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I have a '90 240 SW that has 240,000 on it and runs like a top. Yesterday I started driving and it started to thump really bad and felt just like both rear wheels were locked up. It felt like I was dragging the car. It's really cold here so I thought it was just a brake hanging up so I accelerated and it felt like it let loose. Then it did it again while I was driving. I stopped at a friends house and asked her to see if my wheels were turning, they were. I drove home with it like that. every so often it would "break loose" and drive fine. I did notice that it does it in forward and reverse. I went out today and got under it to see if anything was leaking or hanging down-nothing was. There is also no noise, rubbing, sqealing, scraping, etc. Nor was there any noise before this happened.
I drive people around everyday in it. That's how I make money-No car, no money well, you know how that goes:) PLEASE help me!! I love this car and don't want to get rid of it.
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Earlier I responded to Dan's (Pageda) post where he said:
"I wonder if it is a failing center driveshaft bearing support housing or U-joint?"
To be sure that the OP Susan sees it, I'm reposting it here because I've had that driveshaft Center Bearing bind up and trash the rubber cushion. As I recall there was plenty of "thumping" — especially at low speed. I think getting more speed seemed to let the floppy shaft assume a straighter position (still noisy but less thumping).
Susan,
My advice is to get the car up on a lift if possible, or at least get a volunteer to reach under to feel for a LOT of driveshaft looseness at the center bearing area.
--
Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.
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Yup, you are right. It started doing really bad so I took it to the local garage that had been servicing it when the last owner had it. We put it up and the rubber cushion fell off. It was completely demolished! The center bearing went and it was just "flopping" all over the place. So, for $160.00 for parts and labor my baby is fixed!!
Thank you all for your help. I just love this car and I've only had it 5 months. It's got 240,000 on it but man it drives.
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The price sounds fair and you were lucky the shop could get a new cushion so quickly. I suspect they might be getting scarce at the local level.
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Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.
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It happened to me, sometimes the thumping was on quick acceleration, sometimes on deceleration with a manual transmission. It sounded like someone was pounding on the transmission tunnel.
Dan
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Looking over the responses, I noticed no one suggested checking the rear end fluid in the car. It might be contaminated.
Does the car have Anti-lock brakes? It sounds to me what you are describing is similar to a "panic" ABS stop.
Next time it happens, step on the clutch and see if it goes away. (If the car is an auto, try putting in in Neutral). If it goes away, the problem doesn't lie in the brakes. Be careful if it's an auto not to accidentally put the car in reverse!!
--
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I did, 11 responses down, ask about rear end oil. Probably not the problem, though.
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1985 244DL B230 M46 170k
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Sometimes the braking material comes off (rusts off) the metal emergency brake shoe and jams up the E-brake inside the drum.
You will have to remove the rear rotors to check Ebrake pads.
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1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb but electronic ignition and M46 trans in Brampton, Ont.
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Sounds just like a sticky caliper, and the first one I'd suspect would be the non-drive rear wheel.
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There is no such thing. Think about it for a moment. With only one wheel powered you would drive in circles. Perhaps it's the typical behavior of the open differential when one wheel loses traction that leads you to have this notion?
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'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon
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A dragging caliper on one rear side would cause the same unequal torque effect that causes one wheel in an open differential car to spin in the Alabama mud. One wheel will turn, the other will get dragged along for the ride.
By the way, the best go-karts out there are split axle single wheel powered, and they have no problem going in a straight line. Probably has something to do with the fact that the steering mechanism is attached to the front wheels.
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I see what you mean. You must admit, you didn't explain yourself very well.
Then again, I didn't think my reply through very well, either.
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'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon
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Agreed - I could have been clearer.
While an open differential is supposed to deliver an equal amount of torque to both rear wheels, in reality, there is a certain amount of parasitic bias because of friction. That's why, in conditions where both wheels are on snow or ice, one side is more likely to spin than the other. When I was a youngster, we called that the drive side.
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Non drive rear wheel? Which ones is that?
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David Hunter
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Am I wrong in thinking that the 240 did not have LSD until 1992?
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240's had limited slip available as an option since day one.
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'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon
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Nothing you have decribed says that it is the brakes. Not sure why you wanted to see if the wheels are turning??? If the car moves the rear wheels must be turning and pushing the car forward.
Maybe you are simply loosing engine power?
Describe the thumping. Can you tell where? What speed? In unison with wheel rotation? or faster as in engine rotation?
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David Hunter
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Hi David,
"If the car moves the rear wheels must be turning and pushing the car forward." I guess you're right, it's RWD so if I would have thought about it...
No, it's not the engine power. I've worked on cars enough over the years to know that. I don't loose power at all. Shifts good, everything in that dept. is good.
Okay, this is the best way to describe the "thumping" and such.
Think of this as a FWD. It feels like the back wheels are completely locked up and I am dragging the rear end forward. The thumping is from dragging it. The faster I go, the more it does it. Sometimes if I speed up it "breaks" loose-by that I mean it feels like the rear end "unfreezes" and it goes ok again. When I slow down to turn or start moving again, it happens again.
Now, I realize that this is RWD but that's what it feels like.
To answer another ?, it's the whole car that thumps and bangs when it happens. the more speed, the more it feels like it's gonna tear my car apart.
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I think we're all having a little trouble understanding your descriptions.
Are you still able to rev the engine freely when the rear end "freezes up" or does it bog down?
Is your ability to move forward impeded when this happens?
Does the clunk occur in a pattern or intermittently?
Have you gotten under the car yet and checked the condition of the U-joints and center support bearing?
Have you checked the rear differential oil level?
Answer these and someone should be able to solve this.
Good Luck,
Charlie
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1985 244DL B230 M46 170k
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In your description there seems to be a lot of "feelings". I cannot possibly imagine what the "feel" of dragging the rear wheels would be. Does the thumping rhythm increase in frequency with increase in road speed?
Have you inspected the drive shaft universal joints?
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David Hunter
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I wonder if it is a failing center driveshaft bearing support housing or U-joint? These will both make a speed related thumping noise.
Dan
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I wonder if it is a failing center driveshaft bearing support housing or U-joint?
I've had that Center Bearing bind up and trash the rubber cushion. As I recall there was plenty of "thumping" — especially at low speed. I think getting more speed seemed to let the floppy shaft assume a straighter position (still noisy but less thumping).
Susan,
My advice is to get the car up on a lift if possible, or at least get a volunteer to reach under to feel for driveshaft looseness.
--
Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.
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I had a dragging emergency brake once on my '83, but it made quite a bit of noise and didn't affect the drivability much. You could check the E-brake by working the lever as you are driving.
You said that there is no noise when this happens, right? I'm suspecting the problem lies in the drivetrain. You need to get the rear end off the ground to really troubleshoot this thing.
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1985 244DL B230 M46 170k
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Is this at all speed-related? That is, does the symptom change with speed? If you put your hand on the driveline tunnel aft of the handbrake console, can you feel a vibration? I'm thinking that you may have a universal joint that's going bad.
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Over the past decade or so I've had a few cars that decided to drag a caliper or E-brake shoe and they can be a pain to diagnose if you don't have one tool. That tool is a non-contact infrared thermometer, point it at the brakes at each four corners after driving a while and the hottest one is your culprit. This is far more precise than the thermal color changing paint used on calipers. Radio Shack and outfits like harbor freight sell the IR thermometers.
My guess would be that one of the rear E-brakes are grabbing.
jorrell
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92 245 287K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!
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could be ice, caliper freezeing, ice in emer brake cable.
You have to jack it up and turn the wheels some - you can't tell much by driving
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240s: 2 drivers and some parts cars
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By "dragging" the car, do you mean that you pushed the accelerator and it didn't respond appropriately, like a slip?
Is this car an automatic?
If so, it kinda sounds like (if I'm interpreting this correctly) your transmission is going out. The fact that it's cold also points that way, as a tranny problem tends to rear it's ugly head in the winter months.
Check the trans fluid level (the rear dipstick) while the car is running. Make sure you're looking at the correct side of it: one side for a cold engine, one side for a hot engine. Also, dab some of it on your finger: it should be translucent and light red. If you don't know the last time it was changed then it's probably time.
Hopefully, a fluid change is all you need.
Good Luck,
Charlie
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1985 244DL B230 M46 170k
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Hi Charlie,
Yes, it is auto but I know it's not the tranny. I check all my fluids everyday as a pre-trip, old habits die hard-I'm an ex trucker:)
Anyway, it is like the back wheels are not moving and I'm pulling the car. It is not slipping as in the tranny. I've had that happen before to me so I know that's not it.
There's no sqealing like when you lock up the brakes, actually it is not making any noise to tell me what's up. It does "buck" when this happens which again made me think of something seizing.
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My 1984 245 with 200k had an intermittant very loud scraping sound coming from my right rear wheel while driving at low speeds during the coldest months (NYC). The emergency brake shoes looked OK, and the noise went away if i backed up and braked hard. It is just starting to happen now with my 1993 245 (170k), same wheel. This noise changes when I apply the foot brake but not the handbrake. I think it is due to a sticking brake piston...I have had the rear pistons stick on and off during the past three years. In the summer the disc would heat up and I would "massage" the pistons by moving the pistons in and out while jacked up. It would then be fine for six months. My test for fine is that the car will roll in neutral on a very slight incline.
I am about ready to order new calipers. I did the front ones last year.
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