clunk?

[DWBur]

Right after I got my 2001 Impala I started having the problem that chevy had a service notice on about making a left turn and feeling a clunk through the steering wheel. They got a kit from GM and relubed the shaft between the steering gear and the steering column. That didn't work so they tried a bunch of stuff which included a kit that injected something like epoxy into the engine cradle, and replacing the rack and pinion twice. The last time I took it back to them I had a talk with the mechanic that was going to work on it next. I told him that they had worked on everything but the steering column itself, and did he think that could be the problem? They called me the next day and said they found the problem. There was another shaft inside of the steering column that they lubed and the problem went away. I just wanted to mention all of this because I think the problem I'm having now might be a separate problem.

Back when this was going on with my car I thought I remember seeing on one of the forums another problem that owners were having about feeling a clunk through the steering wheel when they were just driving down the road and hitting bumps. Two or three years ago I thought I felt my Impala do it occasionally and didn't think much about it, but lately it started doing it quite frequently, and I can't remember what the answer was to the problem. Does anyone remember anything about this? I've been thinking about trading this year and if it's not a major problem that could cause an accident I'll live with it until I trade.

[Iflylow]

If you have had the intermediate steering shaft replaced/lubed, your clunk could be loose brake caliper bolts, or more likely, loose engine cradle bolts. Have the cradle torqued back to spec (122 ft lbs front, 130 ft lbs rear I think). Even a tiny bit of looseness can cause a clunk.
There are also some shims that can be installed in the bushings on the cradle. After I got mine, the clunk went away.

[wafrederick]

Could be in the back also,bad strut plates and this is a very comon problem with the Impalas,Grand Prixs,Regals

[nick8519]

I had the same problem on my 05 Malibu. The lubed the intermediate shaft and that corrected the problem for a couple weeks. Dealer ended up changing the intermediate shaft and that took care of the problem. Good thing for warranties!!!

~Nick

[j cAT]

these noises require an inspection of the front end...my guess would be lower ball joints..