front end noise

[jakegday]

hello all. was wondering if anyone had any ideas on this one.... whenever im driving, and i go over bumps in the road, or railroad tracks, ill hear a metal on metal noise from my front passenger side. it sounds like thick metal on metal too. its not a squeak or a chirp, it is like metal banging together. it only does it while going over bumps.
the front struts were replaced last year with a monroe quick struts, and i just tried replacing the front (vertical) control arm bushing in an attempt to fix this.

any ideas would be appreciated

[grandprixgtx00]

did you check the tie rods? not sure why it would cause a metal on metal noise, but its worth a check

[tblake]

Motor/Trans mounts look OK?

[jakegday]

not sure where to look for the motor/trans mount.. the noise is definitely coming from the front passenger side...
with that tire raised off the ground, i tried grabbing it at the 3-9, and 6-12 o clock positions and its completely solid.... when i had my LCA off i played with the ball joint for a few seconds and it felt solid, and just today i detached the tie rod end and played with it, it too felt good. could one of those feel solid to my bare hands but still be bad enough to be causing a metal on metal noise?? could the rear LCA (horizontal) bushing cause this?

[Ryan Hermann]

It could be a rusted off sway bar link pin. The one on my 1994 s10 is rusted off and it makes noise when I hit bumps.

[GPFred]

I was going to suggest checking the sway bar ends where they connect to the links. Mine made a similar noise and I found both ends of the sway bar had rusted and snapped off. Just a guess. Good luck.

[jakegday]

could someone tell me specifically where to look for the motor and trans mounts in question....? and how hard would they be to replace??
also, a better description of the sound.... picture you have a 2 15-inch crescent wrenches in a tool box. picture that tool box right on your front passenger side. now every time you hit a bump picture the noise of those 2 big metal wrenches banging together... THAT is the exact sound.....

[jakegday]

alright guys, the motor mount looks ok, to my untrained eye. (i have no idea what to look for....) both sway bar bushings, and both sway bar end links have since been replaced. and the sway bar looks perfect.

any other suggestions??? 2 big metal wrenches banging together type sound... please......!!

[gonesouth]

Originally Posted by jakegday

alright guys, the motor mount looks ok, to my untrained eye. (i have no idea what to look for....) both sway bar bushings, and both sway bar end links have since been replaced. and the sway bar looks perfect.

any other suggestions??? 2 big metal wrenches banging together type sound... please......!!

Is the top of the strut tight? Look under the hood at the strut tower. There are 3 nuts/bolts that hold the top of the strut. Makes sure they are all tight. Also, check the strut to knuckle bolts.

If there is a metal to metal noise, look for fresh rust (bright orange) or shiny metal on the suspension components.

[jakegday]

Originally Posted by gonesouth

Is the top of the strut tight? Look under the hood at the strut tower. There are 3 nuts/bolts that hold the top of the strut. Makes sure they are all tight. Also, check the strut to knuckle bolts.

If there is a metal to metal noise, look for fresh rust (bright orange) or shiny metal on the suspension components.

done and done. the struts were replaced with quick struts about a year ago, so EVERYTHING strut related is newer

[3100]

Did you try to replace lower bushings or is it replaced? Bumps will destroy this fast. So check them again when front end is lifted, both sides of the bushings should be the same length up and down (what usually happens is that the rubber part comes out of the metal ring and is not attached to anything after that.
here is the pic.

[mcmalloy]

grab the motor and rock it back and forth, there is a engine tourqe strut at the lower right corner, it kinda looks like a dog bone or you might have the shock style

[3100]

Originally Posted by jakegday

alright guys, the motor mount looks ok, to my untrained eye. (i have no idea what to look for....) both sway bar bushings, and both sway bar end links have since been replaced. and the sway bar looks perfect.

any other suggestions??? 2 big metal wrenches banging together type sound... please......!!

are you sure that you don't have some tools (wrenches) on the plastic cover between your front bumper and and passenger fender? Previous owner or some mechanic might have lost some tools there and did not bother to look for them.

[gonesouth]

This is really a longshot, but if you had the front struts replaced not long ago, was a wheel alignment done afterwards?

The reason I ask is because sometimes when doing an alignment, the tech might loosen the subframe bolts to shift the subframe. It will move slightly, side to side to adjust some steering angles.

Just for the heck of it, check the subframe to body bolts. There are four of them, at the corners and I believe they are 15mm. If it has been loose for a while, it may have rusted to the caged/trapped nut plate, so don't be afraid to really torque them. Try to loosen them first, then tighten them, one at a time.

If one is loose on one of the corners, it could make the noise you have described.

[BNaylor]

How long has this noise been present? One major problem I see is the fact you used Monroe Quick Struts which has a Monroe brand upper strut mount/load bearing. It is not uncommon to get suspension noises when using aftermarket strut assemblies especially Monroe or Gabriel brand. KYB less common. Also, you ruined your GT suspension and handling system with these struts. Nothing compares to the OE GM struts and mounts.