Loud clicking sound when turning left-

[mvrod]

I have a 1975 Spider that is making a loud clicking sound only when I make left turns. The harder I turn the louder it gets. I've checked the rear differential oil level and its fine- I checked for anything loose around the rear end and wheel wells but nothing seems out of the ordinary. Has anyone came across these symptoms before? I'm hoping that my rear diff. isn't going out on me. I'd appreciate any input, thanks much--

[So Cal Mark]

it could have a chipped tooth on one of the differential side gears. Those only spin when turning. Jack up one rear wheel and spin it, that will cause the side gears to spin. Possibly could be bad u-joints, but you should have some additional symptoms

[majicwrench]

Chipped gear is possible but not very likely, and same gears spin when turing right too, so should hear it then.THis is one of those "need more info" things, can you tell which end noise is coming from?? Does noise go away if you lightly brake??

First thing I would do is make sure lug bolts tight. If noise goes away when braking, pads could be shifting in caliper. Wheel could be cracked, weight shifts when turning.
Good luck,
Keith

[NitroDemon]

Im just throwing an idea out there But i doubt it would be of any help considering I know basically nothing about the mechanics of a Fiat and the fact im refering to one of my older cars.. But I had a Chevy Blazer that did that exact same thing, I had bad U-joints aswell as there were these allignment bars that ran the length of the bottom of the car that their rubber mounts had rotted through allowing the bars to raise up on sharp turns only clank back down loudly when the turn is completed... dont know if that would apply to the fiat.. I'd just check what Mark said, he knows what hes talking about xD

[mvrod]

I found the problem today. I jacked up the rear end of the car and checked some of the recommended items from others above and came across a ring of fresh metal around the drive shaft. I explored some more and found that the previous owner must of put new bolts in for the seat belts (inner belts along middle console) and put in too long of bolts. When I would turn there was just enough movement of the shaft to one side that it would rub the end of the bolt and give off that clicking/chatter sound. Tested it out after pulling out bolts and was quiet as could be. I will install smaller sized bolts and call it good. So glad to find out it wasn't my rear end that was the culprit.

[So Cal Mark]

that's great news. I have seen that before and didn't think of it

[MNspiderman]

A good mechanic would have gotten $800 bucks for fixing your "drivetrain"

[mbouse]

if it weren't for PREVIOUS OWNERS, what would we have to complain about?

our own stupid mistakes are not for discussion.

i have actually seen pictures of a car (can't remember where i saw the pics) that had a set of bed springs wrapped around the drive shaft.

[bwilson27]

Previous owners are funny as hell. Some of the things they do make me laugh and laugh...
Here's an example- One of the PO's of my car decided to remove the tubular rubber drains that connect from the windshield wiper cowling to the firewall, and run globs of wires through those holes instead. What happens when the car gets wet, kiddies? That's right... You and your passenger get a good foot soak. In fact, the entire floorboard gets flooded... On each side!
I hope those globs of wires worked out for him.

[So Cal Mark]

what would globs of wires connect to? There aren't that many connections under the hood

[manoa matt]

Hey Mark, maybe one of those wires was the hood prop. Just giving you a hard time.

[bwilson27]

Those globs of wires went to nothing that I know of... Maybe just around and around? I didn't run them down, I just chopped them all up and ripped them out with the rest of the wiring harness. (I have a decent harness to replace it with, once the car is painted.)
PO's love wiring, don't they?

[So Cal Mark]

lol, the wire hood stay is a poor mans' solution to keep the hood from breaking the front grille

[ITA124]

OMG. I've just experinced the exact same thing. Installled a race harness where the hip belts locate in the same spot as the originals. Except this occured when I went around a right hand corner. Looked under the car and saw a shinny ring around drive shaft. Easy fix

[spiderrey]

Bed springs, bring back bad memories. My 03 silverado reg cab short bed, dumped and rolling 20's. Looked good. My son had it towed cause it woldnt shift. When I got it home I jacked it up and found a bed spring. He says he dosent know where it came from. It totally wrapped itself around the driveshaft and rear half of the tranny. i was pissed, the truck was still kinda new. It tore the shifting cable right out, til this day it dosent shift into park easily. I layed under there cussing that r$% b%$&$rd out. I had to cut it out 1 wire at a time, aint kids great? I just blame it on him having his moms genetics.