02 P5 Rear Rattle/Thunking

[BoostedPR5]

Again thank you. I will definitely have to see a mechanic, as my friends have not helped me lift the car yet (lazy!) and I don't want to do it alone because I don't trust the jacks we have and feel it safer/better for a second opinion.....

Thumbs up to you sir.
I respect someone who can realize they aren't sure of something like lifting a car up and is smart enough to not do it alone in that case.
I hate hearing horror stories if cars dropping.....

On a side note if I wasn't a million miles away from you, I'd give you a hand haha...

 

[huskyjackal]

Thumbs up to you sir.
I respect someone who can realize they aren't sure of something like lifting a car up and is smart enough to not do it alone in that case.
I hate hearing horror stories if cars dropping.....

On a side note if I wasn't a million miles away from you, I'd give you a hand haha...

Haha, thanks. I'm pretty weak, especially upper arms, so trying to Superman my way out from underneath a car whose (thats?) height is less than that of my ribcage is not my idea of a fun time. I owned a hearse before and did not trust a jack weighted to hold the original chassis of the car (a Buick Estate Wagon) on a car modified with probably over 1000lb of add-ons, so each time I worked on it I'd position myself so my face was somewhere in a gap between the engine junk and hoped to hell if it fell I'd still have clearance if I laid very flat. What an adventure.

I feel pretty stupid right now, I finally went outside and looked at the lug nuts again. First time around they seemed solidly in place, this time 3 out of the 4 on there were not only loose, but I was able to wriggle one of them completely off with just my fingers. Talk about a stupid mistake to make by letting it get to that point, but thankfully I waited until I was calm and my friends were there to look at it more closely. My poor bolt for the 5th lug nut though isn't just stripped, it is rusted and broken off. So to a shop I will have to go and have that replaced, plus everything else once-over'd to ensure the car is OK. Perhaps if it is just those nuts I can use the money I saved to buy a set of 4 new tires since my tires aren't in great condition, are 2 different sizes, and I need the car to move me from AL to TX in the next few months.

Again thank you everyone, seems my problem was a very simple one I just didn't examine closely enough because I imagined it to be much more. I appreciate all the help and advice!