Help with '95 Riviera

[Delta Force79]

Ok fellas, here's the deal. Some of you may know I recently bought a 1995 Riviera and in the 2 months I've had it, I've had to replace my boost solenoid, my radiator, and my ABS control modulator went (which I am not replacing)

and now this....when the car is parked, and running...whether on level ground or a grade, and the wheels are pointed straight ahead...there is play in the steering wheel and a "tud" can be heard and felt in the floorboard. also when making a right hand turn at higher speeds you can hear this "pop" or "tud" as you are coming out of the turn and straightening out again....Anbody know what this could be?

Also I've notcied that if you sit with the car running for a while and then put it in gear and start moving, you can hear a "moan" but it sounds like its coming from a wheel and not the tranny, but I can't narrow down where this is coming from either.

Please any and all input is appreciated

[91z4me]

Sounds like a CV joint or something in the steering. Take it to a tire change place and ask them to look at it. They likely won't charge you just to look at it and they can tell you exactly what is wrong.

[Delta Force79]

yeah I was thinking ball joint or something...I may bring it to Mavis as I know someone there....

thanks for the idea, anyone else have any suggestions?

[Sixty8panther]

well.... to be honest the only way to tell is to have the car

looked at. Chances are if there was something seriously

wrong they should have caught it when you got your state

inspection sticker. I'm assuming you got one.

In any case good luck, I'll ask XP.

[Delta Force79]

The dealer I bought it from had it inspected....and the car showed no signs of problems when I test drove it and bought it....if it did, I owuld have either had them fixed before buying the car or not have bought the car at all

[Mr.Krinkle]

Ok fellas, here's the deal. Some of you may know I recently bought a 1995 Riviera and in the 2 months I've had it, I've had to replace my boost solenoid, my radiator, and my ABS control modulator went (which I am not replacing)

and now this....when the car is parked, and running...whether on level ground or a grade, and the wheels are pointed straight ahead...there is play in the steering wheel and a "tud" can be heard and felt in the floorboard.  also when making a right hand turn at higher speeds you can hear this "pop" or "tud" as you are coming out of the turn and straightening out again....Anbody know what this could be?

Also I've notcied that if you sit with the car running for a while and then put it in gear and start moving, you can hear a "moan" but it sounds like its coming from a wheel and not the tranny, but I can't narrow down where this is coming from either.

Please any and all input is appreciated

first off id check the power steering. thats first.

hard to tell from what you say, and im no mechanic, but id get the wheel bearings and the bump stops inspected.

ball joints, too but these things are all usually noticable while moving, not idle. thats why i suspect powr streering first...id find out from someone you trust if any previous work or welding was done. you can easily tell if thats the case.

if you dont feel like doing that first try the lucas power steering stuff. i never believed that crap could work but i tried it in the tranns and it was fantastic. not only me, either. i used the tranns stuff in a couple of cars and i would try it again if necessary. the steering fluid ive used twice, two different cars and no complaints. anything i wouldnt even try.

from what you are describing though it sounds more mechanical and id check the actual assembly.

hope that helps, good luck.

[76ChevyTrucker]

All right, the "tud" sound you're hearing when you've got the wheel cocked and the feel in the floorboard could be the Shock Mount Bearing Assembly. In the top of the strut tower, there is a bearing inside that mount and it allows the strut to flex and lean with the suspension and a lot of times that bearing can go bad, causing a pop, or "tud" sound to come from it and a slight vibration through the steering wheel. As far as CV axles going bad, you can normally inspect the boot and look for evidence of the boot being busted, and if it is, then go ahead and replace that bad boy, because it's only going to get worse. As far as the cost of the Strut Mount, you're looking at about 60 bucks, no big deal and while you're at it, you might as well replace the struts too, since you have to take them out of the way to gain access to the mount.

The moaning sound could very well be the power steering fluid level being really low, and on those cars, GM engineers didn't have the foresight to remote mount the P/S reservoir, so its ungodly hard to check it, but it is possible, just have small arms and a cool engine. Also jack up one side of the car and wiggle the tire, if it has excessive play, replace the wheel hub assemblies, probably cost you about 150.00.

[Delta Force79]

Thanks 76....now that you mention it, that does seem like the most likely case here...I noticed the car sqeaks now when I go over a bump....it sounds like the left front strut tower....You know I'm so used to the easy to reach basic layout of my 79 Delta....now I'm beginning to remember why I always bought old cars before

[76ChevyTrucker]

Don't feel bad. I'm really wanting to get my '76 Chevy back up and running so that I can park my Impala for right now so that I can replace the struts along with a few other things that are starting to nag at me a little.

[XP715]

I would also suggest the front strut mounts as a good starting point. An easy way to see if they may be broken or worn is to open the hood and put your hand over it, then push the car sideways. There should be no lateral movement in a car with good strut mounts, so if you feel anything moving under your hand then that may be a good indicator that they are worn. The bearings in your front hub assemblies being bad may also contribute to the noise.

[76ChevyTrucker]

I agree 100% XP, I forgot about that way of checking the strut mount, thanks for reminding me.