Dave WM

yes replaced the rack bushings, I made a video of it showing the amount of give they have in side to side play.

I think I hope I may have it. I was able to duplicate the sound by locking the steering wheel, wheels up, push hard 9/6 one way to "set it" then pull back and pop. I found the control arm bolt (17mm) less than torqued to spec (I got a socket on one side a wrench on the other) I could turn it pretty easy, not loose mind you but def not uga uga uga tight. any way tightened it up, check the other side (it was fine) and could no longer duplicate the pop with the car wheels up. Again too late to test drive tonight have to go clean up and call it a day. I think I intentionally delay testing like this so I can at least think I have if fixed. Will check in the morning and report back. So anyone else forget to tight the control arm bolts and if so do you recall any odd clunking sounds?

boy you guys (y'all) got me motivated, the boss has found a bunch of places she wants to check out PRONTO

really looking for the small RFD kind of living, small town, a diner for breakfast, been looking over near Birmingham as well, out skirts that is. I prefer the mountain area more in GA, more of it that NE Alabama.

I am pretty down with being around animals so doubt it would bother me. We are planning a trip up that whole area to scout various small towns. Only real needs are a good kitchen to keep the boss happy and a shop with enough room for a lift for me. Seems the biggest concession is the mountain towns are far from publix, the boss not to happy about that. Ingals shows up a lot, looks like a kind of publix (grew up in so florida, publix was huge down there).

looking for a slower pace than Orlando area (too many peeps, too much sprawl), also always wanted to live at higher elevations. One thing I have learned is there are a LOT of chicken farms GA, not sure I want to live right next to one, but maybe that is not a big deal, just seem like a lot of folks talk about it.

hmmm ZH I am def hearing something when shaking the top while on ground. A follow up, no play with the car up in the air.

thinking of moving there. Anyone live in there or surrounding area can talk to living there?

a duh moment, I can just take off the hub caps and look at it while executing the pop procedure... maybe when the sun goes down it feels like well over 100f right now.

I just tighten them up until start to bind up, turn both direction, then back off until play is noticed then creep up on them until no play. Perhaps I should review the FSM, its just the way I have always done it. I have zero play in 12/6 direction on wheels.

ok moving on, I was able to recreate the sound by jacking up the front, unloading the tires, locking the steering and pushing 9/3 one way very firmly then I would reverse the direction and a I would get a pop, it seems higher up than the tie rods. I don't have any help so its hard to manipulate the wheels while trying to locate the source of the pop. I thought it may have been something to do with a strut, like a spring shifting in a perch or something up there. I am going to try and capture on video later but that will not help me find it, just something to share with the folks so you can hear the noise I am referring to. I suppose I could unbolt the top of the strut and see if that changes the sound... the odd thing is it does not make the noise if you just go lock to lock, you have to shove hard on 9 or 3 against the lock of the steering or the end of the rack to "set" it then slight pressure the opposite direction causes the pop. It almost looked at times like the wheel was moving and the hub was not when it popped like a really jacked up wheel bearing, enough play to see. But I cant imagine that is the case as it has no play 12/6. Another test for that I could do would be to tighten up the wheel bearing some and see if that matters to the noise. Of course I don't want it overtight, but that could at least eliminate the bearing as the issue. The main problem is poor visibility of the issue while manipulating the wheel.

they were very tight but I will double check the torque specs and see if tight enough. I check all the bolts around the problem area (ball joint,TC both sides). Thanks the tip. What I forgot to check was the steering arm to wheel hub, the big ones think 2 17mm will check those as well.

It sounds a little bit different but still there. The change while subtle is noticeable so I presume I am on the right track, perhaps I just need a new inner tie rod.

not sure what binary refers to, its on and off, off it pressure exceeds 300psi IIRC. its a high pressure cut off to prevent failure if something were to plug up and now allow Freon to flow. Later model cars used a low pressure switch to prevent it trying to run if the Freon leaked out. still later models had hi/lo cutting off if it was too high or too low, and then some added a fan option to turn a fan on at a threshold pressure, I think the binary/trinary references started up with those.

That was easy. drive up on ramps for some room to work, remove splash pan to gain access to rack, remove the clamp on the inner part of the boot. Used a pick to get under the boot and lift it over the ridge, then walk that around until the boot is free. The boot was in great shape, I was able to collapse it back and hold it there for easy access to the zerk fitting hole. Screw in the zerk gave it a few good shots of EP grease, I have no idea how much as I did not bother to remove the boot and try to see the inner tie rod threaded rod part. Just gave it several good squeezes. replace boot and clamp, done. maybe 30min from start to finish. it was late and I had to jockey around cars to give me a good work space in the garage. I will road test it tomorrow to see if there is any improvement. I did NOT check the caliper bolts, IIRC I have to remove the tires to get access to that and since I had the ramps I could not do that. Will report back tomorrow to see if it resolved the mystery clunk. I did check all the other steering related bolts all were tight, the sway bar end links were snug, but again IIRC its not supposed to be super tight on that. Both sides seemed about the same. I am sticking with the inner tie rod as the prime suspect given the noise and steering bump happen at exactly the same time.

here is a video talking about AC

low side is fire wall to compressor, High side is compressor to condenser in front of the radiator. On the SWP123 the back is the low side, the middle is the high side. you can also look for a D for discharge (high side) and a S for suction (low side) stamped on the case of the compressor. the hookup to the gauges is you remove the brass screw on caps on the compressor and then you hook up the hoses, they are old style screw on, not the R134 push on. Would need to see your gauges to know what you have. The assumption is you have no R-12 currently as bleeding it into open are is not legal. So assuming its all leaked out you will have no pressure, so after attaching the hoses (gauges should read 0 psi both high side and low side). you hook up the vacuum pump, open both the gauge valves, turn on the pump and you should immediately see a vacuum. the high side does not read neg pressure so just keep watching the low side. You should get to -29 if you have a good pump and no leaks. Once there close off both gauge valves, turn of the pump, and watch the low side. If it holds you may luck out. if it does not you will need to replace the pump with compressed air or better still nitrogen. open up the valve from the nitrogen then crack open the low side valve on the gauge, assuming you started at zero just allow the pressure to build to about 70psi. Don't go higher, no need for testing for leaks, get some soapy water and spray around the hoses, compressor, drier, any fittings and esp the front of the condenser. look for bubbles to form. Often you will also see oil stains, esp on the condenser that is also a sign of a leak.

I practiced greasing the spare rack inner tie rod. pull the boot up after removing the clamp from the inside towards the outside, have to collapse the boot completely to see the small hole on the rack about 1/2" in from the tie rod where is screws onto the rack. there is NO cover to the hole, if it had one it would have to be flush since this part of the rack goes into the assembly, and any protrusion would interfere with a complete stroke. I put in a zerk tested it for accepting grease. I guess its just pumped in until you get some squeeze out by the threaded rod part. I would have thought there would be some kind of plug to retain it, but guess not. Any excess grease will still inside the boot anyway. I am hoping I can get the boot off the rack installed in the car without tearing anything. The boot on the spare is trashed, I think the other side is still ok so I have a donor in case I goof it up. I was checking on OE boots, 100 for a pair, yikes. at that price I would prob just pop for a whole new china rack.

I did not check the brakes. will do that when I go out to see about grease gun. I understand there is a hole that allows for grease under the boot.

wheel bearing feel fine, no other bad habbits at all. no shake ever, tracks perfect, brakes straight. lifted car gave the wheel a 12/6 shake no play the a 9/3 shake, this is where I can just feel a tiny bit of play by grabbing the passenger side inner tie rod, squeeze there while shaking the wheel 9/3 with the steering locked. It seems like the only place that is not up to par, the drive side inner tie rod has zero play. I was wondering if other that may have had worn inner tie rods experience this kind of sound (knock and associated steering bump). Most of the 9/3 movement was the rack moving inside the rubber mounts, but I could feel the diff in the inner tie rods, passenger side vs driver. Outer tie rods showed no movement from being loose.

I back out car turn steering wheel left nearly full lock. 1st gear start rolling forward while holding steering wheel I hear a clunk that seems to come from the passenger side front. At the same time as I hear the clunk I feel the steering wheel "give" a tiny amount. No other issues, steering feels tight, no noises with less that full lock or near full lock rotation of steering wheel. I have checked TC bushings/ball joints on strut/wheel bearings. All in good shape and tight. I get a tiny bit of movement in the passenger side inner tie rod, none on the driver. The rack seems tight (no slop) I have rubber rack mounts (new). the rag joint is in good shape. Strut mounts tight in towers. I am thinking the pass inner is getting loaded up one way, then when I reverse direction (go forward) there is a load on it that shifts the joint and that is what I am hearing. Any other ideas? I have a spare rack complete with outer tie rods that I can try. I am thinking pulling the entire rack including outers, measure it, and setup the spare, try it and see if still have the noise. I will check for a grease fitting on the inner before I do anything to see if grease helps.

Just don't expect it to come on instantly, two things have to happen, fuel has to drain out, depending on the crud status this may be slower if there is a build up of crud on the drain holes. Second the thermistor has to self heat, this will take time how much is debatable, but should not be more than 30 seconds once all the fuel is gone. That was my experience when messing with them on the test stand. Actual usage will be more intermittent. Fuel sloshing around in the tank has the effect of turning the light on and off when the level at a point that its just low enough to allow time for the fuel to drain, the heat to build the light comes on then you start rolling or turn and there is a splash of gas and its off again. drive a few more miles and as soon its solidly below then the light will tend to stay on. during the in between full on an full off there is various intensity as well, again having to do with some cooling from the limited gasoline splashing around.

one last thought, when running AC the assumption is its hotter than heck outside. Make sure you engine cooling system is up to snuff, the hot AC condenser is going to make the rad less able to get rid of heat (preheating the already hot air flowing thru the radiator). So make sure the rad is in tip top condition. Same goes for the rest of the cooling system (fan clutch/hoses/belts).

yep try the easy 1st always a good idea. I can tell you that with the stock system working its pretty good. here in sunny FL we get days will in to the upper 90's with high humidity. With the rear louvers it will keep up with the heat to provide a comfortable ride. You cant slaughter meat inside but its good enough that I can turn it off max after a while. The key is to keep the car out of sunny parking. with that the heat gets so high that it takes a long time to overcome. It so hot inside that you cant touch the dash. If I park in the shade or come out of the garage its never an issue. Black vinyl is not the best for keeping cool and the insulation on the headliner is pretty minimal. add to that the dash radiating heat and you are behind the eight ball. That being said I did a cross country (well 1/2 country) trip and was fine this was in early sept when it was still quite hot.

A lot of folks just say F it and decide to go with an after market system. while true you don't have to worry that its going to work, there is a heck of a lot of fabrication so its not exactly easy, and its still expensive. I would go with plan A reassemble/test/get lucky change drier,pull a vacuum and recharge with R12