Timroperco

My 1994 Cabriolet has 130,000 miles and handles fine, except I periodically notice a mild "thunk" which seems to come from the rear passenger-side wheel. It's not consistent, but I hear it periodically when hitting certain bumps in the road. Also, I've noticed this same rear wheel seems to "skip" a bit when I accelerate from a stop, the tire doesn't seem to grip and spins a split-second or two, as if the tread was worn ... yet the tire is new.

Doing the good old push-down-hard-on-trunk-three-times test, the shocks and springs recover instantly ... it doesn't keep bouncing. I'm wondering if there's simply a worn shock bushing at the top of the shock tower, a loose mounting there, or something similar. Accessing rear shocks on the cab is apparently a bit different from the sedan, since the top of the shock can't be reached from the trunk; I'd have to remove all the carpeting from the interior of the top's stowage compartment.

I've fixed just about everything else on this car, but I have no experience dealing with suspensions. Any advice?

Thanks!

Floobydust

Tim -

Been there, done that on things that go bump in the rear. My noise turned out to be a failed H&R lowering spring, but I went through the list of usual suspects. They are:

- Lower control arm outer bushing. At 130K this is probably the most likely culprit. When these wear, the joint can "clack" over bumps that unload the suspension. You will likely need the special tool to R&R these. Mine were shot on one side at 95K.

- Rear suspension links. There are four of them plus the the sway bar link. Check them for worn/rotted rubber bushings. Check the tie rod for ball joint wear. A picture of the rear suspension is here: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...24-others.html

- Rear differential mounts. There are two rubber mounts that hold the rear of the diff in place. These can break down and allow the diff to bump in the sub-frame under certain conditions. Again, a special tool is involved for R&R.

- Rear sub frame bushings. There are four of these that hold the entire rear sub frame / differential assembly in place. Usually they only "bump" when going from forward to reverse or back, but search the threads for how to visually inspect these. Once again, special tools are involved.

- Bad/broken spring (my issue). Guess what - no special tools needed - you can inspect the springs visually for breakage and for excessive compression (sagging) by hitting the springs with a rubber hammer with the car jacked up off the ground. The springs should be tight in the perch and lower control arm recess.

Hope this helps,

- FD

ptoro01

What Floobydust said and the e brake.

The wheel spinning is related to how the differential works. It's an open diff, to solve that, you'll have to swap in an lsd or wider tires.