I was installing new lowering springs (approx. 1.5" drop) on my 76 Cutlass (only the driver side so far), took it for a test drive and now I'm noticing a clunking sound when I hit any sort of dip in the road. I have the new spring seated properly in the UCA. The only thing I didn't do was tighten the top shock nut to spec due to the fact that I couldn't get a wrench around the piston to stop it from turning while I tightened the top nut. Could this be my problem or do I need new shocks to accommodate the shorter spring. Or what other problems might I be facing. Cheers!

 

Is the clunk noticeable as the car is travelling up or down through the dip?

 

I'd have to say down. I can reproduce the sound by pushing down on the front bumper, driver side. Every time I push down, it clunks. I had the same problem last year when the front driver side coil broke in half, but it was the original spring from 76. These springs are new.

 

Could be the control arm stop (maybe missing), or the shock is bottoming out. Have someone bounce the car and follow the noise.

 

"I couldn't get a wrench around the piston to stop it from turning while I tightened the top nut"

Impact wrench?
Or, grip the tip of the shock with locking pliers. They do make a double-D socket for that purpose.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Snap-...item35e5aac4db


Loose shock may well cause a clunk

Is the stabilizer connected up properly? It may well object to one side being lower than the other.

 

I don't have an impact wrench, but if I undo the 2 bottom bolts, it should extend and expose more of the piston to get a grip on it. I guess I'll have to bust out the mechanic stethoscope.

 

In my opinion your going about it wrong...you need to torque the shock properly (however you can) so nothing is loose and probably do both sides instead of just one, then evaluate the job

 

You're absolutely right, I just ran out of daylight and was getting rained on. I'll do the other side, evaluate, and hopefully figure it out. I've replaced the springs before with stock height springs with no issues. I'll also check the pocket position of the springs.

 

Something else to think about, when you change the ride height you also need to loosen the upper and lower control arm bolts and jounce the vehicle a few times. Then re torque them, This allows the bushings to return to their neutral positions. Otherwise the bushings are in a bind and will fail prematurely.

 

lube the lower ball joint. I know, I had the same thing/noise happen. Had a friend bounce the corner of fender and you could hear/see the lower ball joint "pop". Lubed the joint and noise gone. Try it!




Also, do what gs72 said.

 

rain?

what is that?

I forget what liquid water looks like

 

I've isolated the problem to the coil spring. I bought new shocks which I'll be installing. I'll also try what GS72 mentioned.

 

Clunk problem solved. The spring was seated incorrectly. But after all the work was done, the steering gear has decided to spew fluid everywhere, probably from me steering hard left and right while I was gaining access to everything. That'll probably be my next thread. Thanks again to all who responded.