desertt5

Test drove a 02 Saleen today. Motoer sounded great, but there was an intermittent clunking in the rear end when letting of the gas or giving it gas. The owner said it was the gears needed adjusting and he just hadn't bothered getting it done. Sound like BS to me. What else? Totaled rearend?

ct_white_stang

Are you sure it wasn't just driveshaft slop? Did it happen all the time or just at slow speeds? It seems a bit odd that he would say the gears need to be adjusted. I would have someone check it out, maybe even a dealer if you are that serious about purchasing it.

teej281

Sounds like aftermarket control arms with smaller than stock diameter bolts. Thats what made that noise in my friends Mustang. Had aftermarket control arms and the stock bolts wouldnt fit them so they used whatever bolts they had that seemed to fit and they were too small. Drilled out the holes and put in stock bolts and the noise went away. Also, could be horrible gear install and the pinion gear wore into the ring gear and now there is more room for the gear to move around when there isnt load. I'd have the rear opened up by a dealer and have it checked out. Also, check drivetrain slop. Could be the u joints on the driveshaft being sloppy. Just get it checked out.

desertt5

Thanks for the repiles. Will definately have it looked at. All I really know about rea ends is I am samrt enough not do do them myself. Tearing into the motor is no problem ( tearing inot the oil cooler on 6.0 PSD this weekend).

Would control arms cause the rear end to fell a little loose side to side? Also noticed the right rear tire was bald on the inside half, but the outside did have a little tread left.

teej281

Thats probably due to tire rotation and a poor alignment on the car for an extended period of time. And the control arm bolts being the wrong size will make it feel loose. Same problem my friend had. I'd look into that first and then have the rear checked if thats not the problem.