Clunking sound in front end

rl0gin · #1 11-29-2006, 06:44 AM

Hey guys, I just started getting this weird clunking sound in my front end. I was driving yesterday on the freeway, and noticed it. If my RPMS are right around 2500, I can hear and feel a clunking, kind of sounds like it's coming from the front drivers side. The weird thing is, if I take my RPMS above or below the 2500 mark, the noise goes away. I can actually feel it in the steering wheel and floor board a little when it makes the noise. I know this is kind of a vague description, but it's really hard to describe the noise. Does anyone have any idea at all what this could be? Oh, my car's a '97 3kGT Base. Actually, now that I think about it, it almost sounds like more of a clicking noise than a clunk.

Linebckr49 · #2 11-29-2006, 09:36 AM

do you feel/hear the noise when accelerating? when braking? going in a straight line? turning?

how many miles are on your car? how long have YOU had the car? when was is last serviced and what did you have done?

rl0gin · #3 11-29-2006, 09:45 AM

I don't hear or feel the noise when accelerating or braking. If I'm going in a straight line I can hear it a little, but it's most noticable as I drift to the left a little. If I bring my steering wheel back to the right, it starts to go away. The car has 120k miles on it, I've only had it about 2 weeks. It only had one owner before me though. He did keep up on maintenance and had it serviced regularly. He gave me the log book, but I'll have to look at it to see what all has been done. The car runs great, shifts nice and smooth, this is really the only problem I'm having with it. I did check the boots on the axles to make sure they were in good shape though, and they are. I jacked up the car and kind of wiggled all my wheels to check the wheel bearings, and they all felt nice and tight except for the front passenger side wheel, I can get a little bit of movement out of it, it feels a little loose. Does this sound like a wheel bearing?

2old · #4 11-29-2006, 10:54 AM

No... Wheel bearing is more a of whirring or a dull roar... The clicking does sound like a CV joint problem, but if the boots are intact it's hard to believe the joint would fail...

My only other suggestions would require a alignment to find it:
- steering tie-rod
- lower control arm ball joint

Both you will feel through the steering before you can detect it being loose by hand (and sometimes the alignment will fail to detect it as well).

Igovert500 · #5 11-29-2006, 10:54 AM

Could be a wheel bearing....they get significantly worse and eventually start sounding REAL bad. It could be an uneven rotor, an unbalanced tire, bad alignment, etc.

I'd probably start by making sure the wheel is balanced ($10?) and get the rotor resurfaced ($7).

rl0gin · #6 11-29-2006, 11:05 AM

I think I found the problem.. I have a completely shot tie rod end on the passenger side. I do mean SHOT too.. I can't believe how worn out it is. I'm gonna replace that first and see if that solves my problems.

2old · #7 11-29-2006, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rl0gin

I think I found the problem.. I have a completely shot tie rod end on the passenger side. I do mean SHOT too.. I can't believe how worn out it is. I'm gonna replace that first and see if that solves my problems.

While you are down there check the ball joint on the lower control control arm... Chances are if the tie rod is worn out it's because the ball joint is worn and put extra stress on the tie rod.

The manual says you have to change the entire lower control arm to change the ball joint but you can just buy the ball joint from 3sx and get it pressed in the existing control arm.

rl0gin · #8 11-29-2006, 02:01 PM

Ok, I took my car into the shop, the dealer I bought it from is supposed to cover the bill.. Seeing as how I've had this car maybe 2 weeks at most. I changed the tie rod end, and the noise is still there as bad as ever. It almost sounds like the noise is coming from the rack and pinion. Hopefully I'll find something out today.

YogsVR4 · #9 11-29-2006, 02:07 PM

I had a similiar noise one, but it was from a busted strut. Its behavior had more to do with road condition then speed or RPMs. I could hear and feel everything from a click to a bang.

rl0gin · #10 11-29-2006, 02:12 PM

Was your strut like visibly bad? I looked at mine and they looked ok. Or could something just be busted inside it?

YogsVR4 · #11 11-29-2006, 02:19 PM

I wan't able to tell until I put the car on a jack and saw it seperate.

rl0gin · #12 11-30-2006, 02:29 AM

Well, I called the mechanic today, he told me he wasn't able to get to my car today, but he'll definitely know what's wrong with it by tomorrow morning. The mechanic I talked to when I dropped it off did tell me that it kind of sounds like a CV joint though. He said maybe one of the boots ripped before and got the joint contaminated, then rather than replacing the axle, they just replaced the boot. He said if they did that, the axle could look to be in good shape, and the boots would be fine, but the joint inside could still be shot.

rl0gin · #13 11-30-2006, 12:28 PM

Well, I just heard back from the mechanic and they told me they can't recreate the noise, that they don't hear anything in the suspension. All he told me is that the car needs an allignment, and that's it. I really don't see how that noise could suddenly disappear like this though.

2old · #14 11-30-2006, 12:38 PM

Get the alignment... But try and get it from a 3rd party shop and not the dealership... It will at least verify the tie-rods, ball joints and bearings are still okay.

rl0gin · #15 11-30-2006, 03:16 PM

Well, I have a little good news atleast. The guy found the noise I'm talking about. He put it up on a lift and then put it in drive to listen to it and can hear the clunking, he says he thinks it's in the brakes, so he's tearing them down now to see what he can find.

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