ChrisJ Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 My new (it started after 100 miles) Classic has a metallic sounding clunk when I take up drive or on overrun. When the factory did the post build check they said that the live axle was normally like that. It is noticeable after warming up over a few miles. Comments please. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Mupferit Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 Chris, Sounds to me like pure, unadulterated, best quality BULL***T from the factory! I'm probably tempting fate here but my live axle has never made a clunking noise, even after several thousand miles. I wouldn't accept that if I were you and keep pestering until they do something about it. I know it is not unusual for the Ital axle to develop a clunk (see numerous other threads on this subject) but not after just 100 miles. Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Bucket Posted October 11, 2001 Share Posted October 11, 2001 Sounds like the 'A' frame bush, there are many threads on here covering the replacement. It will fail prematurely if contaminated by oil or grease. However, on a car so new I would be straight back to Dartford !! Other live axle cars do not clunk as standard !! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 My Live car is up to 16,500 miles and doesn't clunk unless the A-frame needs replacing, but even then you will feel this as a 'slopy' rear end way before the clunking begins. I have never worn out A-frame bushes in 100 miles - more like 2000 and that with them getting a coating of diff oil into the bargain. I think it is faulty and you should take it back to them. I'm not sure if they are doing it on the road cars, but they started to put tack welds on to prevent the chances of the half shafts pulling out - as happened in one race I think. It could be that the weld is faulty and the wheel is able to pull out slightly. Try jacking the rear of the car up and puling both wheels outwards - as the cornering forces would act. I think from memory this problem would give you around 3-5mm of lateral movement so is easy to feel. Only other things to check are all the bolts holding the A-Frame onto the chassis and the redius arms. If these arn't tight they might clunk. Phil Waters "Darling, DO you love the 7 more than me?" "Driving OR Fixing?" Caterham on the brain, Caterham around the body! wink.gif Edited by - philwaters on 12 Oct 2001 09:05:52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 A bit off thread, but I've worn out three sets of A frame bushes in one weekend at Anglesey circuit... But not on the road. The tack welds were dropped very quickly as they weakened the half-shalf and caused it to fail more rapidly (in my case, Melborne hairpin)! Current fix is copper (?) shims to pad out any movement in the rear axle (bit hazy on the details I'm afraid - I just drive it). Seems to work well, as we haven't seen any wheels fall off in Graduates this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted October 12, 2001 Share Posted October 12, 2001 Another source of clunking is the diff. On mine, apparently, there was some play between the diff and the half-shaft as the 'cage' was out of tolerance. Gave all the symptoms of knackered bearings.... Cheers, Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJ Posted October 12, 2001 Author Share Posted October 12, 2001 I don't think it's the A frame. It only happens when I teke up drive or go on the overrun. If the A frame bushes are done don't you here something in corners ? If I jack it up and place in gear the back wheels still rotate thro' several degrees. This suggests the diff to me ? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Peterson Posted October 13, 2001 Share Posted October 13, 2001 Chris: Best bet is to jack up the rear and CAREFULLY support the frame. Then you can pull, tug, twist, etc. until you duplicate the sound. Check that the exaust clears the axle should you have a rear exit system. Cheers! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJ Posted October 16, 2001 Author Share Posted October 16, 2001 Update on the clang, ( it's become more metallic) I let Taylor motorsport in Haverhill, Suffolk have a listen at the w/e. Their comments were that it was a faulty diff. They said that they would sort it under warranty. They called Dartford who didn't agree! Dartford want to see the car again! so I called and said that they saw it at the post-build check and it was peeing me off driving several hundred miles to them on a limited mileage insurance. Also don't they trust their agents ? Is this sort of 'customer service' typical ? It's very dissappointing after the great help I got from James Gibson (parts) and Tim Ward during the build. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho man Posted October 18, 2001 Share Posted October 18, 2001 Been having a similar problem. Had a good look at all the A frame jionts and brushs, all seem OK, however there is oil weeping from the axel at the weel hub, got to be the bearings hasn't it? Not a DIY job for me I think. Is it a difficult/costly/recomdations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJ Posted October 18, 2001 Author Share Posted October 18, 2001 Update on clang. New diff on it's way from Dartford, but apparently current live axle cars all do it. Has anybody got a recent live axle which is quiet ? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted October 18, 2001 Share Posted October 18, 2001 They do all suffer from varying degrees of noisyness, but get very loud is bad. As I remember, mine got quieter once run in, then went very noisy as it was about to give up (10,000 road/track miles). Putting a special mixture in (can't remember, but it might be Slick 50) seems to have helped the longevity of my second diff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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