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Suspension, Steering, Brakes, Wheels & Tires / Re: Klunking...but from /WHERE/??
« Last post by Illeagle1984 on Yesterday at 11:10:22 PM »Sorry I can't help much from 3000km away, it could be literally a million things. If your road trip takes you to the Great Lakes, I could fix you up, but from here, I can only run through a thought experiment on what I'd do if you showed up to my shop. Let's start with the test drive I'd give a hard to find noise. With your foot lightly on the brake over these bumps, does it still make the noise? How about swerving left-right like when they warm up the tires in NASCAR, does it make noise then? In & out of driveways? How about a hard braking or acceleration event? Can a strong guy (or two people combined) make the noise by pushing down or pulling up on the bumper? A yes to any of these could narrow it down.
Next comes the visual inspection. Start by double checking that front end resting on the ground and hanging in the air (with upper arm supported as I'm sure you know). Different parts become loose at different times. Use a big prybar in between every bushing and joint. Go up and down, AND side to side on all of it. Look for fresh, bright red rust (or scrubbed paint, if she's that clean) coming from anywhere where two things can touch. Control arm to frame, drivetrain to body. Look over every inch for evidence. Double check the tightness of every single bolt and nut. If you had the knuckles off, you been pretty far already, I know. But this is the time to second guess everything.
Still making noise? Take out the shocks. STILL making noise? Completely remove the sway bar. Sometimes those shocks and bushings can be bad without any way of being able to detect it. I've had dozens of brand new shocks clunk out of the box (thanks Monroe). And I've had cracked sway bars that make noise at odd times, check it over especially at the welds.
It can be tough to find. One time I chased down a nasty sounding gremlin on my own Eagle. After I did the first round of parts and alignment, I got a new banging that I felt in the floor. The clamps for the tie rod sleeves were pointed down so I could tighten them easy, but in that position they hit on the crossmember on driveways or on bumpy corners. Took me a bit to find that one, I drove it until I saw the marks that appeared on the subframe and the clamps.
Also one time I had an Accord with a weird clunk over bumps and I found a whole walnut fruit wedged between the transmission and subframe was the cause. Like I said, it could be a million things. Good luck!
Next comes the visual inspection. Start by double checking that front end resting on the ground and hanging in the air (with upper arm supported as I'm sure you know). Different parts become loose at different times. Use a big prybar in between every bushing and joint. Go up and down, AND side to side on all of it. Look for fresh, bright red rust (or scrubbed paint, if she's that clean) coming from anywhere where two things can touch. Control arm to frame, drivetrain to body. Look over every inch for evidence. Double check the tightness of every single bolt and nut. If you had the knuckles off, you been pretty far already, I know. But this is the time to second guess everything.
Still making noise? Take out the shocks. STILL making noise? Completely remove the sway bar. Sometimes those shocks and bushings can be bad without any way of being able to detect it. I've had dozens of brand new shocks clunk out of the box (thanks Monroe). And I've had cracked sway bars that make noise at odd times, check it over especially at the welds.
It can be tough to find. One time I chased down a nasty sounding gremlin on my own Eagle. After I did the first round of parts and alignment, I got a new banging that I felt in the floor. The clamps for the tie rod sleeves were pointed down so I could tighten them easy, but in that position they hit on the crossmember on driveways or on bumpy corners. Took me a bit to find that one, I drove it until I saw the marks that appeared on the subframe and the clamps.
Also one time I had an Accord with a weird clunk over bumps and I found a whole walnut fruit wedged between the transmission and subframe was the cause. Like I said, it could be a million things. Good luck!
