Sounds like something loose or broken

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rick
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Sounds like something loose or broken

Post by rick »

Every time I drive over a significant bump (uneven railroad tracks, hit a pothole in the pavement etc) there is a loud "bang" in the rear of the car. The garage cannot up to this point in time, locate what's banging back there.

The exhaust has been re-tightened and an extra hanger or two installed. The gas tank was removed for service work and re-installed so I don't think its either of those two rather obvious issues. I have asked the garage to check for a broken spring and they say that the springs are fine. The garage has taken it for test drives and tried pretty hard... but no luck.

There is absolutely nothing in the trunk, not even the spare tire or jack. I removed them in case they were the culprit.

Can a broken leaf spring be almost impossible to see without removal??

The rubber trunk seal needs replacing badly. The inner lining of the trunk lid has some rust holes in it and needs work. I have no other solutions at the moment
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Re: Sounds like something loose or broken

Post by Solid »

You already have your answer. It’s the deck lid with no seal. My 62 did the same thing.
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rick
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Re: Sounds like something loose or broken

Post by rick »

Thank You, Solid!! Great news. Fingers crossed.

I even have a brand new seal in my parts box. Thks
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Re: Sounds like something loose or broken

Post by action »

To go back to the springy question, a broken leaf in a spring pack should be rather easy to see IF one inspects closely.

Lifting a vehicle on a hoist and looking at the outer side and inner side of the spring pack will answer the question of if a leaf is broken. Removal of any road dirt and some rust may be necessary.

Generally metal springs on cars do not break. Usually this is because to break a spring the vehicle needs to be extremely over loaded and/or operated in a very careless manner. Generally this does not apply to a car but does occur in trucks that are over loaded. Or a spring could be broken if past it's service life and then subjected to a severe impact. Cars in general and hobby cars in particular rarely to never see that kind of service. Most hobby cars that have 50 + year old metal springs should have them replaced as the spring is well beyond it's service life.

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Re: Sounds like something loose or broken

Post by Mike »

I had a broken leaf replaced in our suv recently. It was feeling a bit strange for a few weeks but no-one could find the problem. Then one day it started making real bad noise like something was going to fall apart so I looked underneath and the end of one of the leafs was loose and sliding around. It broke under the clamp where it couldn't be seen and by the look of the break it had been that way for a few years.

I've had a few bad leaf springs in cars over the years. Usually it's the ends that wrap around the bushing that crack or start to unwind. Or the main spring wears out and start the inverted arch problem. It's a lot more common for bangs and clunks to be from busted shocks, sway bars or worn suspension bushings.
If you're not ready to put the new trunk lid seal on yet you can at least confirm if that's your noise by putting some pipe insulation or some other sort of cushion between the trunk lid and it's opening so that it doesn't have any play in that gap when it's closed.
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Re: Sounds like something loose or broken

Post by frasern »

These cars are very heavy, a broken spring will cause the rear to sag on one side (or both). a bad bushing is more likely. Check the rubber suspension bumpers also. If the shocks are old, that's the easiest fix. Of course rule out the loose trunk lid first. The exhaust is a tight fit, so check for impact marks near any moving parts.
The rear springs are installed under pressure (preloaded), so installing them is difficult.
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