Help! Annoying Sound from Under Car

[JrdnsEdu]

Hello- I recently purchased a 1969 convertible and now that the outside temp is 'hot' daily, after driving for approx 40ish minutes, I get this kind of old-creeky- rubbing sort of sound from under the rear of the car. I just replaced the rear sping and bushings and now I am totally baffled as to where it is coming from. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[cruzer99]

Was the noise there before you replaced the spring?

 

[JrdnsEdu]

Yes it was. I thought it was the worn out spring but I was obviously wrong.

 

[resto75]

Dead cat stuck on the half shafts ??????????????????????

 

[Culprit]

Late last week I had a metallic chatter/squeak type of noise coming from the right rear wheel. It turned out to be a u-joint that had gone bad. The needle bearings inside two of the 4 end caps were pretty much non-existent leaving the joint arms to rattle around in the end cap chewing up metal and generating much more heat than they ever should have.

I had noticed the sound intermittently for about a month and only under heavy acceleration, but last week it grew to where it was almost constant - that's when I parked it and decided not to drive it anymore until I figured out what was wrong.

I don't know if what I'm describing fits the sound you're hearing, but it's worth a look.

Culprit

PS - if the neighbor is missing a cat, that's not a bad place to start

 

[JrdnsEdu]

Thanks for the input. I wasnt sure even where to begin looking. And if I see Resto's cat, I'll be sure to contact animal control...

 

[Culprit]

Here's a pic of what the bad u-joint looked like when I got underneath to have a look. All that shiney metal was the u-joint eating itself to death. And you can't see it in the picture, but I also saw a fine dusting of shiney new metal filings in the grease and road grime around the joints.

Culprit

 

[1BAD80]

If it is the U-joints replace all of them at the same time. It seems if one goes, the others follow very soon.