Loud Knocks at low speeds on driver side

I hear loud knocks ( not like engine knocks but more like someone hitting the car lightly with a hammer ) coming from the driver side. it seems to be coming from the front driver side wheel but I looked at it to see if there was anything unusual and i couldnt see anything obvious. It seems to be coming from the wheel as it is rotating...or so it seems to me. as i speed up ever so slightly, i can hear it more often. as i slow down, the sound comes at longer intervals.
this also strangely enough only occurs at low speeds ( under 15 mph ). it started about one week ago and it seems to be getting louder.

the sound is definitely coming from the driver side. I would like to say the front driver side wheel but am not certain of it. Anybody have an idea what could be the problem here?

What year?

sorry...2001 rodeo, V6, 2 wheel drive, 4 door

I'll toss out a couple of ideas:

1. loose lug nuts
2. busted body mount
3. sway bar is rubbing against the shock (assuming you replaced the shocks).
4. Wheel bearings need to be repacked (check the link below for a write up, FAQ)

assuming i need to repack the wheel bearings, is it safe to drive this car in its current state for another700 miles or do i need to take this into the mechanic right away? im in the middle of traveling...=(

Mine was when turning left or right at low speeds. It was the Sway bar. The sway bar fittings had rusted, and the bar rotated by popping in the fittings. Quite annoying. Remove the sway bar and greese the fittings, and put it back in. By the way never use Gabriel shocks. They are two wide in diamater, and could cause damage to the sway bar as well....

I think Rodeorulz, nailed it. I know I had that popping sound while turning under low speeds (like backing out of the driveway). I never figured out what it was and it has not returned.

David, it you are experiancing that popping sound (feels like it is coming from under my feet), don't worry about it. If you think it might be the wheel bearings I would think you would be okay for 700 miles. If you want to see if your bearings are bad. Jack up the offending wheel and grab the top and bottom of the wheel and see if you can rock it back and forth. If you can't the bearing should be good. I would highly doubt you have bearing problems on a 01, but if you have over 75k then maybe, or if you have ever done deep water crossing (submurged the bearins in water) or offroaded in deep mud, then you maybe due for a bearing repacking (seeing that you have a 2wd I would doubt your doing much offroading, but that doesn't stop me!).

-Ryan

Thanks for the diagnosis and advice Rodeorulz and Amigo-2k! It was a great help! Now I made it back home with no incidents ( The noise now seems to come and go ) and Im going to take it into the shop.

you cannot repack wheel bearings on an 01 model Rodeo they have gone to a sealed hub assy

I would suspect a shock concern I have replaced about 4 - 5 of them for the same symptoms you have described

Am having a similar clunking under my feet when cornering over light bumps at the moment. Been going crazy trying to nail it for weeks. But nailed it yesterday. Turned out to be a body mount. Took the bolt and rubber block out and the clunk has gone. Going to replace it soon. Didn't show any wear, but must have so that there was a little slap when the chassis flexed.

Wayne. (Australia)

you cannot repack wheel bearings on an 01 model Rodeo they have gone to a sealed hub assy

I would suspect a shock concern I have replaced about 4 - 5 of them for the same symptoms you have described

2002+ have the sealed hub assy's

Joel

While on the subject of axle bearings..... I just got back from the Outter Banks and had to do a considerable amount of sand driving as the house was 8 miles down the beach from the end of the road. I am concerned that the sand and/or salt water may have taken a toll on the bearings, but am not sure. I have not noticed any abnormal behavior, but a buddy of mine made a comment that if your bearings are not sealed then you should get them repacked after driving in all this sand. My Rodeo has ~50K miles on it and as far as I know, the bearings were never repacked (at least) since my acquisition at 27K mi. I am assuming that from the comments above that my '00s bearings are not sealed.... is this accurate? Is there a way to quickly identify a "non-sealed" bearing? Finally, has anyone performed this procedure following the instructions here (http://www.planetisuzoo.com/articles.htm/56) on planetisuzoo.com? Their article says, "Please note these procedures were written for a 2000 Isuzu Amigo with Superwinch Manual Hubs installed. However, in general, the instructions are similar for the various makes of Isuzu 4wd models." I do not have manual hubs and am nervous about following this procedure on my truck. Any insight is much appreciated.

Am having a similar clunking under my feet when cornering over light bumps at the moment. Been going crazy trying to nail it for weeks. But nailed it yesterday. Turned out to be a body mount. Took the bolt and rubber block out and the clunk has gone. Going to replace it soon. Didn't show any wear, but must have so that there was a little slap when the chassis flexed.

Wayne. (Australia)

Which body mount? Where is it located?

It could also be your sway bar rubbing against your shock while turning.
-Ryan

The mounts that caused me grief were directly under the front floor pans. I replaced both sides with complete new isuzu rubber mounts from the dealer. The nuts and long bolts come out easily. The bottom rubbers come off easily. But the top rubbers are seated between the body and chasis brackets. I had to loosen the 4 other mounts on one side at a time and jack the body up about 1/2 an inch to pull them out. Then do the other side. When I compared the new mounts to the old, there was clearly a difference in height of about 1/4 inch less on the old ones together. So I guess thats why the movement and knock occurred.
Still...could be the sway bar. So check both. But to be sure I lifted the carpet and had a passenger place their hand over the mount bolt hole in the floor while hitting a few bumbs and they felt it. Well.. yes the dash board in the head as well as the knock.

Regards,
Wayne.

add this to the FAQ's