Unhappy Noise from rear of car??

[WZL 96]

Hey guys, about a year ago I lowered my 96 Cobra with the Ford Racing (B or C? Can't remember) springs and sometime after that the car developed a clunking/popping noise every time the weight of the car shifts frontward or back (pulling from the line, or even braking sometimes). The sound has gotten worse to where it will do it if I hit a big enough bump. I have been up under it to look and every thing seems to be okay including the U-joint. When parked, I can shake the car and bounce it with no luck to hear a noise. I feel the noise is behind me but passengers can say they feel it underneath them. Aside from the Springs and a new Eibach sway bar the car is bone stock back there. I plan to get under it today to double check everything. I don't drive the car anymore because I don't want to hurt her. Any ideas on what i should look for/ what it could be? Could it be the shocks? the car has 66,000 miles, I want to put new shocks on it since the old ones are approaching twenty years old, regardless of miles, but cant afford Bilsteins like I want.

Please help, I am at wits end with it.:cuss:

Thanks for helping!

Andrew

 

[DVJ38]

Hey guys, about a year ago I lowered my 96 Cobra with the Ford Racing (B or C? Can't remember) springs and sometime after that the car developed a clunking/popping noise every time the weight of the car shifts frontward or back (pulling from the line, or even braking sometimes). The sound has gotten worse to where it will do it if I hit a big enough bump. I have been up under it to look and every thing seems to be okay including the U-joint. When parked, I can shake the car and bounce it with no luck to hear a noise. I feel the noise is behind me but passengers can say they feel it underneath them. Aside from the Springs and a new Eibach sway bar the car is bone stock back there. I plan to get under it today to double check everything. I don't drive the car anymore because I don't want to hurt her. Any ideas on what i should look for/ what it could be? Could it be the shocks? the car has 66,000 miles, I want to put new shocks on it since the old ones are approaching twenty years old, regardless of miles, but cant afford Bilsteins like I want.

Please help, I am at wits end with it.:cuss:

Thanks for helping!

Andrew

Step number one is to make sure everything is tight. Put a wrench or ratchet and socket on every bolt to see. Check the sway bar bolts, chassis side and axle side of the upper control arms, Chassis side and axle side of the lower control arms, shock bolts, brake caliper to caliper bracket bolts, caliper bracket to axle bolts, and also try kicking or hitting the axle weight with a hammer. I can a clinking noise from the rear end of my car, and turns out that even though the bolts on that weight were tight, it was still moving a tiny bit and making noise. Also check to make sure the brake pads are the correct size and can't rotate a slight amount forward and backward inside the caliper bracket. Also I had to even mention it, but check for cracks around the chassis mounting points for the upper and lower control arms.

 

[Murder Snake]

did you put the isolators back in? and like DVJ said, check those sway bar mounting bolts. even a little bit of lack of tension can cause noise. they have to be really tight.

 

[WZL 96]

When I put the new springs in i put in the old isolators. After my first post i removed the rear end from the car and noticed the isolators were so bad, the new springs were gouging the perch on the LCA's. the shocks were trashed and I noticed I was missing a bolt on the Eibach sway bar (this wasn't the noise, as the noise occurred before I was even running a sway bar. The original one broke off before i owned the car). I'm going back in with Tokico shocks and struts, new isolators and debating either replacing bushings or just going in with aftermarket UCA's and LCA's. debating either BMR, BBK, or J&M Arms. I like the BMR and BBK's because they have grease fittings to keep the polyurethane from making noise.

Does anyone have any experience with the aforementioned control arms?