TR6 Clunking noise in rear continuing

[Bruce100]

Are you trying with the weight of the car on the wheel? Can be impossible in my limited experience. Jack up the car and use a wrench that can be hit with a hammer. If you have the knock off with the wings you can use a 2x4 of a high quality wood like douglass fir held against the wing, hit it with a sledge, or use a lead hammer made for knock offs. If you have the hex type i have never done those.

 

[pdplot]

1. Poolboy - Following the Undo arrow. Clockwise.
2. Bruce - Always started it with the car on the ground. I'll try it with car slightly off the ground. I have the hex-type spinner without ears. I don't have a sledge and anyway my almost 85-year old back won't permit me to swing it anyway. I'll try duct tape to hold the wrench on the spinner and try to use both hands to hit the &%#$@ thing. BTW, if you have wire wheels, don't bother buying one of those long black wrenches they sell - they're crap. Cheap steel and they bend. I had to straighten mine in a bench vise. It kept slipping off - with me on it.

 

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Maybe you have someone local who could give you a hand? I'm sure there's another British car guy near you who would swing by and get the center lock off the hub. Even asking on the forum will probably find someone who's willing to make a trip to help you out. I would, but it would be a 3 day trip

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

How are the splines on your wheels and adaptors.....they can clunk pretty badly if they are worn out.

Cheers
Tush

 

[pdplot]

Last time I looked - maybe a year ago, maybe more - the splines were all in good shape. If they were bad, they would probably clunk on takeoff in first or reverse as the wheel slips on the splines. Unless it's me, the noise seems to be getting worse. I hate to be bothering my friends and fellow car nuts for free help. I do know a guy here who charges $40 an hour for house calls and if he's still in business, I'll call him tonight. He's owned several TR6's and helped me with the valve job and other heavy work. He's not getting any younger though. I plan to remove the right rear shock and see if the noise continues. Since my driveway is a rough mess, I won't have to go far.

 

[JerryVV]

I think you may have found the problem if you can't remove the spinner. Get it off and inspect the splined adapter and wheel. Jack up the car and have someone apply the brakes then see if you can rotate the wheel. If it moves that's your problem. The wheel nut (spinner) should never be so tight that a good blow with the hammer won't remove it. But as someone above said be certain you are going in the right direction.

 

[Alfred E. Neuman]

I hate to be bothering my friends and fellow car nuts for free help.

Don't hesitate for a second to reach out to the British car community or even the larger car culture around you for help. We have a hobby that's dwindling at best as the automobile in general morphs into an autonomous appliance to simply get from A to B. If we can't help each other when we get the chance, what's the point?

 

[Gliderman8]

Don't hesitate for a second to reach out to the British car community or even the larger car culture around you for help. We have a hobby that's dwindling at best as the automobile in general morphs into an autonomous appliance to simply get from A to B. If we can't help each other when we get the chance, what's the point?

Certainly there is someone close by who would be willing to help. Wish I was closer to lend a hand!

 

[poolboy]

They'd probably be offended if they knew you could use some help and was reluctant to ask...probably be honored to have the opportunity.

 

[pdplot]

Update. Making one last try to get the wheel off myself, I planned to heat the spinner with a propane torch, wire up the wrench so it wouldn't fly off and hit the wrench hard with a bigger hammer. Turning the key - dead battery. Dead because I left the headlights on when I pulled it into the garage and didn't want to hit the concrete wall at the end. First and last time. Not to worry. I had a spare battery from the Alfa. It was 11 plus volts - N/G. Not to worry. I had a battery charger. Went to hook it up and the negative terminal broke off in my hands. Stripped and refastened, I hooked up the charger. Now I wait. I could jump the battery from the Subaru but I'd have to drive it across the lawn and...forget it. I have to move the car. There's no room to work where it is. Something out there does not want me to complete this job. To be continued.

 

[pdplot]

With the aid of a propane torch, I got the wheel off and examined the shock mount. No visible crack. Tried to remove the shock to check it out but could not remove the double-nuts at the top even with a vise-grip on the top to prevent the shaft from turning so I greased the splines and shoved the wheel back on. This time I didn't overtighten the spinner. It will apparently tighten itself as I drive. Now what?

 

[pdplot]

I just discovered that lifting the rear bumper - even though the travel is only about 1/2" - causes a click each time the bumper is lifted. This tells me that it's probably a bent shock piston - the same problem I had with the left side shock. I believe the arc of the TA and the straight in and out of the tube shock fight each other and over time, the weakest link will give out. In some cases it's the frame at the top mount itself - in others, the piston rod bends just enough to hang up inside the shock. There are better shocks out there than the KYBs, but wouldn't I get the same problem with Koni's - and for a lot more $$$? I may just have to bite the bullet and reinstall the lever shocks and links - except I don't have them any more. Anyone have a decent pair on hand?

 

[pdplot]

OK. Wheel came off easily this time. Removed shock with no trouble other than one of the top nuts flew off into the lower spring perch and cannot be fished out except by removing the spring even with a grasper and a magnetic tool. F**k it. Let the next owner worry about it. There are more nuts where that one came from. Result - no more banging. Shock seems ok but obviously it isn't. No frame cracks visible. This frame is solid. For now, I'll head to Auto Zone and see if they can match it up. Prolly not.

 

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Glad you got it sorted. Hopefully the Auto Zone will have a shock for you. If not you can always have one from the Big Three at your door Monday.

 

[pdplot]

NAPA is much closer to me so I ordered a Monroe shock to fit. May be better than the KYB.

 

[pdplot]

Monroe shock installed. Clunking gone. That one. Not the others. Bonus - car rides a (little) bit better on our horrible roads. As Tom McCahill used to say about a rough road "It would shake the fillings out of a clothing store dummy". Our roads are a disgrace.

 

[titanic]

It was Tom McCahill's road tests in Mechanix Illustrated that got me hooked on British sports cars, especially his test on the Tr2. "Knocks **** of 10 sec. for 0-60 and corners like a knife through butter."
Berry

Monroe shock installed. Clunking gone. That one. Not the others. Bonus - car rides a (little) bit better on our horrible roads. As Tom McCahill used to say about a rough road "It would shake the fillings out of a clothing store dummy". Our roads are a disgrace.

 

[Randtor]

PDPilot: Sorry, late to the 'party'..... In the repair manual there is reference to a clunk that can occur from the rear end if there is an issue with the spring leaves. Mine has been doing this for a while, and when I took off the rear wheels to inspect my lever shocks, I noticed that the 3rd rebound clips were broken on each side of the car. The rebound clips are the metal clips holding the spring leaves together. There are 4 of them on each set of spring leaves, and the 3rd clip from the front of the car was the culprit. I am buying 4 shackle straps (2 - 9/16" long) from etrailer.com (referenced in an earlier thread on this forum) to attach top and bottom of the spring leaves, held together with bolts, to replace the broken rebound clips. This will serve to hold the springs together, effectively eliminating some of that "rebound" when you hit a bump, and (hopefully!) getting rid of the clunky noise! I will attach them and try it out... I will update when I get it done. Might be a while cuz I want to try and refill my lever shocks before I put it all back together. I thought that might be the problem, but we'll see....

 

[pdplot]

Randtor - this is a TR6 - coil springs in rear. My earlier TR3 had leaf springs. Thanks anyway.

 

[Randtor]

PDPilot - oops! Sorry, my bad......:rolleye: