LS making front end noise over bumps

[kcobra]

I love this forum. Thanks to all your experiences I've replaced the sway bar and end links. My car is now quiet as can be again. Saved alot of money. Bought the sway bar from fastpartsnetwork and end links from ebay. I saved alot of money listening and reading your posts because I would have changed the strut mount first by just listening and from past experiences. Thanks again guys!

[G2man]

I know this is an old thread but I am driving a low mileage 2003 LS and I just started getting the clunk noise over bumps. Thanks for saving me a lot of wasted time. I will have my local mechanic look at the sway bar bushings.

[devinhooper1965]

So I'm a little late to this game of where's the noise coming from. I have a 2000 LS 3.9L with that same damn clunking rattling noise. Big bump, small bump doesn't matter still makes the same noise. I have 115,000 miles on it and bought it new. Never had this problem till about 6 months ago. Most of the front suspension looked worn so I replaced every moving component except for the struts. Sway Bar bushings were 29mm and replaced those too, those were hard as crap to get to. Still have the same problem! I'm ready to sell, it's becoming a money pit, Runs great and I hate to get rid of it but I can't figure out what the problem is and I'm tired of spending money on a guess.

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum! Noises can be a real challenge to pinpoint. They have an amazing ability to telegraph through the vehicle too. I once had a rattle in my 2011 Taurus SHO that I swore was the rear sunshade. I pulled the rear deck, the sunshade, insulated all the mounting locations and anywhere it touched something else only to have nothing to show for it except a few scrapes and cuts on my hands. About a week later my daughter was riding in the backseat and swore it was coming from the front of the cabin. A few days later I was lowering the passenger sunvisor to shield her eyes and noticed the noise went away as soon as I touched the headliner right above the visor. Sure enough, the noise was due to a loose wiring harness above the headliner.

Anyway, to try to pinpoint a rattle in the suspension you may want to find a shop that has, or purchase for yourself, a wireless Steelman Chassis Ear kit. The kit consists of multiple wireless microphones that you can clip to different suspect components and strap securely, take the car for a drive, and one-by-one switch the receiver between the microphones to determine where the noise is loudest. Then move the other microphones closer to that area, repeat, until you pinpoint to source of the noise. Due to how many iterations this could take, you might be able to purchase the kit for about what a shop would charge you for the diagnosis. And either way, it's still less expensive than getting a different car.

-Rod

[devinhooper1965]

Thanks, I'll try that first. I really like the car, have had it 21 years. I'm just tired of crawling under it to figure out what's rattling. I fear the transmission or something worse is next to go. I won't get much for it with the rattle though, so I have to figure it out.
Thanks again for the reply.

[listenloud]

Sold the car a long time ago, but the clunking in mine was due to the stabilizer (sway) bar bushing being worn - the bushing under the clamp that holds the sway bar to the chassis. The play was so little that it was almost undetectable by feel. It was a distinct clunking that could be felt under the feet on one or both sides. The bushing is no longer available. I just loosened the clamp and slid a piece thin rubber under the bushing, then tightened it up. Cluck vanished.