I got a good deal on the axle,Charlie, and don't mind replacing it anyway-shouldn't take too long. I'm 62 in a month, so I don't know where that puts me in the age category, but I can definitely say I'm not the best looking...

I'll let you know how it goes!

Neil

 

62.....you have to be 20 or 30 years younger than the rest of those guys, and only a few months younger than me.

 

Hello and welcome to the forum.....

 

So Neil, what happened after the axle replacement? We haven't heard from you.

 

Hey Charlie!
Sorry for being MIA-holidays, and under the weather(and a little embarrassed...).
So I actually had an intelligent thought(as my wife says, "treat it kindly-it's in a strange place"), and got a set of chassis ears. I'm sure you guys know what they are, but they are basically a set of six clips with mikes on them, that then are plugged into a box in the cabin. You can switch between the mikes and figure out where the noise is.
So I clipped them to each of the hubs, the struts, and the sway bar bushings on the frame. I then ran them into the switchbox, and then plugged the box into my car stereo through the auxiliary plug. Believe me, you haven't lived until you've heard your car on the speakers!
Got rolling, and guess what? In addition to the sway bar bushings being shot, it was the wheel bearing on the OTHER side of the car( I had already replaced the one on the driver's side)!
So now that I've replaced the wheel bearings, the lower control arms(the bushings were gone), and the sway bar bushings, this car is SWEET! It runs like brand new, and my wife and I took it on a 325 mile trip over the holidays.
I still have the axle, but it's on the shelf- going to wait til the weather is warmer on that one.
I can really see why folks are fans of these cars- just a great, straightforward fun driver.
Thanks for all the help! I'm now looking forward to spiffing the beast up and driving it for about ten years or so.

 

First, congratulations on fixing it. BUT, I have never heard of chassis ears. What a great idea! Are they expensive and where in the world did you find them? I've got a couple of strange noises under my Grand Caravan and suspect it's strut related, but just replaced both the struts, end links and sway bar bushings all within the last year. It doesn't really bother me too much, but drives my wife crazy when she rides in the van. Most of the time, I'm in my 200 when I have to take her somewhere.

 

I got mine at Amazon,Charlie-
About a hundred bucks,but I'll loan you mine if you want-don't think it would cost that much to ship them, and I'm not exactly using them every day.
They are cool!

 

I appreciate the offer, Neil. BUT, we're expecting a huge winter storm tomorrow and Saturday with ice, not snow. So, it will be a while before I will be willing to get out in the cold weather and research the problem. Maybe in March or April! LOL I'll hit you up then and see if you're still willing to share. I promise if I break them, I'll buy them from you. Or maybe since my son has finally started a new job, I can get him to buy some for me. That would be different. He's driving my Saturn back and forth to work until he saves enough money to get his own car. Somehow it go infested with ants and I bug bombed it yesterday afternoon. One inside the car and one in the trunk. I hope it got them all.

 

Ants in your car? Well, gosh there, sugar britches, first time I ever heard you needed to wrap kerosene rags around your ankles so you could drive -- lol

 

I guess it's where it sits a lot in the yard and doesn't get driven very often, Mike. Well, it didn't, but now that Philip is a working man (thank GOD), it will be driven five days a week.