I Hit A Bear Cub, Now My Steering Thunks. Yes You Read It Right

[BlackOnBlackATX]

OK, so im coming home last night and i hit a black bear cub which happened to be dead in the highway. yeah i know what youre saying, but believe me it blended in and it was 2:30 in the morning on a real backwoods highway with NO lights. unfortunately someone else hit it and nearly ruined their car. by the grace of god i swerved enough to just clip it. in doing so i bent my strut which was replaced this morning along with an alignment. when i turn the wheel as much as it can go either way i get a thunking noise now. although it does not happen with shallow turning. i plan on tearing it all down monday morning to have a look for myself but i was wondering if anyone has had this happen before? the guy at the garage said he didnt see any other problems, but hey that doesnt mean theyre right. thanks alot!

 

[SHOck]

Well, you know that thunking noises in the suspension can be anthing. I would suggest first looking at the end links. If they are not tightened to proper torque (and often they are not due to the difficulty in securing the shaft) they will clunk where the end link attaches to the strut. The hole is slightly larger than the shaft that goes through it. You can have a good 50 Lb-Ft on it and it will knock, especially if you have a 24m bar in there. Ensure it is torqued to 70-75 Lb-Ft to ensure it is not moving. You can do this by jacking the car but not removing the wheel for a quick check. Turn the wheel towards the opposite side of the car.

Other things:

Strut top mount.
End-links.
Stabilizer bushings.
Wheel bearings.
Steering link.
Lower ball joint.
Lower arm bushing (at subframe mount).
Torque-arm bushings.
Torque-arm cup (at subframe).

Good luck.

 

[projectSHO89]

Make sure the thunking isn't coming from your steering column under the dash. If it is, the problem is wear in the sliding joint.

If it isn't, look for a damaged tie rod or end.

Steve

 

[BlackOnBlackATX]

thanks for the replies guys, ill be tearing into her tommorow morning and ill report what i see.

 

[BlackOnBlackATX]

well i had everything off and tried to locate the source of the thunking which i couldnt. although it has mysteriously ceased in the past day so i dunno. ill let you all know if i ever find anything.

 

[SHOck]

Did you check the torque on those nuts?

 

[BlackOnBlackATX]

SHOck, yessir indeed i did. i torqued each nut by hand to 85ft-lbs. i too though maybe the rotor or the wheel was shifting. i have a more experienced friend coming around to help me one of these afternoons when its not raining here where i am in NY, hopefully i can figure it out. but the car seems to handle ok so im not sure. catch you later.

 

[SHOck]

Good luck! Noises in the suspension are such a hassle, I usually perform aggresive replacement schedules to avoid reaching the noise suspension point, as well as to keep the ride as tight as new all the time. I've never liked a lightly loose ride. Tight is more predictable on and off the streets.

 

[pete c]

running over a cute wittle bear cub, even an already dead one is reason enough to go to ****. As penance, you should be required to run over atleast a half dozen cats.

 

[BlackOnBlackATX]

pete c:
running over a cute wittle bear cub, even an already dead one is reason enough to go to ****. As penance, you should be required to run over atleast a half dozen cats.

HAHAHAHAHHAAHA, you should see what the honda behind me did to it.

 

[BlackOnBlackATX]

well for anyone whos interested, i went for a second alignment today because my car was pulling to the right a tad and they said they thought my strut mount could be bad (they had noticed the noise too and were trying to figure it out). they also said they could only duplicate it once or twice and it stopped and that may the spring wasnt seated properly. they did say my toe angle was off on the wheel where the thunking was coming from so i dont know if thats related though. so there ya go. guess ill just have to keep an eye on it for now. if i ever hear anything more ill let you all know.