And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas?

Rizzo

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Anybody have any ideas? It just started tonight. I could hear what sounds like a loud click when I step on the gas. At first I didnt think anything of it. Then on the way home a few mins ago I could hear the driveline clunk when I hit the gas and take my foot off the gas. I'm thinking Ujoint maybe? It does it all the time and at any speed. All I have to do is take my foot off the gas and it clunks or clicks and then when I touch the gas again it does it again. There is no vibration just noise. It sounds like the driveline is taking up slack and releasing when on and off the gas. It seems like a metal on metal sound. It is really noticable on the highway in 6th gear at 1500 rpm. The lower the rpm the worse it gets or at least it seems to be louder then and I can feel it more. The clutch seems fine and is tight. Can the drive axle get loose where it goes into the rear end? I can make it do it when the car is sitting too. No throttle and just letting the clutch out quick in reverse and then again in 1st. It will do the click/clunk noise every time. When I do it that way I can hear more of a click noise coming from the back passenger side of the car. At least thats where it seems to be coming from. Any advice would be great. I guess I'm in for my first Viper repair bill. I was warned..LOL.. I was just hoping to get a few miles on it before the bills started.

Rizzo
 

big-n-italian

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1. does sound like a u-joint. there are quite a few back there. how many miles on the car?

2. if it is a u-joint, i cant imagine it being THAT expensive to repair.
 

Saint_Spinner

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Vipers were designed to have some drive line slack. Someone posted a similar question about 2 months ago. Seems normal.
 
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Rizzo

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Vipers were designed to have some drive line slack. Someone posted a similar question about 2 months ago. Seems normal.

Perhaps but I was sure this wasnt there when I first drove the car. I dont remember anything funny about it at all when I first got it and I was listening to every noise the thing made for the first while to make sure it was all good.
 

Klayfish

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

My '99 GTS that I just bought has 43,000 miles and does the same thing. It's mostly when I shift gears and let out the clutch, it makes a loud clunk, definitely coming from the rear somewhere. I'm suspecting a u-joint, but I have to get it checked out.

Steve
 

Tom F&L GoR

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

The excess play in a u-joint causes the driveshaft or halfshaft not to rotate perfectly about it's axis of symmetry, so it is usually accompanied by a vibration that gets worse at higher speeds.
 

Shelby3

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

I had a similar issue that turned out to be the wheel bearing hub assembly.
 
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Rizzo

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

I had a similar issue that turned out to be the wheel bearing hub assembly.

This is the one that scares me. I need to get the car up on a lift so I can make sure that everything is good. What side needed replacing when you had this problem?
 

Steve 00RT/10

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Our Viper clunked like this from the day it left the factory...with us in it. 6th gear especially and lower RPMS.
60,000 miles and several mods later. Still no problems. That's not to say that you have no problem, but some slack in the drive line is normal.

Steve
 

V10SpeedLuvr

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Have a mechanic retorque EVERY bolt back there. My car would make the same noise (very rarely though) and while I was having some other work done, I asked him to retorque all the bolts. He said one was definitly loose. Never have heard the noise again and that was 6 months ago atleast.

Edit: my car would make more of a BANG noise from the rearend when I would pull off from a redlight or stop sign, but I'd still get someone to retorque all your bolts in the rearend
 
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Rizzo

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Have a mechanic retorque EVERY bolt back there. My car would make the same noise (very rarely though) and while I was having some other work done, I asked him to retorque all the bolts. He said one was definitly loose. Never have heard the noise again and that was 6 months ago atleast.

Edit: my car would make more of a BANG noise from the rearend when I would pull off from a redlight or stop sign, but I'd still get someone to retorque all your bolts in the rearend

Thats a great idea. I'll see if I can get it on a lift and start torqueing.
 
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Rizzo

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Our Viper clunked like this from the day it left the factory...with us in it. 6th gear especially and lower RPMS.
60,000 miles and several mods later. Still no problems. That's not to say that you have no problem, but some slack in the drive line is normal.

Steve

That's where I really notice it the most is 6th gear low rpms. It's just funny that I never noticed it before last night.
 

GR8_ASP

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

I have heard this in varying degrees in all Vipers. The clunk noise is from the rear hub splines. Some are tighter fit than others. The only solution I have heard is to retighten the hub nuts to the max. If you go back 8 to 10 years ago (maybe that was the old forum) you will find info. I also seem to remember a TSB on it.
 

SNAKE BITE

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Don't know exactly what is going on with your car, but....
Driveline "clunk" is 100% normal in these cars. If you do a search on the subject others have explained why it is there and needs to be there.
 

Klayfish

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Chads description better fits my car. To say it's a clunk isn't quite right. It's more of a bang. I hear it mostly if I shift gears, let off the clutch without hitting the gas. Or if I'm in the throttle, then lift off. It's not incredibly loud, but you certainly hear it.
 

Paul Hawker

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

I would take it to a ViperTech that works on lots of Vipers. Take him for a ride (are there any female ViperTechs?) He will use his experience to determine if this is normal, or something that needs to be addressed.

Probably not cost you anything unless something needs to be repaired.
This is a difficult thing to diagnose on a website.

If this car is new to you, it might be a good idea to learn where your best local ViperTech, or Tuner is located.
Give us your location to get some experienced referrals.
 
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Rizzo

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Good luck finding one here. I am in the middle of the prairies in Canada. In my city there are 2 or 3 Vipers. One of them is brand new. The dealer that can sell Vipers has sold a whopping 2 or 3 of them in the last 15 years. So I'm hooped for finding one close by. I'm going to get it on a lift and see if anything is loose and needs tightening. It sounds like lots of guys have this sound and it's more than likely nothing to worry about but I still want to make sure. Better safe than sorry.
 

Vic

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

I had a clunk, and we torques down each and every nut and bolt, but it still clunked. It turned out to be the rear axle hub thingy. Hub "carrier", thats it. I guess the bearing can move around inside the aluminum housing when torque is applied.
 
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Rizzo

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

I had a clunk, and we torques down each and every nut and bolt, but it still clunked. It turned out to be the rear axle hub thingy. Hub "carrier", thats it. I guess the bearing can move around inside the aluminum housing when torque is applied.

An so what did you do? What did you fix or replace to make the noise go away? I took it out again tonight and had a buddy with me. It is coming from the back passenger side. It is a definite click sound and it does it all the time if I just touch the gas in first gear at basically idle speed. It clicks almost like a metal on plastic sound. It's so hard to describe but thats about the best I can describe it. I know the driveline sound now and its not that. This is definitely a sound that is not supposed to be there. Especially when it only comes from the right side. The car drives perfect still. I had my first Viper kill tonight. My bud has a hopped up Vette and we did a couple roll ons from about 40 and 50 mph. The Viper pulled out front hard and fast..lol.. It was fun. So any ideas on how to diagnose where the sound comes from? It could be something a simple as a loose muffler bracket for all I know. I'm going to try and get it on a lift tomorrow and see what I can find out.
 

Vic

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Rizzo-
My car was still under warranty when that happened. The dealer tried a whole bunch of things, including changing the differential, and torquing everything down.

The very last thing they tried did the trick- They put in a new rear axle hub carrier. Thats the aluminum housing that the suspension arms bolt to, and it carries the rear wheel bearing. Seems the wheel bearing can move around inside the hub, and its most noticable when the wheel is trying to accelerate the mass of the car. The center of tire traction is slightly outboard of the wheel bearing, and this distance, although it is short, acts like a prybar under the great Viper torque, giving the rear wheels the tendency to go toe-in under the load of acceleration, which puts a twisting force on the bearing in its mount. The wheel pushes forward, the mass doesn't want to move right away, so the hardened steel wheel bearing cants forward in its relatively soft aluminum housing, peening it out internally, making a gradually worsening clunking sound. Well, thats my theory, anyway, but all I can really tell you for sure is they changed the hub, and the clunk went away.

Which is not to say that it must be same as your clunk sound! Tighten everything first, don't forget the diff bolts to the frame, and look for frame cracks where the diff bolts up, and the control arms bolt up. Those are highly stressed areas.
 

Jack B

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Take a look at a previous post where I discussed the play in the differential bushings. You would be surprised at the amount of play in the arm bushings. The passenger side is the biggest issue. If you have had the frame recall performed, the problem gets worse.
 

LETHAL GTS

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

If it's making a clicking noise, then most likely it's a U-joint on one of your half shafts. Some of the other issues I think would be best described as a clunking. I would get it into your garage and jack the back end up so that the wheels are off the ground. That way you can spin the back wheels if your car is in neutral and the e-brake is off. If you need info on where to jack, call me, you have my number.
 
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Rizzo

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Hey Tracy... I need info on where to jack it up..LOL.. I'll call you later. What I really want to know is how was the weekend? Any body get arrested? Any wrecks? Had the car out a few times this weekend. Took my wife for a good ride and she loves it. I think she might actually be enjoying it as much as the Vette although she still likes the idea of the top down so she can get a tan. I even let her drive it..lol.. I came out of the gas station after filling it up and she was sitting in the drivers seat strapped in with the biggest smile I've ever seen so I knew I was screwed. She did good though. We were on the highway the whole time so it was good. We were doing 80 mph and all she wanted to do was go faster. She said that it felt like the car was going too slow and wanted to go faster. I had to hold her back or we would have been doing 120 mph. It was nerve racking being a passenger. It`s weird. In the Vette I didnt have a problem letting her drive it but my nerves were shot after a half hour drive being the passenger in the Viper.
 

LETHAL GTS

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

Mna you missed (IMO) one of the best club gatherings I've been to in four years.
The hotel choice was excellent this year. We stayed at the Hampton on the lake, so Friday night and Sat night we partied outside on the beach. Friday night dinner was about the worst part of the whole weekend. That's only because the service was..........well lets just say there wasn't any. But we went back to the hotel and partied till about 2:30am behind the hotel on the beach.
One of our members had a breathalizer and we had a bit of a contest to see who had the highest BAC. I took first with a .31 and second place was Tommy with a .24. However I wasn't falling out of my chair and was able to talk without slerring my words. It's amazing what years of seasoning will do.
Sat morning we where at the local Dodge dealer from 10:30 to 1:00pm showing off our cars and then doing a burnout contest. Only three of us participated. The other two have line lock so they where able to get things smokin pretty good. Me on the other hand had to do a brake stand in order to even put on a show for the 200+ spectators. Ever try doing a brake stand with a standard trans? That's alot of heal toeing LOL
Unfortunately one of my Roller rockers decided to loosen off and it sounded like I floated a lifter, but once we got the valve cover off and found the retaining nut in the head (thank god it didn't fall down into the oil pan) I readjusted it and let the local tech put the valve cover back on and she was as good as new again.
6pm was the local car club cruise which is always a blast. Myself, Snakebit and Roboman where cruising three wide down a two lane highway. Sir Hiss has some video of it. It was alot of fun.
Then after the BBQ we all headed back to the hotel beach for some cocktails. My wife brought a blender and we found a plug-in outside. So she was mixin up Margs till about 3am.
Sunday we slept in till about 10, then went down for a few beers at noon and some lunch. Most of us passed on the car show because it was sooo hot and there in no shade at the high school where it was held.
We left Bemidji at 3:00 pm and arrived in Winnipeg at 6:10pm. It was a quick ride home averaging about 90 mph.
So yes you missed out on a great time. We didn't get our 30+ Vipers we had hoped for, but I beleive Mike (our club pres) counted 28. Two copper heads, one Red/white SRT coupe (sweet ride) a couple Blue/whites. Two S/C RT's, my Black twin and a few SRT's etc..
Mark it on your calander for next year. This is a Must Attend gathering for the MN VCA!
 

SNKEBIT

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

You left out my mighty fine green car................
:curse: :curse: :curse: :curse: :curse: :hitfan: :hitfan:
I should have pushed the nut down into the oil pan :eek: :nana:
 

LETHAL GTS

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Re: And so it starts. Clunking in the back end when I go on and off the gas

That is true!
The best burnout by far was by our one and only Snkebit!!!!
You know that that woman didn't even have your car in the video!
I was really disappointed.
I'm sure that the Dealership is still scrapping rubber off the shop wall after that burnout!!
 

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