A few problems

[hang3xc]

Hi, I have a loud thunk/bang whatever in the right rear of my car while going over rough roads. I thought it was the strut mount, as I had the exact same problem, on the same side, in the front and a new mount silenced it.

So, I replaced both rear struts and strut mounts. The car has 110K and I figured it was due regardless of wether that was actually causing the noise. Well, after doing the job, the noise is still there. It's not AS bad and is less frequent, but it is still there. I'm guessing that all that's left is the sway bar linkage, sway bar bushings, and control arm bushing. The thing is, when I jack the vehicle and look, all seems good. When I grab any part and try as hard as I can to move it around, looking for play/sloppiness, it all seems tight, even non suspension items like the exhaust system. I really can't budge any of it by hand.

Again, with the mileage, I guess it wouldn't hurt to replace all bushings (sway & control arm) and the sway bar links, but.... is there anything else it could be???

Also, I noticed I need new rear rotors. There are inexpensive solid ones for $25 locally, better(?) slotted ones for $75+, and then cross drilled and slotted for even more, WAY more if I go w/Brembo. ANy suggestions? Are solids good enough? It's my wifes car and she likes to foor it from one red light to the next, so she's hard on brakes

Thanks for any help

[Gadgetjq]

H3,

You don't mention the year of your Solara but it probably doesn't matter too much. The stock rotors are solid and are normally well suited for the kind of use they'd get on the street. If you can pick up new ones for $25 go for it.

As for the cross drilled/slotted. They're great for racing applications where heat has to be dissapated as quickly as possible OR when you just want the rotors to look better than stock. The downside is those slots and holes tend to wear pads a little more quickly than the smooth disks. They're also a little noiser than the smooth rotors.

If you want to install drilled rotors you don't have to lay out huge dollars. You can see what I've done with my Gen II here: http://gadgetjq.com/solara/brake_rotors.htm . Painting the calipers (pure form, no real function) is simple. Details here: http://gadgetjq.com/solara/brake_paint.htm

You might want to mention to your bride that she's not only putting more wear on the brakes racing from stoplight to stoplight but also killing fuel mileage.

About your noise, hopefully someone who's had the same issue will be along with advice. Noises are very difficult to diagnose even when you're inside the car much less via e-mail. If you can create the sound at low speed maybe your wife (or a good friend) can walk/run alongside the car trying to pin down the corner the sound is actually coming from.

Cheers

[hang3xc]

Forgot to mention (duh) it's a 1999 Solara SLE.

Yeah, I've explained to the wife that she drives like an "A" hole and is pushing her vehicle to an early grave. Anytime I've been a passenger to her driving, I feel like I went to a rodeo, as a bull rider! The whole "right on red after stopping"? Uh, she doesn't even slow down, let alone stop. Amazingly she has never been in an accident or had a ticket of any kind in 20 years of driving. That's her defense. I tell her she's been extremely LUCKY. But I digress.

The noise is definitely coming from the rear/right. I was going to just replace the sway bar link and sway bar bushings because they are very inexpensive and see if that does it. MAYBE even the control arm bushings. It's been almost 10 years of driving over potholes and salted streets of the Northeast, plus I live 1/2 mile from the ocean. I guess they have done their jobs admirably.

[bpyne08@hotmail.com]

I had the same problem in my 2000 and after hours of frustrating work trying to figure out the the source of the clunking was, it turned out to be the stock jack. its sits in a bracket on the right side of the trunk on my 2000 and loosens up after a couple thousand miles. Im not sure about yours but you might want to check your jack and your spare tire to make sure they are both secure.

[hang3xc]

Thanks for the suggestion

Currently the trunk is completely empty, and I mean empty. I wanted to be sure before I even started the job that it wasn't something in the trunk bouncing around, and there was a LOT of things in her trunk.

Also the whole back seat area ie. package tray, trim etc is out of the car too. WHY did they make the three strut mount bolts so HARD to get to. Maybe an access panel or something would've been much more convenient. What a terrible design. I imagine it costs a fortune to have the dealership, or even a regular garage, do the job

[Gadgetjq]

H3,

This site: http://www.partsgeek.com/gbparts/199...ek+Google+Base

Has rear rotors for your car for as little as $20. Their best Brembos are about $45. I didn't check shipping costs.

Cheers

[bpyne08@hotmail.com]

I hear you about the strut mounts. I recently put on new TEIN S-Tech springs and had a very hard tine not only getting at the nuts but loosening and tightening them to spec is near impossible because there is no way to get a socket in there let alone a torque wrench. It was something i never encountered when removing strut mounts, usually they would have welded bolts to the frame and you would just put the nuts on from the underside. but its too late now.

best of luck to you in finding a solution to the noise.

[BadChicken]

I would guess sway bar bushings but hard to tell without looking at it