I’ve been chasing a clink for about two years now and have not yet found it. I can’t tell if it’s coming from inside the car or outside of it, but I think it’s from outside, right rear wheel area. While searching last week, I noticed a rattle from the rear right brake dust cover. I thought, surely that must be it, however, I couldn’t get my right rear rotor off without damaging it, so I left it as.

Then I looked up and saw this crack (circled in red) at the spring seat: This could very likely be the source of my clink. Now I am afraid of driving the car and am not sure how I will fix it.

 

Gian,

I would place a visible mark at both ends of that crack, drive the car as you normally do for another week or two, then check to see if the crack has spread beyond the marked ends. If it has not spread, then continue to check it on a regular basis. That crack may have been there for many years without spreading....

 

Gian, What a pain to get too that.
It needs a 1/8 inch hole drilled at the end of each crack to stop it and at least a couple of spot welds along the line to see if you can stop it going any further.
I know, not the easiest place to get at and so much has to be taken apart to get a straight shot at it, but like Jon said, it may be the result of one of your large pot holes and is not going to cause any problem.
Keep us informed.

 

An 18 inch hole?! That’s bigger than the spring itself. I will mark it like Jon suggested to see if it keeps spreading. Yes, getting to it is a bit of a pain. I’m considering just having my body shop man do it when I send the car in for a respray in August.

 

He meant 1/8” hole.

 

You only drill a hole to stop cracks in plastic .Get it welded. Do they have a roadworthy in Puerto Rico ?.
Dont know the milage but could your clink be play in the diff ? I got one of those clinks ..use EP 140 straight in the diff.
My clink is in the left rear and I put it down to being that side because the tyre on that side is slightly more worn than the right. Just jack up one rear and try rocking the tyre and you will hear it.
As for your crack...if you like bodge jobs you could get some bathroom silicone in a gun with a small nozzle and dance it down the crack (practice first) so it looks like a tig weld and then underseal...Trick often used by real body shop welders for inaccessible corners.

 

From the rust it looks like it might have been around for a while. A good cleaning with 'rust stop' and a TIG line should solve the problem(i doubt a line of 'amalgam' will work). Body shop, or good mech should be able to do the job.

 

You should investigate further to see if the fatigue cracks have propagated inwards from the stud hole. There is a raised flange rim within the stud PCD which gives the area structural rigidity. It is this flange that is probably compromised and causing the clink sound.

 

Thank you for your suggestions. I hate having to remove that strut to get to this, but I will inspect everything.

I think I will have the body shop take care of this and eat up the costs. I may have to move up the date of the respray to get this fixed soon.

Welding is not in my skillset yet.

 

Pstnbrk,
I had an experience welder drill a hole in a steel mower deck to stop a crack from traveling. This guy was sharp as hell - could you please say more about why/where you heard its n/a to metal?

Anyone else's experience?

Thanks, John

 

Mower decks are subject to high frequency vibrations and the deck is often thin and brittle .
If just welded it would probably just crack again hence the hole.
Welds are often done 1in gap 1in gap etc as if a crack starts it does not run the whole length.
In this case a hole is not appropriate.

 

In the aviation industry, stop drilling a crack is normal and and is outlined in the regulations for approved repairs. There are exceptions for certain instances.

 

I doubt that fracture is generating any noise.

A small hole is one way to stop the "crack tip" from propagating any further.

That wire loom is in a dangerous spot to try welding from below. Is it accessible from above?

For the time being, you can "let sleeping dogs lie" and just keep and eye on it.

 

you aren’t making me feel good about getting on a flight.

Z

 

Same here, and I am planning a trip to Japan to boot.

 

likely an over-the-north pole route, so take some warm clothes in case of unscheduled layover.

Z

 

Did you investigate play in the differential or drive shafts as the source of your clonk ?