Buffy from Arrrgh left a post about her SUV and I said I would tell a story about an old car of mine.
Years ago, I had a similar issue when I worked at a full service gas station (remember those). Anyway, this car would "clunk" when I stopped hard, accelerated fast, or turned. Now the nice thing about working at the station was, any time one of us had a car issue, we all chipped in to fix it. It must a be NASCAR type of thing, you know, all the local "bubba's" got to help out and put their 2 cents in.
The initial thought was the front end had a problem. Checked it out, everything fine.
OK. Engine mounts were next. Nope. Tranny mounts? Nope. U-joints? Nope. Suspension? Nope.
The car was a convertable with electric/hydraulic powered roof, so the back seat came out to check the power mechanism and the splines for the roof. You never know. Nope.
After several weeks of looking at everything including the bolts for the front bumper, we gave up. The noise was still there but we couldn't pinpoint it.
Shortly after the towel got thrown in, I was leaving work for home and pulled out into the street making a hard left, (the drive opens onto a WIDE street). Well, half way through the turn, there is a loud clunk, followed by a bang, and all the lights went out on the car. The car also stalled at that point. I walked back to the station and had one of the guys use the "pusher" truck to push me back to the station. Our night mechanic hadn't left yet so he offered to take a quick look.
Once the hood was up, the problem was obvious. The battery clamp was loose and the battery had tipped against the fender and shorted out. The battery split from the explosion, (if you've never seen a battery blow from a spark touching off the hydrogen gas they create, you don't know, and don't want to repeat, what you've missed). It turned out the clunking we've been hearing was the battery slidding around and hitting the edge of the battery tray.
New battery and tight clamps and the sound never came back.
But damn if a whole room full of wrenches could find it. Myself included.
Lots of luck with the SUV.
Life happens.
I thought it would be someone's screw driver or wrench or something. That's pretty funny though, the battery (shakes head).
Posted by: bogie | August 22, 2003 at 05:04 AM
I think this is going to be one of those mysterious afflictions that I keep asking about and don't get an answer to until we are past warranty. Mother had a Grand Marquis that had a brake problem. One of the more patient, mature, mechanics found a screw jambed into the emergency brake system. Ya just have to keep trying to figure it out.
I'm going to go check the battery! *G*
Posted by: Buffy | August 22, 2003 at 09:08 AM
Oh....and thanks for the link! *S*
Posted by: Buffy | August 22, 2003 at 09:09 AM
Worth reading. Worth linking.
Posted by: Wichi Dude | August 22, 2003 at 10:16 PM