Mechanic needed for Chevy car

[daveshoe]

Daughter's car is Chevy Lumina and suspected drivetrain noise is increasing lately. It is related to torque applied during acceleration and possibly occurs to a lesser extent on braking. The sound is best described as ''pencils breaking''like if you had several pencils in your hands and snapped them in two. Not nearly that loud, however.

It is a good car to drive five miles to school and it still handles well. Anything to worry about here?

 

[Paul Herioux]

Is the noise from the front or the rear? If from the rear check the fiberglass monoleaf, it may be cracking. Common failure on these cars, don't try to change it your self, these things are lethal if improperly handled. If it is from the front check the control arm bushings, especially the rear on one the arm. If my memory is correct this is the one that looks like a hockey puck with a bolt going through it. These have a tendancy to seperate from the sleeve they are bonded to and allow the controll arm to contact the k-frame.

Good luck,

Paul

 

[MMeier]

Does the noise seem to get louder during turns, if so I would suspect CV joints showing thier age. How many miles are on this vehicle? Just my 2 cents worth for whats thats worth nowadays.

 

[JoshPeters]

Is it related to the engine torquing? It could be the motor mount/mounts.





Josh

 

[daveshoe]

Questions answered

Car is '96 with 130K. Noise is definately related to acceleration torque. Turns do not seem to influence it. I will not qurantee if noise comes from front or rear, but I can check some of this stuff out. i guess I should be able to power brake it and get the sound if it is motor mounts and CV joints should be only actively doing this on the highway? The sound only happens at low speed from a standing start.