ended up drilling the bolt heads and using safety wire on the them.

CyCloNe!

Place a hydro jack on the arm and raise it slightly not much and the shock comes out easier... atleast it worked for me lol... guess it took a little stress off.

Fastrax203

It took me about 30 minutes to change the shocks on my '86 944 N/A. 1400 lb/ft of nut busting torque hahaha, love air tools.

Scott H

I've never had a problem with a boxend wrench and my leg getting those bolts off.

951Doc

Buy the best cheesehead sockets you can afford. Poor quality steel leads to stripped cheesehead splines. I've had good luck with these: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog .

I've had bad luck with Autozone - type cheeseheads

Go Packers!

951Doc

jerome951

Also check for the brake pads rattling in the calipers. When driving, lightly drag the brakes to hold the pads in place over bumps to see if the noise goes away. I have this every so often with race pads whose backing plates sometimes are a little too small.