I have a 2017 Malibu with a rear popping noise , I install the washers for the rear shocks under a TSB , that did not work . I am a Master auto tech for GM since 1974 and ASE master auto tech . GM knows about the rear knuckles popping , but will not come out with a special policy to fix the noise. I just lubricated the lower bushings in the joint . use a needle grease fitting to get under the rubber dust seal and exercise the joint, The fix works! Thanks !
Sounds about right I'm fed up with my Malibu first I had a shift to park problem next the third brake light started to leak and now the rear of the car has a clunk on bumpy roads !! I'm ready to trade it for a challenger !!!!!!
okay so problem is not just in my mind. This is a known issue. I have tried replacing the rear shocks, changed brakes and drums, changed stabilizer bar, lubricated bushings with WD40 (all done by mechanics). That did not fix the clunking noise at the rear. I will ask them the steps you just mentioned. Thanks a ton Austin. I should have watched this video before spending so much money on stuff which did not need changing in the first place. Thanks again. Mine is also a 2017 Malibu. I am never going to buy a chevy product ever again.
Omg thank you so much I’ve been dealing with this for years and have taken it to my dealership several times and asked what it was and they had no solution for me I had my relative who is a mechanic take a look at this video and the noise is finally gone thank you so much for posting this video!!!
I just took my 2016 Malibu into Chevy dealer about this exact problem. Told them noise coming from underneath in REAR of car. They told me the problem was the from airdam and other plastic parts were all broken. They removed the broken pieces. Now I can see if this is indeed a "fix".
Question, mine does the same thing, but it doesn’t happen until I’ve driven it for a little while. Is it because the rubber bushing gets loosened after I drive for a while. The first hour of the day it’s just fine probably because it is stiff and hard.
@@austin22re one more question. Again, thanks for your help. When you remove that bottom bolt does anything come springing out fast that can be of any concern. I was watching another video on the same exact subject and saw that the person was using two different jacks.
@@marks-7736 No problem! So the way i did it, i placed the jack under the lower control arm under the coil spring, (so i could lift the tire off the ground to remove it). The knuckle that the wheel bolts to does not have any weight or binding forces on it once lifted off the ground, since it moves with the suspension. As long as the car is supported with a jack under the control arm, it won't fly apart. The way to tell if there's any pressure on the bolt in question is to loosen the bolt a little after marking where it was and see if you can freely slide the bolt around, you can rock the knuckle around some which tells you it's not under pressure. It's hard to explain over text, so I hope this makes sense. What you do not want to do, is jack the car up on the unibody or any other support under the car, because once the wheel is off the ground, the coil spring will apply pressure to the control arm and knuckle once it is fully extended to its stop.
Yes, still have the car and the noise came back about a year and a half later, I re-did the process again and it stopped. The joint was seized again, so I freed it up and added more grease and it’s quiet again. The important thing is make sure there is not a bunch of play in the joint, if it’s actually worn out, replace the knuckle.
Had a 2013 Malibu making popping sound in rear, turns out the rear upper control arms were both bad, found out by jacking car from under rear lower control arm and pushed in on top of the tire, and it went inward and made the noise
I was able to swivel the knuckle bushing around as it wasn't that stiff. That seemed to fix the clunk noise. Its only been a few days but no more noise!
@@austin22re No. I was prepared to grease it but it didnt seem to need it. I was actually disappointed and thought I had to replace my struts or something. So I swiveled the bushing around a bit and put it back together. I guess moving the grease around was enough. Its been quiet ever since! Your video helped alot!
No bs I just was looking to find out where the clunk was coming from with tire off to order the right part…unbolted that bottom bushing and sprayed some pb blaster I had next to me since I already had it apart and it worked!! Will it last idk lol I would use the correct grease if noise comes back I’ve been dealing with this noise since brand new but it was real light for a while now it was sounding crazy just took for a spin I hear nothing thanks for the idea!!
What tools did you use for the job? I’m getting my tools together at my apartment before I take my car apart in my parking lot of my apartment. Specifically what did you use/how did you get the ring off to put grease in there?
I used a jack, ratchet and socket , a backing wrench to hold the large bolt still while I loosened it, a half inch extension to insert into the joint to move it around, and a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the metal retaining ring for the boot. Also need to use a sharpie to mark where the bolt was before you loosen it so when you put it back together the alignment won’t get messed up.
My local mechanic tried this, at least they told me they did, and the popping was WORSE... replacing both rear end knuckles I guess, at a dealer who is willing to. How r8ped am I about to get? I see $680-$800 estimates when I look up the job and parts.
@@truthteller8274 then your parts are likely worn beyond their tolerances and should be replaced. This works for most because the grease dries up and the joint gets stiff. If the ball joint is worn down from excessive mileage or wear and tear, it may need the knuckle replaced. I would make sure your mechanic actually did it. He would know the moment he broke everything loose if the bushing joint is excessively worn.
I had to replace the struts! I had gone through and replaced everything thing in the rear suspension and it still made noise! Replaced the struts and noises went away!!!
Darn! Yeah there's always other components that could wear out. I first suspected struts but when I checked mine they were all tight and no play was present. This car doesn't have that many miles either.
What did you use to "inject" the grease in? The grease guns available to me only have ends to fit on a zerk fitting. It would have helped if you had shown us the method rather than describing the plan.
I just used a regular grease gun, once I removed the small retainer ring from both sides all I did was stretch the boot back enough to fit the end of the grease gun inside near the joint, and started pumping. I wasn't able to video, pull the boot back, and pump the grease gun at the same time, so sorry I couldn't show that, I'm trying to improve my video methods. I need to invest in a tripod or something to hold the camera for me.
@@jamiplaisance18 my husband made the salesman find one. I think it was more common years ago. Funny thing, that salesman wasn't working there a couple weeks later.
@briansmobile1 hello hopefully you see the message ☺️ I’m having this issue currently with my Malibu 2017 was told labor would be $835 question for me buying the rear knuckle parts. Is there anything else besides that I need to get for the knuckle repair?
If your going to do what I showed in the video, you need a torque wrench to properly torque the bolt back down, and you need a way to inject high temp grease into the joint you can do this by using a grease gun, which to me is the easiest because you can pump it in the rubber boot after you take it apart. You also need a jack/jack stand to support the vehicle. You need a way to work the joint after you inject the grease. I just use a 1/2” extension to do so. Also, before you loosen ANY bolt, make sure you mark where it was located before loosening, so you put it back in the exact same spot to keep your wheel alignment the same.
I need this as well! At the dealership and they’re talking about $1,400 to replace the parts. I’d rather go to an auto parts store to grab the recommended grease 😅
2014 doesn't look anything like this... But that bushing is super tight. Trying to figure out how to grease but don't think it takes grease? Seems like it's a complete rubber piece?
If I remember correctly, the previous generation uses a open bushing, with no rubber boot to protect. You should be able to check for play easier with that style but it will be stiff unlike the newer style, it’s not designed to swivel in a way the newer style does. The style of bushing your car has should be replaceable but it requires the removal of the entire hub bracket to press it out. Make sure the noise is coming from that bushing before doing anything else.
@@bigaparker1977 in my opinion dealers don’t do proper diagnosing. Try to figure out which side it’s coming from first and then check the knuckle bushing. You can use a car jack to raise and lower the rear suspension to listen for the pop.
I’m getting a clunking/knocking noise from the read end the trunk area but the only time i hear it is when i hit 70 miles per hour will this fix my problem ?
This could fix the issue possibly. It could be many things causing that noise at such a high speed. What makes me wonder, is there anything under the car that is flapping around in the wind making the noise. Under carriage covers can sometimes make noise in the wind at high speed. It could be other suspension components too. Just jack the car up and put some jack stands and try to move things around. Look for anything that has excessive play in it. Only hearing it at 70mph isn’t typical to the issue I am showing in the video. Check your shock absorbers too.
Bought a 2018 malibu dealership replaced both knuckles & still making noise was told my dealership manager they just replaced with new parts they didnt greese up , should the bushing be greesed up or no?
Howdy! I bought a 2018 two years ago and have just started to get that clunking sound from the rear at low speeds. Couple of questions please... is this something that I need to get fixed immediately? Like, it is a safety issue? And, how about an update since you did this fix a year ago. That would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
No, it’s not a huge safety issue, just annoying really. The noise came back slightly once but it was about almost a year later it started to happen again. I just repeated the procedure and it’s quiet again. Always check for excessive play, if it has a lot of play in the joint it should be replaced entirely.
@@austin22re I have this on my 2017 LT. I had in the dealership numerous times in 2020/2021 and I had all types of work done, including a new rear suspension. I have noticed it gets really bad when it's humid out. For example, it's intermittent in the cold/cool temps, but when it gets hot out, like today, it's very pronounced. I also had wondered if this was a safety concern.
@@ethandent1669 I wouldn’t say it’s a safety concern as long as there is not a significant amount of play in the joint. That joint isn’t like a normal ball joint where it could pull out. It makes sense when it’s louder when it’s hot because the parts expand and increase clearance. Check the play in the joint at a minimum. Most of the time the joint is dry and the grease dries up. The longer it is ran noisy the more damage the joint will have because there’s no lubrication.
@@ethandent1669 literally the same vehicle and year. I had the left replaced and it didn’t do anything for a couple years or I just didn’t notice. When it’s cold it never happens but when it’s hot like today 97 degree F it is very noticeable. Glad I’m not alone is worrying about it
(04 malibu classic) Man I had a wreck yesterday, I was doing about 50 mph, then all of a sudden traffic came to a stand still out of no where, then I lost about 85% of the front brakes, so I hit the e brake, long story short I slid into a curb, the car took it pretty well but that piece right there is what I snapped, the car will not roll forward without the back left tire kicking to the left, bit it will roll backwards just fine.. Pretty much just asking for some advice
The entire suspension system on that wheel needs to be inspected by a repair shop. If it broke the knuckle then it likely could have bent other suspension parts. One way to tell quickly if there is any major differences is measure the opposite side of the car tire gap to the wheel well, and compare that to the damaged side. You might get lucky with replacing the knuckle but I doubt that is all that was damaged if you hit it hard enough to break it. The other components to look for damage is the upper and lower control arms. Even a slight bend in other components can cause issues when it comes time to have an alignment done after the knuckle is replaced. If the bend is bad enough in other components, it may not be able to be aligned until the other components are replaced. It would be best for a repair shop to look at it and at least tell you what all needs to be replaced.
There are many other components that can wear out in the rear suspension. Check the shock boot at the top of the shock and see if there is excess play.
@@nathanbrinson8489 spec is at the bottom of the video description. Make sure to mark the bolt with a sharpie before you remove to maintain alignment when you re-assemble. After you pack with grease make sure you work the joint well to force the grease into the socket.
Also, make absolutely sure you torque the bolt back to the spec I listed. Did you add grease too? The main issue is those joints are not greased properly and dry up over time. If the joint is dry for too long it will wear the bushing out and no amount of grease will fix it. How many miles does your car have and has the knuckle ever been replaced?
Have to identify what part is loose and making noise. Easiest way is to jack the car up and place a jack stand under a solid jack point and then use the hydraulic jack under the rear control arm where the noise is coming from and slowly begin to raise the arm with the jack, just listen for noise or look for play in joints as you pump it up. Remember to never be under the car while operating the hydraulic jack.
