Here is the situation, lets see if you guy's can figure out what could be causing this. I am getting a knocking noise when driving down the road. It happens most of the time, but occassionallly it doesn't. It is not the motor. Ok, so after I drive the car for about 2 miles or so the knock starts when I take off from a stop. It is a slow knock and then gets faster as I pick up speed. Eventually I am going fast enough that I can't really hear it so I cant say it does it at speed or not. I do start to hear it again as I slow down, just letting off the gas. As soon as I step on the brake, it stops.
Here is what I did on the way home. I tried driving with pulling up the emercency brake at the same tme as I was giving gas. The knock was still there. Then I tried to push on the brakes while still giivng it gas. Noise went away. Let off brake, came back. Never did change the way I was stepping on the gas, so I believe that should rule out the motor!
Hubby had the wheels off yesterday and checked the brakes, they are good. He then tried to move things and everything seemed to be tight. So it's not like the wheel is loose or anything.
So what in the world could be causing this knock??
I had that with the brake pads I installed a few months ago. Changed pads and made sure the new pads were tight to the caliper and the noise is gone.
When I had a similar problem with my Dodge Durango, it turned out to be a brake caliper that needed replacing.
Dwayne :smile:
Front have disc or drums? if its disc check to see if the rotors are warped or if the caliper is stuck or loose. Also while the caliper is off try to wiggle the rotor too see if the wheel bearings are good.
Just out of curiousity....do you have a manual or automatic transmission? What your describing sounds like a broken flexplate to me. If you have an automatic that may be a place to start. From your description of the noise thats what I'm leaning towards. It doesn't really sound like a noise from the brakes. One way to know if it's the flexplate is to remove the starter and inspect it. It's been a while since i've seen the underside of a Pinto with an automatic. If memory serves me well there is a small plate you can remove to gain access to the torque converter bolts/nuts. If you have an automatic it may be a place to start...just a suggestion. A little more info as to the drivetrain would be helpful. Good luck!!
I once had a tire that had a separation between the belts, that sounded like what you are describing. They were only about a year old and the only way I found out about it was when the tire blew. It wasn't anything that I could see, and believe me, I tried to find it for weeks. Might not be your problem, but you can never tell about the quality of some products.
"Pinto's are Cool!"
Sorry about that, I was in a hurry to get to bed but wanted to ask my question before I did! LOL
The car has disc brakes and it is an automatic.
The tires do need to be replaced but we didn't see anything wrong with them when they were off.
As far as the flexplate idea. Wouldn't it keep turning if I was still giving it gas (making the car go the same speed) while I was applying pressure to the brake? Also, if it had issues, wouldn't I have starting issues too, like a loud noise or something? I will check that though when we have the car on the lift!! OH, and if it was the flex plate, wouldn't I hear a more muffled knock coming from the tunnel of the car? I am hoping it is not that because that will take longer to fix! Yuck! LOL
As far as the disc pads making the noise. That is my thought too. The brakes do make noise when you apply them. Hubby checked them and they had plenty of pad on them. He also tried to move the calipers but they were tight! I don't think he actually checked for looseness in the pad itself though. This was the other day though, he hasn't had time today to look at the car again. I am hoping tomorrow.
Another thing I noticed. When driving it when I have an island in the street on the drivers side, I can hear the knock, but it isn't to loud. When I car is on my right side, I can hear the knock louder. So I am thinking it is the right wheel area making the knock.
I am hoping hubby will look at it tomorrow night! I really like driving this car!! :D
The flexplate turns as long as the engine is running. You could have starting problems if the flexplate was completely broke but you would know it...lol. You would really hear the noise more from the underside of the car rather than the tunnel. Noise will take the path of least resistance....way less metal on the underside of the car. This is the problem with trying to figure something out over the internet...way too many different things can be wrong and there are a ton of answers for them...lol. Like i say, the flexplate is just a thought. I hope it's something simple. How many miles are on the car??
>>>Sorry about that, I was in a hurry to get to bed ...<<<
Wellllll.... no wonder why Hubby is so willing to work on your Pinto's. ;D
All kidding aside jack the car up and try turning over the front wheels as fast as you can by hand. It sure sounds like something in the front wheel system. There are often little pieces of thin metal that the pads can ride on (not sure if the Pinto has them). Or, perhaps even a cotter pin that hits the dust cap. I'm sure a little testing will solve the problem.
Tom
Like i said before check your brakes and check wheel bearings too. Im pretty sure you will find the problem in the front brakes or atleast in that area just by what your describing. A good cleaning may be in order to free stuff up.
If it was the flex plate you might not have starting issuses if its cracked by the bolts that hold it to the crank. But since you said it goes away or atleast gets quiter when your holding the brakes that pretty much rules it out. Flex plates make noise when cracked all the time and get worse the faster the motor turns or atleast thats been my experience with the prolly 20 or so cracked ones ive had to deal with plus it usually sounds more like a bottom end bearing knock.
i had a similar situation a long time ago that turned out to be a wheel weight that was loose but not too loose and it would intermittantley come into contact with the upper 'a'-arm/ball joint assembly ( car was lowered with a 7" rim width- not stock)
The mystery has been solved!!!! Yay!! :D
It was the pads knocking on the caliper. It is missing 3 of the little clippie things! Hubby made the pads fit tighter and reinstalled everything. I took the car to get pizza and now all I get is a low squeal once in a while. I can live with that! LOL
I do need to fix it the right way later. I need to find some of those cippies. Fred, if you have any laying around send a few my way! LOL
For now though the car is super quiet now!! I love it!! Best running and driving Pinto I have now!!! ;D
I think you can buy a brake hardware kit for them,,, from a parts store ,
Good to hear it was a simple fix...ya gotta love those!!
I hate it when I'm gone for a few days and I miss everything!! :lol: I knew what the problem was as soon as I read your post because mine did the same thing once on the left side. BTW, the little "clippie things" are called "anti-rattle clips". Kinda fitting huh? :lol: :lol:
Quote from: 71pintoracer on May 10, 2010, 10:23:50 PM
I hate it when I'm gone for a few days and I miss everything!! :lol: I knew what the problem was as soon as I read your post because mine did the same thing once on the left side. BTW, the little "clippie things" are called "anti-rattle clips". Kinda fitting huh? :lol: :lol:
LOL, yah, guess that is a pretty fitting name for them!! LOL
for what its worth..... I had a knocking sound with very similar symptoms, turned out to be the rag tie.
A chunk was gone, enough was left to make the steering wheel feel ok but driving it, the front end components had a enough energy to clink the metal pieces on both sides of the rag tie, but only some times, and it was speed dependent and came from right under around the engine but hard to tell. went away or couldn't be heard at higher speeds. Seemed to get worse as the engine warmed up.
Glad yours turned out easy. I ended up installing inner tie rod ends thinking maybe the little play I felt was causing it. only after I took the rack n pinion out, installed the inner tie rods, have a go around for a few days about oil vs grease in the rack n pinion (another post), did I discover the rag tie.
DA