Not too many days ago, Harrison (the dog) and I took a little drive into town. We were headed to the market for ice cream and dog bones. Now to get to the store, we have to transverse a bunch of stoplites, and of course, Sparky (the 55.1) had decided we should stop at every single one. Summer arrived on a weekend up here in the Pacific NW, and that was good since I could leave the passengers window down for Harry without him getting wet. When the lite turned green off we went, but through the open window I could hear a clang, bang, metal on metal noise every few seconds. It soon stopped. As I slowed for the next lite, I heard it again! When I stopped, it stopped. When I started to move, there it was. When I reached 20 MPH or so, it went away again. Harry became concerned. So did I. I pulled into a parking lot and crawled under Sparky. Something must be loose. Fenders tight, driveline OK, running boards attached. I found a broken rear fender strut, but the demon noise was coming from the front. I pondered. What could be clanging at low speed, stopping as I went faster, then returning as I slowed down? I applied my best diagnosatic theory, Occam's Razor, to the situation, got a screwdriver and fixed the not-so-expensive-noise in 15 seconds. So, what do you all think it was? A coveted and valuable prize for the first correct answer by return post. Keep smiling, Sully
Dust/grease cap from the front hub fell off, and was banging around behind the hub cap. Speeding up centrifugal force spins it to the outside and no more noise until you gett real slow again.
We Have A Winner Well, that didnt take long..Yep, I used the screwdriver to remove the hub cap and reversing it makes a handy hammer to pound on the dust cap. Bill, you must know all about the 'rocks in the hubcap' trick to try on your high school principal? Please send me your address and in return, I will send you an Ajax model US-01 old timey chrome turn signal switch assembly which you can either repair or use as a plumb bob. thanks for playing, Sully msullivanfrog@yahoo.com
I'll pass on the turn signal switch. My TF already has turn signals. That wasn't high class troubleshooting on my part, it was just remembering what I did to fix mine when that happened.
Low speed jingles Last time my AD quized me, the collar had backed down my torque tube from the rear of the ball cover. tink, tinkle, tinkle... At speed, I guess I just couldn't hear it. Had to spin it back on and egg shape it with the old ball peen hammer per Nate's instructions. The time before that, one of my rear shocks lost the crimp at the top, and the shock cover was rattling against the lower portion of the shock. Fixed that with a bit of JB Weld. Bill is pretty quick. That 248 G needs a home, just drag it back to Texas Bill, we'll find it a home. Jim Jim
