280z Noise & Vibration .. Getting the Shaft

[S30Driver]

Been tracking down a intermittant squeak & dull thumping sound from the rear for the last few weeks. Also some vibration under power (there since I got the car but seemed to be getting more pronounced)

The sound went away after the car gets up to speed, >30mph and some days seemed worse than others.

Took a look at the driveline, checked all the bolts, driveshaft as well, and found a little play in the passenger side half shaft. Pulled it yesterday & discovered alot of play in the inboard u-joint, bearings shot.

Had both joints replaced with Neapco joints at Drivelines NW (did a great job, 2 hr turnaround) and refurbed the rest of the shaft myself.

Got it back in, went for a drive and the problem is Gone!

About and 90% improvement. Very pleased, much smoother & no unusual noises.

Will pull & check the driver side shaft tomorrow for peace of mind.

Drivelines NW ... Recommended

[Shade133]

nice glad you figured it out. u-joints are evil. they always cause weird random noises when going out. i had one that was out in a truck i bought but you couldnt tell my moving it around, it didnt make any clunking but squeaked and had a grinding noise sometimes. i got under there tried moving it around and inspecting and couldnt find a thing, a month later it broke completely i got it replaced and i never ever heard those noises again.

[mlc240z]

Wife had a Pinto (yea, I know) that would bang like hell if you slowly took off from a stop. If you floored it (whoa, the power!), not a peep. Turned out the Ujoints were shot.

Definitely different noises based on different conditions/scenarios.

[sblake01]

I had a Pinto in the late 70s but my Pinto had a Racer Brown camshaft, twin sidedraft Delortos, head work, a light flywheel, etc. It screamed! Unfortunately it didn't hande a well as it ran as the guy that bought it from me wrapped it around a telephone pole in the hills above Pomona, Ca. and still walks with a limp to this day.....

[mlc240z]

Yea, Steven I hear you.

After we replaced EVERYTHING in the car (trans, Ujoints, distributor, etc etc) she ran pretty good and was a VERY reliable, economical car. Station wagon was very versatile since it moved us from apartment to apartment and then some. Actually liked it during the '70's oil 'crisis'.

[Shade133]

my mother had a pinto. she still to this day says it was the best car shes ever owned.

[GunnerRob]

my mother had a pinto. she still to this day says it was the best car shes ever owned.

She must have only had Vegas and Yugos, aside from the Pinto.

[Oiluj]

I had a baby poop yellow pinto in college. Was always reilaible, cheap transportation. I had no complaints, but was never rear-ended...