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Repetitive clunking noise from driver side only when in motion. How concerned should I be?

NocturnalEmber
NocturnalEmber
in Suspension & Steering

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Posted
comment_662526

78 280Z.

I finally got the car in a position today where I was able to drive it to see what other issues are present.

When the car starts to move there is a repetitive/rhythmic "clunk..clunk..clunk" that seems to be coming from the drivers side front wheel area. It almost sounds like if you are driving on a flat tire, but I just checked and aired the tires up, so I know thats not an issue, and I didn't notice any flat spots (the tires are probably insanely old though.)

I only took it around the block, and hit second gear maybe once or twice.

Hitting the brakes seems to quiet the noise up, but that's also because it gets more frequent with speed. 

I did change wheel bearings/races on both sides, as well as new calipers, pads,  and rotors on both sides as well.

 

Is it possible the spindle nut is too loose? I don't feel any vibration in the wheel when this is happening, but I feel that I can feel it mildly transferring through the car.  I'm particularly worried about road testing it more because of this issue, so if anyone has any ideas they can chime in with I'd greatly appreciate it.


  • Author
comment_662528

I took a video earlier tonight. It's hard to tell over the engine noise, but you can definitely hear that rhythmic "thump, thump, thump"  I swear it sounds like a flat tire or something, but my tires aren't flat or low on air, and they don't have any flat spots, either.

Edited by NocturnalEmber

  • Author
comment_662530
2 minutes ago, jonbill said:

Rusty or warped brake discs?

 

 Calipers, pads and rotors are all new I'm afraid. I just finished them today. Wheel hubs spun perfectly fine on both sides before and after I bolted everything up.

  • Author
comment_662533
42 minutes ago, jonbill said:

It definitely sounds like something is hitting every revolution of a wheel. 

Have you tried swapping that front left wheel to the rear?

 

That I have not, I took it around the block twice at a low speed to try and pinpoint where it was coming from then parked it for the night. 

Now that you mentioned the wheels though...something seems out of place..maybe you are onto something?

 

I had all the studs replaced on the front hubs when I did the wheel bearings, races etc, right?

On the drivers side, the lug studs stick out past the rim surface when you have the rim flush against the hub to put the lug nuts on. 

On the passengers side, they do not stick out past the wheel face.

I ordered the same studs, so those aren't different. Are those wheels different or keyed to the front or back on the 78's ?

Had a pretty competent machinist press the studs out and in, and he verified fitment before he pressed them in.

 

Edit: This might be unimportant, but I thought I'd mention it.

Here are the lugnuts I bought

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1533170&cc=0&pt=7676&jsn=730&optionchoice=0-0-1-1

Dorman 611107.

On the drivers side with the lug nuts that stick out past the wheel face, they go on fine. On the passenger side, I can only get 2/4 on, because they won't line up. Maybe theres an issue with the lug nuts? (though when I got the car it only had 2/4 lug nuts, even on the old studs.) But it really is weird to me how the studs stick out past the wheel face on the drivers side rim, but not on the passenger side. The studs are the same, I don't know what could be causing that.

Edited by NocturnalEmber

comment_662534

I don't quite understand what you're describing, but it sounds wrong. It should be the same left and right.  I don't know what wheels you have, some fit different wheels front and back, but the standard is the same wheels front and back.

  • Author
comment_662535
Just now, jonbill said:

I don't quite understand what you're describing, but it sounds wrong. It should be the same left and right.  I don't know what wheels you have, some fit different wheels front and back, but the standard is the same wheels front and back.

Trying to find a better way of saying it... 

 

If you put the rim against the hub like you're about to thread the lugnuts on: 

 

The drivers side front has studs that stick out past the lug holes.  The passenger side front, the studs are recessed inside the wheel.  

They are the same studs in each hub, I ordered a set of eight and thats what were pressed in, so it just seems weird that the studs on the drivers side would stick out further than the ones on the passengers side when they're the same studs.

Do Z's have different front and rear wheels? 

I took a photo of the driver and passenger side front wheels:

Driver side front:

Driver wheel.jpg

Passengers side front:

Passenger wheel.jpg

 

You can see how the studs don't stick out past the surface of the rim on the passengers side, and I can't get it to line up with the other two lugs to get them on.

 

As for the drivers side, I think the lug nuts may also be an issue...The washer on two of them could be freely spun, even though the lug nuts are torqued down, I'm going to try replacing the new lug nuts on the drivers side with the old four lug nuts it had on it before and see if that stops the noise. For all I know the wheel isn't torqued down, and thats causing the noise.

comment_662545
9 minutes ago, Patcon said:

The wheel isn't seated all the way against the hub face. Driveshafts would also be a suspect for clunky noises

Or the new studs weren't fully seated when installed and still need to be drawn out with the nut. There is a reason all new wheels are hub concentric these days, the old stud concentric wheels like yours were problematic.

    • Like 1
    comment_662548
    7 hours ago, NocturnalEmber said:

    The washer on two of them could be freely spun, even though the lug nuts are torqued down, I'm going to try replacing the new lug nuts on the drivers side with the old four lug nuts it had on it before and see if that stops the noise. For all I know the wheel isn't torqued down, and thats causing the noise.

    You've been lucky.  Your wheel is probably wobbling and that can cause the nuts to loosen.  Once they get loose they spin off pretty fast.  I lost two lug nuts on about a 1/2 mile drive because I forgot to torque them down after putting a wheel back on.  The remaining two were trying to be free also.  

    Stick the lug nut in the holes before installing the wheels.  If the nut sticks all the way through the hole it's too long.

    image.png

    • Like 1

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