cavygirl27

Hello all! I have a 97 Cavalier with a popcorn noise in the rear. It sounds like it's coming from the passenger side. I took it in to get checked out and I was told it is not my rear strut mounts nor is it a loose washer or bolt making the noise. It does not make the sound going over bumps in the road, it only makes it at slow speeds on even pavement. The mechanic I took it to has no idea what the noise is. At first he thought it was my hub cap, but ruled that out also. Does any one have any idea on what the noise might be???

ctesla

you've ruled out anything in the trunk...
how much fuel in tank? really low, could be fleu float bouncing on a baffle...
nothing in the hub cap.
how many miles???
...jack it up and spin the wheel; could be time for a wheel bearing.

hope this helps,
ctesla

cavygirl27

Yes, I took everything out of the trunk. The car is at 138,000 and I just got a new motor put in last week as I had a cracked head and rod banging around in there. Yes, there is gas in the tank as I had to have the fuel pump and fuel filter replaced 3 weeks ago and I keep the tank full. I've managed to get every problem fixed with that car in the past 2 months and the only thing left is that popcorn noise. Thank you for your help and maybe I'll have another mechanic look at it and hopefully he can see something the other one didn't. Otherwise I hate to think I'm hallucinating it!! :-)

Einsfluger

well.. i guess the easy way to solve your problem is to crank up those tunes! but if u really want it fixed u may look into that back tire some more.. i doubt its the wheel bearing bc i had a wheel bearing going bad and you will hear a noise first at high speeds and eventually low and all speeds.. not the other way around. plus its more of a grinding sound than a popcorn sound.. anyway good luck.

wannakeep

hello cavygurl, yes i have the same noise in the back ,i had a mechanic look at it but he didn't see any problems not even my bearing. i mostly hear it in winter when it gets really loud,at one time i found that my antenna was loose and when it moved it also made noise, i tightend it up and got rid of some of the noise ,if you ever find out what it is please let me know .

vintweed

yah, i can offer some advice! I had this problem on my 95 2 years ago, and now have it again (don't buy used parts). It was the strut. The rubber had disinegrated (spelling?) and it was pretty much metal on metal. Just replaced them again, and now the sounds gone. Now, if I could only figure out what in the front end does this?

Mangoamerican

you should tottally check to make sure everything in your rear deck is properly fastened down.. ( speakers, third brake light, saftey buckles) that damn popcorn sound can come from nearly any vibration