First time car owner

[1stcavyz24]

Hey guys, this is my first post but not first time reading these forumns.. Anyways Hi seem like a good group of people.. Anyways,,,

Its my first car that i've purchased and its a 99 Z24.. and I have 1 small issue with it. There seems to be some sort of raddleing coming from the rear tire area anytime i go over ANY crack/divet/bump in the road,, its hard to hear but not hard enough.. im assuming its the shocks, but before I purchase anything for it, figured I ask and see if anyone has any ideas of what it could be.. Its not just on one side, its both driver and passanger side(rear).

Anyways, appriciate any suggestions/help

[CavLCD128]

first thing you should try and it might or might not help. try tighting the bolts on your tires...im missing a nut on mine and i have to keep the other 4 really tight or i start to hear a clunking sound...and it dosnt feel right...just try it and hell..if it dosnt work o well....

[03CavyMan]

Originally Posted by CavLCD128

first thing you should try and it might or might not help. try tighting the bolts on your tires...im missing a nut on mine and i have to keep the other 4 really tight or i start to hear a clunking sound...and it dosnt feel right...just try it and hell..if it dosnt work o well....

That can do more harm than good. Wheel nuts have a torque specification that you should not exceed. Usually for steel rims it's 100lb-ft and aluminimum rims are 95lb-ft. If you do, you could strip/break a stud, damage your rim, and it could put excessive load on your wheel bearings.


Your problem sounds like strut mounts to me.

[OverAllComa]

Originally Posted by 03CavyMan

Your problem sounds like strut mounts to me.

x2.

[dickdarlington]

My rattle in my 99 cav was the muffler mount broke so check that.

[SnipeRachel]

(newbee here) I have a 96 & there has been soft knocking coming from each rear wheel area; mostly when riding over uneven pavement. I've taken it to two shops & neither know what's causing it.... The previous owner (family friend) took it back to the dealer & they also couldn't find anything peculiar... my dad (23 yr mechanic) says it may have something to do with the springs hitting the top of the tire well; but not sure.... I have heard of two other similar probs with a 96 & 99 cav.

I know the springs, tires, struts, and muffler mounts have all been checked with no problems.... although I believe the strut mounts could afford another look....

Best of luck to you!!!!!

[alphalanos]

Check all of the bushings. This happens to my car also, so i'm systematically replacing everything in order to get rid of it.

[OverAllComa]

Yeah, I'd take a closer look at the strut mounts. Some folks look at the mounts when replacing the struts and think to themselves "hrm...these look fine, not to bad at all, they can wait til the next time around to be replaced." However, the only reason the mounts don't wear horribly with the first strut is because the strut finds its "seat" in the mount and it more or less stays there. Pulling it out and replacing the strut while leaving in the old strut mount will start to wear the strut mount ten times faster and leave your car making weird noises on bumpy roads.