Bumping and Clunking (problem 2)

[SonicRiot]

When I hit a bump, I feel knocking against the floorboards and hear a clunking. I have a new supension, front and back, including hubs, knuckles, wheel bearings, struts, springs, and ball joints/LCAs. I know for a fact the tie rods and tie rod ends are bad, but they are not loose as far as I can tell. Do the bushings holding in the rack go bad? What could this clunking be? I can replicate the sound if I yank the wheel hard in one direction or another at a low speed, but it isn't exactly the same.

Any ideas? The car steers like crap at highway speeds too...I am just worried that the whole rack is bad, as well as the tie rods and tie rod ends. I have the inner/outer tie rods/end in my trunk, awaiting installation. Should I do these first, see if relieves the porblem, and continue my troubleshooting from there? Or is there a way to test the rack?

P.S.: My dad's Windstar has the same exact problem (for a year now), but with more clunking. But I can't figure it out because he doesn't care about the noises...because it is a Windstar with a world of miles on it.

Thanks again.

 

[v-tec killer]

Check your swaybar endlinks. wink

 

[MotoArts]

I second the swaybar links and bushings. Mine made a **** of a racket before the LR pin rusted off and I disconnected it. Bushings are a teeny bit loose, and they still make noise even without the one pin installed. Will replace all w/ urethane soon.

BTW, if you have that much play in your tierods, you've got to be crazy to drive it. Don't kid yourself; they're too cheap, considering the job that they do. More than a tad dangerous, IMO...

 

[projectSHO89]

There are no bushings that mount the rack to the subframe. Check to see if the rack is secured to the subframe, then chack the subframe bushings themselves. It sounds like your SFBs are shot.

As pointed out, the end links are also common sources of noise.

I will add my concern about driving with suspect tie rod ends. If they are loose, they need to be replaced ASAP. If one of them lets go while you are driving, you may well loose control of the car.

Steve

 

[RStalveyARFF]

As our very own moderator Rob about tie rod ends. His was recently replaced and it still broke. And remember, if a tie rod end does break, it'll more than likely take out more than just the tie rod...

 

[SonicRiot]

Ok...doing my tie rods on thursday because I have access to the school shop. Hopefully that will allieviate my steering woes and a good alignment should get rid of the vibration over 70MPH.

BUT...I checked my swaybar endlinks tonight. I did not jack up the car, but I did shake everything violently...and got nothing. I bounced the front end up and down...got nothing. I shook the car hard side to side...GOT NOTHING! headbang

So tomorrow I will jack up the car (if I get the time) and check it out further. I did, however see that the grease fitting between the endlink and the strut bracket looks like it has seen better days.

So...should the car make noise if I shake it like I did? I can only replicate it when hitting a light bump in the car on the move. I have distinguished the diffrence b/w my clunking tie rod ends and the floorboard noise. And I cannot figure out the floorboard clunk.

Am I correct when I say that the sway bar is attatched to the car only by the endlinks? Should I be able to shake it hard and see it moving if it is loose?

Thanks.

 

[projectSHO89]

Bad endlinks usually manifest themselves only when hitting bumps. You can't tell it by bouncing or shaking the car. It is manifested by ONE wheel's either compressing or extending its suspension while the other is not. The quickest way to check them is to disconnect one end of a link then see if the ball-joint is loose.

The sway bar is connected to the top rear of the subframe with bushings. These do wear out and will let the swaybar slop around.

Do check the SFBs as I said earlier. They can cause serious problems if the rear of the subframe drops.

Steve

 

[SonicRiot]

Thanks.

Back to the jackstands! headbang oh

 

[Spork]

Check that the strut assembly isn't hitting the fender liner as it moves through its travel. Look for any where the paint is worn off. I had a 93 with this problem. The liner was a little loose. I pulled the whole strut looking for the problem. The lesson here is to look for the simplest solution first.

 

[RonPorter]

SonicRiot:
When I hit a bump, I feel knocking against the floorboards and hear a clunking.

One other issue is a "normal" strut replacement job does not replace the strut mounts (all 4) and the front strut bearings. For the good stuff, this is over $100 worth of parts. and the strut mounts do go bad. They also produce clunks when hitting bumps.

 

[SonicRiot]

Thanks for the input. Been away for a while...been ignoring the noise. I'll try again this week and keep you all posted.

 

[Slo-Sho]

Don't forget to check the strut rod-to-knuckle/strut rod-to-frame bushings, as these are very often times neglected and are inexpensive to replace.

 

[Rob94]

SHO91MTX:
As our very own moderator Rob about tie rod ends. His was recently replaced and it still broke. And remember, if a tie rod end does break, it'll more than likely take out more than just the tie rod...

While nothing else was damaged when the tie rod snapped, it really sucks losing steering control at 35MPH. Or any speed for that matter. Then there's the embarrassment of blocking a lane of travel for an hour and a half waiting for the tow truck.