Help! Nasty CLUNK CLUNK
 

Hi all,

I've got a MY00 GT Sportswagon that has developed a nasty clunk.

At slow speeds (walking / parking lot speed) with mid- to full-lock, there is a clunk that can be heard & felt through the steering wheel too.

Left lock is worse than right, and when in reverse the clunking is terrible! :(

On a slope, if I have full lock on, clutch in, and let the car roll back slowly, I can feel a "tightening" through the steering wheel. It feels tighter & tighter until I get the CLUNK and then the pressure eases then is followed by more clunks as the car rolls back. My dad noticed that the engine lifted slightly on the driver's side with each clunk.

If I do roll back slowly enough, the tension builds up (felt through the steering) and the car is actually held on the slope without using the brakes (at max tension) :eek:

I've had the suspension tested on a "suspension tester" machine thingamajiggy at a suspension specialist and they reckon that everything is fine in that department. They think it might be left outer CV joint.

Yesterday I took it to a mech and he removed the rear propshaft making my waggie a fwd (:D ) and the sound seemed to disappear?!? :wonder:

He put the shaft back on and the sound was back. After taking it for another drive he's scratching his head too, and reckons he'll send the driveshafts for inspection today to rule them out.

Surely though if it was a CV / driveshaft problem it would have made the noise when the rear propshaft was out? I'm not technical at all, so excuse my ignorance :o

Could it be something to do with the rear diff?

Any advice / suggestions would be appreciated! I'm getting desparate :(

I get a strange knocking sound at slow speeda when turning left, spoke to a mate, reckons it cud be handbrake shoes, applied h/brake while slow cornering and hey presto, it stopped, so looks like shoes have had it:(

Thanks for the suggestion Dill_typeR, I'll try that when I head home tonight.