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Monday rear suspension fun

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mikecyc72usa

mikecyc72usa

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So my 78 Spitfire 1500 has covered over 8000 miles since last March when I got it on the road after a 15 year slumber. I've had some issues, but nothing huge. Now it looks like there's a mystery cause to a squeak and popping noise and feeling from the rear end. I suspect a wheel bearing, as I got under the car and went through the driveline. All bolts are tight, no u-joint seems to have any play, diff has just a teeny bit of slack, no more than any other Triumph I'ved owned. I'm suspecting the left rear since the noise and feel is worse on left turns. I should say that I get a good clunk when I engage gear, and have a good knocking sound when slowing down, with or without being in gear. I also noticed the left rear driveshaft seems to be slightly off, as the rear wheel hub wobbled slightly when in gear while jacked up and running in 1st gear.

So, after all that, have I missed anything? Anything else I should check? The rear suspension is tight in terms of bolts, shocks, etc.
 
Mike, Do you have access to a parts car??? Hope I'm wrong, but sounds like a rear end problem and a bearing ( which could also mean a shaft ).
Have you been greasing the rear bearings and axles???

Wayne
 
I do have good access to many parts. Money is the issue since I'm a student and work part time. After discussing it with some friends in the Hill Country Triumph club, looks like I'm going to replace the left rear bearings and driveshaft/axle first. The diff is good as far as we can tell. It may go to one of those "we'll do everything on the left side first and see what hapens" events...
 
Since you brought up greasing the bearings I started thinking I had never seen a zerk fitting at that point. I have completly taken the car apart and reconditioned all parts but could not find where to grease the rear bearings. Is it a plug I should be looking for and then change it to a grease fitting?
 
Check the bushings on the diff. I was getting a clunk when engaging in gear. It was the diff banging against the frame. The previous owner left the lower bushings out and one upper bushing was not seated properly.
 
Rhodyspit75 said:
Since you brought up greasing the bearings I started thinking I had never seen a zerk fitting at that point. I have completly taken the car apart and reconditioned all parts but could not find where to grease the rear bearings. Is it a plug I should be looking for and then change it to a grease fitting?
Click to expand...
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">Exactly!</span></span> Keep the plug as a souvenir if you like, but don't be afraid to leave the zerk fitting in place!

I think I'd still be a bit suspicious of a u-joint, given your (Mike)description. By the time you begin to feel play with just your hands, it's almost too late, so take a decent sized screwdriver or prybar and see if you can't provoke any play on the axle shaft u-joints.

Good advice as well from Jim regarding diff. bushings. And there's all the other suspension bushings as well. And while it's not quite the same symptoms you describe, I once spent a good deal of time tracking a sporadic clunk in the rear of a MkIV Spitfire, only to finally discover that the LR brake backing plate bolts were loose!
 
Ok, so the diff bushings are another possibility. The left axle shaft looks slightly bent, too. So, I'm going to attack it in this order: u-joints, then left rear bearing plus new axle shaft on that side. If that doesn't do it, then bushings, then right side bearings. All the other bushings in the rear have already been replaced. Once this is sorted, interior, paint, and on to the MGB...and the other MGB. So, anyone have a Rover 3.5L V8 with a gearbox lying around? LOL!
 
I had to take the axles out of my Spit to find the bad one. With them down I could move the joint and feel the roughness in the joint.

I had a mystery noise/vibration that turned out to be my driveshaft. The strap type driveshaft has a large pin that the shaft slides on instead of splines. Had to pull it apart and clean/grease the pin.
 
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