What else could clanking noise BE? (Page 3/3)
John W. Tilford JUN 16, 08:05 PM
Fieroguru, theogre, reinhart, GKDINC, and Dennis LaGrua:

Do any of you know of a "Fiero smart" mechanic anywhere within reasonable driving range of Bloomington, IN? Someone capable of finding the source of the clicks and bangs?

As but one example of Fiero ignorance, one mechanic didn't know the 1988 suspension differences from 87 and earlier, e.g., rear stabilizer bar. Not a bad guy, just didn't know. Then his computer purchasing system didn't know there were connectors between the rear bar ends and the wheel hub assemblies - probably because the same computer system didn't know about the rear stabilizer bar either. The passage of a few decades seems to have wiped out Fiero expertise.

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John W. Tilford

fierofool JUN 16, 10:55 PM
olejoedad is up around the Homer or Jackson, Mi. area.
Larryinkc JUN 17, 09:52 AM
I had a banging noise on the passenger front of my 88. It turned out to be the passenger side coolant tube. Over the years it had moved forward and would clank on the frame sometimes. I loosened the clamps and moved it back about 1/2", no more banging.
John W. Tilford JUN 17, 03:09 PM
Larryinkc:

I had never considered that at all. So my next trick is to make two mini-ramps out of old 2" X 8" wood, two layers thick, and put in front of my driver's side front and rear tire. Drive until on top. Set brake. Chock right side tires. Crawl under. Follow Larrylinkc's advice.

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John W. Tilford

Spoon JUN 17, 10:41 PM
Issue unresolved after several months? And other issues were discovered along the way such as broken spot welds and other possible or unrelated discoveries?
Here's my 2 cents.

Cent #1
Shortly AFTER I paid a local shop to replace the oil pan gasket and water pump (both leaks fixed) I noticed a mysterious noise from under the car.


My approach would be to backtrack what items had to be disturbed to accomplish the task of replacing an oil pan gasket and water pump. (Motor mounts & brackets, Dog bone, Starter and Exhaust components, assuming the engine was raised for clearance.

I asked the body shop guy doing the welding to also test/check around the four corners of the cradle, which he said he did. His words [paraphrased] "I didn't actually use a torque wrench but they looked OK".

This confirms the mechanic raised the engine and had no need to lower the cradle, so the cradle was not disturbed however its breath-taking to learn that merely gazing at the cradle bolts with the naked eye was assurance that they looked okay.

The GM dealer welder just looked at the cradle bolts and said they seemed OK.

It seems history repeats itself. First a mechanic and now a welder with the same miraculous gift of vision.

Again nothing was disturbed here. Move on.

And what would explain the several miles delay each time I drive it before the noises start

What are the road surface conditions several miles down the road when the noise starts and the rate of travel (mph)? Concrete, Asphalt, Gravel, Other? At what speed is the condition detected? Over 15, 30, 50 mph?
Have you tried bringing the engine up to full operating temperature first and then driving down the same road to see if it makes the noise right away?

I would suspect the car was raised by some means such as a lift or floor jacks that were improperly positioned and some chassis or body components or both got damaged to include broken spot welds. It would be interesting to know if those welds had been broken a long time ago or recently which can be determined visually. Clean metal means recent versus rusty means a long time ago. Re-welding did not cure the problem long term but subsequent damage could of been done as well.

Cent #2
If I were you I'd offer to pay a Body Shop that is qualified and approved to do Insurance claim repairs go over your car checking for structure chassis damage that is visible and test drive it as well. To keep everybody honest you can also call several auto insurance companies and ask for a list of body shops that they pay claims for. Since they pay multiple shops I doubt they would recommend a particular shop.
Auto collision shops see and fix damage on a regular basis. Those are the eyes I'd trust.
Paid in full.
Good luck on your venture. I'll be watching.

Spoon


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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

[This message has been edited by Spoon (edited 06-18-2021).]

John W. Tilford JUN 18, 07:38 PM
Larryinkc and Spoon, Larry first:

'Just loosened the driver side coolant tube clamps, marked on tube with pencil on both sides of front clamp for reference, and gently tapped the tube rearward about a quarter inch. Re-tightened clamps. The tube was really close to the lower A-arm before moving. Not touching when cool, but I could imagine it expanding a fraction of an inch longer when hot. Won't have time to test drive until late 19 June or maybe later.

Spoon: I like the body shop idea. There's one a few miles away that has done work for me in the past. Most recent Fiero example: replacing front "hood" and right headlight components after a Bambi attack. That instance alone was a pretty good hit, but it was several years ago. I'm willing to pay them double - DOUBLE I say! - your two cent fee.

Back to the tube clamps: the rear-most, longer clamp has two 10mm hex head screws. When re-tightening, the forward-most progressively felt tighter then popped and was less tight as though I was screwing into one of those folded over spring metal clip deals and jumped a thread on the screw. The other two screws (one for the front, single screw clamp; the rear screw for the rear, double screw clamp) I could and did tighten firmly. I'm not overly concerned now, but wonder if there's an accepted way to correct, e.g., if both rear screws cannot be firmly tightened in the future.

As always, thank you both and all for your counsel. Let's hope moving the driver side coolant tube rearward will be the magic cure. I will report back when I have some information.

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John W. Tilford

John W. Tilford JUN 19, 12:04 PM
Thirty-five mile test drive this morning over a variety of surfaces. No discernible clink-clanks! Of course, was raining and windows were shut. Will take a longer drive this afternoon.

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John W. Tilford

John W. Tilford JUN 21, 09:02 PM
I can make the clicks/clanks worse by playing with the fore-and-aft positions of the coolant tubes, and somewhat better but not cured. Results from trial-and-error adjustments. Those double screw aft coolant tube clamps are right next to their respective left or right seat depressions, probably explaining why I can actually feel the bigger clanks through the seat.

We, the 88GT and I, may be visiting our Meineke friends. Going to check pretty much the entire front end with specific attention to anything which could possibly impinge with coolant tubes. And shocks probably worn out.
John W. Tilford JUL 05, 12:58 PM
So far . . so good! Four around town trips and no more clicks and clanks. Meineke in Ellettsville, IN found three issues with front end and fixed. It's a pleasure to drive the car again.

Obvious with car on lift and wheels off and turning the steering wheel back and forth: there was near constant impingement/rubbing between outer tie rods and anti-sway bar. The "spacers" (go around threaded rods in connectors and set the distance between lower A arms and sway bar) were too short. Makes me wonder if some previous garage either ordered the wrong connectors or some parts dealer provided the wrong. Maybe the 84-87 counterparts are shorter than 88s. Installing correct replacements stopped rubbing.

Lower driver side ball joint was pretty loose. Replaced upper and lower on both sides. Meineke couldn't find upper replacements so I ordered all four from Fiero Store.

One of the passenger side front brake pads was missing its retaining spring. I provided from home stock.


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John W. Tilford

TXGOOD JUL 09, 09:54 PM
I have been chasing down a kind of groaning noise on my 88 in the front end.
It sounded like something metal was moving.
I pried on everything I could get to and still could not find anything loose.
Finally, I had the lower a-arms loose to cut a coil out of my springs and realized I had made
a rookie mistake when replacing the bushings a while back.
I had accidently tightened the lower a-arm bolts to the frame with the car up on the jackstands.
The rubber bushings were put into a strain when I let the car down on the wheels.
I would have never thought that rubber could sound that way when under a strain.
I left them loose until I can run it up on ramps and tighten them with all of the weight on it.
It`s quiet now with not a bit of noise.