(story - tech part below)
So, its memorial day weekend. Going to visit my girlfriend's Mom in Wikes-Barre PA from Boston, 330 miles round trip. This is the cars first big road trip after driving it around home for a few k. Checked everything, packed the car, left work early and we're on the road. Both of us are excited for the first big trip in the car i've worked on tirelessly for 18 months...
Huge smile on my face for the first 250 miles. Nothing but cruising with the sunroof open down I-84 at 60mph. Wonderful! Cross over into PA, I thinking everything is going to be fine, were making good time. 26-27 mpg on B100, and the odometer is spot on....sweet.
20 miles over the PA border I hear something intermittently clicking and then banging from the RR. at first I thought the RR door was loose wasn't that. stopped, took off tire and checked everything (had all my tools
). axles fine (new CVJ's), sway link fine, flex disc (new) fine, springs and shocks fine. no sound bouncing the car up and down. all bolts tight.
eventually, i *thought* the problem was the e brake cable being loose, vibrating and hitting the driveshaft or the subframe. shored it up and limped into Wilkes-Barre.
went to the auto parts store next AM and got under there and secured the brake cable. re-tensioned the e brake as well. ran car on jack stands. went for a test drive. all is well. thought i had it...
drive home yesterday went just the same as the drive out. fine for 250 miles, and then the sound comes back again. went to look under and my repairs didn't look any different - nothing had moved or looked like it was distressed. had dinner at the Blue Colony Diner on I-84, put another zip tie on for good measure to tighten even more. no sound till we are 30 miles from home....and it comes back.
all my repairs still in place, im thinking its NOT the e brake cable. parked car in the garage to await further diagnosis.
(tech summary)
so in summary -
-clicking, light banging from RR. intermittent. sounds like something light (like an e brake cable) is loose banging, not heavy machinery like a diff, bearing, or axle.
-seems to only happen after long periods of driving, but that may be a red herring
-rear end is essentially new in last 3k miles, replaced in stages,but no problems until this trip
Any ideas on where to look next?
Thanks for listening,
dd