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Hoping it's just a U joint and not something gnarly like a pinion bearing.

It might not need replacing just lubrication. Try filing the joint with 90 wt gear oil and see if that makes the noise change or go away. There should be a pipe plug where the oil goes in. Sometimes guys will replace that plug with a grease fitting, which is not the proper way to lube the joint. This sounds much like the pop you get from a posi-traction rear end where the clutches dry out and stick to each other. They make a posi lube additive which makes the gear oil a bit slicker to get between the clutches. That additive might also work in this application.

I pray it would be that easy! That would be some fantastic luck if that were the case.

Ordered a selfie-stick, going to try and get some video of the "pop" from under the car whilst going up and down the driveway, hopefully tomorrow, let my wife walk along next to the car and video what's going on under there. Drove her 8 miles to get some gas Saturday, the pop/clunk is still there, if you go really easy on the clutch it's less notable, much more notable in reverse than forward, and happened to be downshifting into second when I hit a really nasty bump, made a really loud pop then, scared the daylights out of me, then didn't make the sound again the rest of the way home, until I got in the driveway! (about 3 miles). Thanks everybody.

Could there be more twist to the axle under load than previous since you removed some of the leaves ?

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GIVE THAT MAN A KEWPIE DOLL!! YOU GOT IT!

I stuck the cell phone under the car today when I got home with a magnetic stick thingie from Amazon, and that's exactly what's happening. The "pignose" is diving down in reverse and the U-joint is fighting to keep the driveshaft in place, thus, the thud! Forward, same thing, it's rising upward but not as dramatically. So, will be putting some Springs back in this weekend if the weather is good. Hate to because she rides, drives, and sits fantastic now, but, maybe adding two more springs back each side will remedy the problem without raising her up again and make her ride like a buckboard!

Actually, kinda glad it's something this simple and praying I haven't killed that U-joint! Thanks to all!

How many leaves did you take out if you're putting "some" back in?

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Your answer can be found earlier in this thread Quote:

Rather than playing around adding and subtracting spring leaves and having one problem or the other, why not either have them correctly re-tempered with the correct number of leaves and a proper riding height, or just buy new springs? Almost certainly Eaton-Detroit has them.

Eaton does not list any Packard springs of that vintage - or Packard springs of any vintage on their website for that matter. If anyone does have new ones, I would gladly buy them if the price wasn't sky-high.

The way they were, the car was absolutely rigid in the back. I couldn't find any spring shop here in the Baton Rouge area who would even quote me a price on de-arching the springs because no one wanted to mess with it - thus the removal of leaves.

I will add two back to each side and I beleive that will add enough support. It will bring the rear of the car back up a bit and make the ride a little worse, again, but, it's the cheapest and easiest thing to do in my case. Believe me, I'm not a fan of removing or adding springs either, but, it was either this or continue driving a car that was beating me to death and jumping all over the road.

This is a close up of how high and stiff she was sitting. And, now of course. Going to have to find a happy in-between!

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