Clunking rear end

[Larry]

Hello Guys,

          Quite a while since I was on here but the old 13/60 is soldiering on even though it's a bit of a rusty relic, but it gets me to work twice a week without fail.

              I see there's a lot of queries about various noises from the back axle area, none of them quite resemble mine exactly.

         There is a regular clunk, clunk from there only on overrun. All is sweetness and light otherwise. I have checked the UJs and they seem fine, I would presume if there was a prob there they would be noisy all the time. Anyway, would anyone have any idea where I should look?

 

Larry.

[Darren Groves]

Hi Larry,

 

This is worth a read: http://canleyclassics.com/technical-archive/rear-end-noises

[Pete Lewis]

One obscure problem I encountered was the 4 bolts securing the front diff mount,

these should be a wedgeloc bolt which has a tapered shank, the hole in the front plate is bigger than the bolt , a std bolt will come loose, unscrew and can foul the propshaft bolt heads makes a clunk to start with then a horendous racket and a lock up.

 

In general most clunks are UJ related on the drive shaft

 

also check the hub centre nut is secure and the wheel nuts are tight

 

pete

[Clive]

It is near enough impossible to check the UJ's without disconnecting the raer spring from the uprights (or take the shaft off the car)

This is because the spring puts a massive tension on the uj's. The canleys page explains some visual checks, but even they are not foolproof.

 

Taking a shaft off the car often results in seeing a floppy, worn UJ that looked to be fine on the car. I have a T shirt, but only one, on that matter.

 

Other thing worth checking is the tie rod attachment and the bracket where it attaches to the outrigger. A friends herald had dropped its shims from behind the bracket, made an awful noise.

[Casper]

I have checked the UJs and they seem fine, I would presume if there was a prob there they would be noisy all the time. Anyway, would anyone have any idea where I should look?

 

Larry.

 

1.  How have you 'checked' them?  Because they are an active part of the suspension as well as the transmission they are normally under tension and play cannot be determined.

2.  Again, they are under tension when driving, but less so on the overrun and it is here they clunk (and/or click).  Often, the clunk is also evident on cornering as the inner wheel is under less stress than the outer.

3.  I think you should look at the UJs

4.  Check out http://www.rarebits4classics.net/#!hints--tips/cdwh

     Clicking and clunking are two different and closely related issues.  

 

Good luck

 

C.

[AidanT]

Hi

 

I had a similar noise when "Coasting". and in the end was found to be the drivers side half shaft where the UJ is situated  Its quite hard to spot. 

 

Suggest you try driving in circles in and empty car park clockwise and anti clockwise -for me the clunk was when going anticlockwise pointing to the offside UJ and half shaft. When it was removed you could see the whole UJ moving within the half shaft

 

Solution - new UJ and half shaft

 

Aidan

[Steve C]

From my own experiences, rear end noises on Heralds are an absolute s*d to pin down. My car developed a horrible squeak, which only manifested itself going downhill, slowly on one particular local road. You could not hear it under any other condition. After swapping the diff for a 3.89 and changing to the larger flanges, to suit the O/D better, the UJs were fine, but the noise persisted. In the end, because the bearings had been done by a garage contact some years earlier who had the Churchill tool, I opted to chuck some money at the problem, bit the bullet and ordered two rebuilt half-shaft assemblies from Canley's and fitted them. The noise went and has not returned. The amount of time I spent looking for "dry" suspension bushes, bearing play, slack in UJs, squeaky shocks and squawking spring leaves was unreal.

Why Triumph persisted with the "widow maker" rear-end, in defiance of all rational logic, is still a source of wonder. A recent article in "Triumph World" claims that a prototype Spit, with a TR4-style rear suspension was scrapped on the orders of senior managers, despite infinitely safer and better handling, because the Marketing department was committed to the sales pitch for all-round independent suspension. It sounds plausible enough to be true.

 

Regards

 

Steve C

[Larry]

Thanks lads,

              Look's like I need to spend some time spannering on the flat of my back!

From what I read I think the probable culprit may be the half shaft area as the propshaft is not under tension and so any looseness would be easier to detect, Anyway, best to start there.

    Now, motivation is the next issue!

 

Larry. 

[mishmosh]

IIRC when I had a failed Halfshaft, Fitchets had a complete assembly for about £200.00 Includes brake drum etc. Took about 2 hrs to swap. doddle.

[daverclasper]

Hi

 

Can anyone advise me of the likely causes of half shaft failure/damage and any avoidance measures.

 

Cheers, Dave

[Clive]

Bearings. Lack of greasing (remember most of these cars have been through the banger stage of having very little value and therefore non-existent maintenance) plus general wear. After all they are 36-55 years old!

 

UJ's, again lack of grease, not used correct circlip sizes, wear in yokes. The UJ's are highly stressed in the shafts, far more so than in the propshaft. Solution is to use the very best UJ's and make sure there is no wear in the yokes, plus make sure they are tight with the circlips. That will help.

[Andy Moss]

Sometimes clunks happen because somebody has worked on the suspension and not fully tightened up the suspension before lowering the car to the floor as per the manual. Then they struggle to properly tighten the the unions because of poor access when lowered. Another thing I've seen is the Wong diameter bolt in the lower rear trunion, which was worrying.

Good luck finding the fault.