Rear End Lower than Front & clunking.

I have a 92 S-10 with about 175,000 miles on it. It seems that the rear end is about two inches lower than the front end, and recently I have acquired a small clunk whenevever I come to a full stop, or whenever I accelerate from a dead stop or turn the engine off. It sounds like something is hitting the floor board. Any suggestions or clues?

check your yolk, pig, and u joints

Yip, what he said. Also check your rear springs and for bad shocks.

I looked at the rear springs and they look kind of flat. should I replace them, or would air shocks suffice?
Also I went to a suspension shop and they want 700 bucks to do the front end, even though they are not sure where the noise is coming from. I am very mechanically inclined and have plenty of tools, but have never worked on a front end before. Are you talking about bushings when you are talking about a pig and yolk?

thanks guys,

J

As for the rear springs, replace them. They will not only sag after many miles and loads but my fracture and break. Go to a spring shop instead of buying from the dealer, I couldn't find them at the local auto parts store. If you find a good one that also takes care of big rigs it will most likely be cheaper and of better quality.

i have seen many vehicles do that during acceleration and the trans mount was at fault. the trans mount was so damaged that the trans would jump up from the torque and hit the floor board during accel. does the noise happen when you accelerate slowly?

pig: the rear end gears
yolk: piece comming off the back of the tranny

I get the noise when I accelerate from a stop, or when I come to a stop or sometimes when I shut the engine off.

in my oppinion it could still be tranny mounts what busa_4 said makes sence, cant hurt to check

tranny mounts do not make a rear end sag.

not the rear end no, but the sound, the rear end *should* be leaf springs

the rear end sagging is the leaf springs and the clunking when accelerating is the trans mount. 2 different problems! i think i would know that a tranny mount wont sag the rear end. come on give me more credit than that.

I'm going to crawl under the blazer today and check the trans mounts, and will have the leaf springs replaced.
I want to thank you guys, because without getting getting some honest opinions I would have probably taken it to the shop just to be taken by them.
My trustworthy mechanic for many years was forced to close his shop due to so many hands digging into his profits, and due to the high cost of operting here in California. His prices were reasonable and he was the most honest person in the world as far as diagnosing problems.
I had a bad experience after he closed when my 69 Chevy C/10 started making bad noises from the drive train. The new mechanic which was recommened to me by my lanlady diagnosed it as being the rear end and after rebuilding it there was no change. I finally had to take him to court, and after all the bull it turned out to be the center bearing on the drive shaft which cost about 1/10th of what a new rear end cost. Anyway, thanks alot guys.

J

the rear end sagging is the leaf springs and the clunking when accelerating is the trans mount. 2 different problems! i think i would know that a tranny mount wont sag the rear end. come on give me more credit than that.

How can you say that, you don't even know.

How about:

Bad Shocks.
Spring Connection to the Fram
Bad Shock bolts.
Bad rear sway bar bushing.

Claiming it to be only one thing is really narrow minded.

Could the clunking be coming from the front sway bar bushing? I recently replaced the front ones because they were broken. Could it be the one that attaches to the swing arm? I know when I took it to the shop, the guy also looked at the left side shock. I was thinking about that too, but when I push the front end up and down, or from side to side it doesn't make any noise. Only when accelerating, stopping or sometimes when I shut the engine off.

Thanks,

J

Damned,

I got under my blazer to check the tranny mounts and the only thing wrong was that it was missing one of the mount bolts. I happend to have one in my tool box, so no cost to me and now no more clunking.
I'm as happy as a catfish gummin a worm without a hook in it. Thanks for saving me probably a few hundred bucks.

J

wow,

That is kewl.

Busa, my apologies. Mind you I never said you were wrong, just really focused on one section and it was right.

Congrats.

jmorales. glad the trans mount was your problem. at least it was only a missing bolt- there is nothing better than a free fix. blazerlt- you of all people should know springs determine a vehicles ride height. not shocks , not swaybars, and if he had a bad connection from the leaf to the frame he would have a bigger problem than what he is experiencing.

blazerlt- you of all people should know springs determine a vehicles ride height. not shocks , not swaybars, and if he had a bad connection from the leaf to the frame he would have a bigger problem than what he is experiencing.

I do know.

I wasn't talking about the ride height, I was talking about the clunking noise.

I am going to find some leaf springs today at the 4 wheel center. Is it hard to change them?
Also, I have a little extra cash right now. Is there some bold on things I can install for some added performance?

Thanks,

J

Yes,

Performance Muffler First such as a flowmaster or Ravin or Magnaflow Muffler.

Then drop in a standard K&N filter or go all out and get a full intake.

Also, maybe take the extra money and flush and fill up you transfer case, front and rear differential and your transmission with synthetic fluids for more power and economy.

Changed the Coil and the fuel filter today. If you didn't actually open the hood to see the engine running you would probably not know that it was. It is so smooth now, and the acceleration is excellent. Thanks alot again guys.

What about the muffler and cat?

Whole exhaust system is brand new, but I will look into another muffler when I get back from Louisiana. By the way, what is that electrical part under the distributor cap? I replaced the cap and rotor, but not that.

Thanks,

J

It can be a little difficult to change out the rear springs but not too too bad. Make sure you have two jacks and a couple jack stands. That way you can have the truck on one jack and the axle on the other, allowing you to adjust the height of both for mounting. The difficult part is getting the new ones on. If I remember correctly (and I might not) it was easier to mount the front of the spring, then bolt it to the axle, then bolt it in the rear. To compress the leafs jack up the axle slowly while keeping the spring on the rear mount with a pry-bar (be really careful so the pry-bar doesn't fling out really hurt you). It took me like half a day to do both sides. Have fun.

thats the ignition module!

Should I have replaced that when I changed everything else? I already changed the plug wires, plugs, distributor cap, rotor, coil and fuel filter. It is running real good, but was just wondering if I needed to touch base on that too.

Thanks,

J

Nah, it is not a routine maintanence item.

check your front cab mounts