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front suspension clunk

turbowop

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Apr 29, 2001
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Location
Yakima, WA
Ever since I bought 503 it's had a clunking going on over bumps in the road, expansion joints, speed bumps, etc. It feels like it comes from the driver's side. Erik said that it did this even before the car was in the accident so it wasn't from that.

Last night and today I checked everything over. I pulled the lower control arm to check the bushings and ball joint. It already had poly bushings and the ball joint was fine. Strut tops are in good shape and all nuts/bolts were tight. Struts/springs are on correctly and in good shape also. I visually inspected the steering rack bushings and they look okay. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

I was about to plunk down for some of those Ebay control arms with new bushings and ball joints, but now I'm not so sure that's the issue, since everything looks/feels okay.

Anybody have any other ideas? It's pretty annoying and makes the car feel loose and old. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

On another note, the new turbo feels great, and with all new coolant hoses and radiator and accessory belts, the car feels pretty reliable. It also had some idle issues that I fixed by taking the ISC motor from 1051. Guess I'll have to get a new one for the garage queen. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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Barnes

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Feb 9, 2003
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Richland, WA
Only suggestion I can make is to triple check your inner tie rods. The passenger side inner tie rod boot on #908 split and the joint started to rust. It is only a little bit loose, but makes a lot of noise.
 

turbowop

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Tie rods are good.

Both front and rear bushings on the control arm are fine also. That includes the pin that the rear bushing slides onto. Everything fit nice and snug.

It's not just a noise either. I can actually feel it in the floorboard it seems. Like if I go over a speed bump fairly slow, it feels like the whole driver's side assembly moves back. Maybe I'll have my girlfriend drive over one later and I'll watch with a flashlight to see what it does.

And before somebody brings it up, the swaybar links are fine also.
 
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galant344

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Sep 23, 2006
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357
Location
oakforest il.
what about the sway bar end links and sway bar bushings?
I have a similar issue w/ my car but when it get it running again i'm going to look into this noise. it can be so annoying.
 

ktmrider

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Sep 10, 2007
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Tempe, AZ
Motor or tranny mount(s), driveshaft carrier bearing, or exhaust clearance ( making contact w/body ).
 

Barnes

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Richland, WA
Oh yeah. Forgot about engine mounts. My front engine mount on #908 was sagging really bad. It would contact the front subframe on decel and other such events.
 

turbowop

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Quoting ktmrider:
Motor or tranny mount(s), driveshaft carrier bearing, or exhaust clearance ( making contact w/body ).



All that stuff is fine. I could coast over a speed bump and it will do it, so it's not the engine rocking, or the driveshaft moving around under load.

I'm no spring chicken with these cars. I've checked all the usual suspects. I'm seriously stumped.
 
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ktmrider

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Sep 10, 2007
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Tempe, AZ
Hmm, bout the only thing left is the LF driveshaft?!?
Maybe some axial or radial play causing it to slap else the center section is not bolted down properly.
Like mentioned running outta ideas.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 

fivestardsm

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Sep 8, 2006
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1,699
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Middle, Michigan
Just a thought, but What about the Rack? It might have some issues with the internals.
 

CP

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Aug 30, 2004
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West Simsbury, CT
Does this car have spherical bearings on top of the struts? They can get noisy when the teflon liners wear.
 

Barnes

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Richland, WA
I got it. It's the reverse wing-dang-er valve. Sneaky bastard.
 

turbowop

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Yakima, WA
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif

503 just has regular strut tops, no spherical bearings. It's factory springs on AGX's.

I really don't see the rack as being the culprit. Steering feels great, nothing feels loose. It feels like something in the suspension, but I dunno.

I took it out for a drive and now that I've had it apart and put it all back together, it doesn't feel as bad, but it's still noticeable over speed bumps. Maybe I'm just being picky, but it doesn't seem right. At least it's not something that's gonna hold me back from driving it. More a nuisance than anything.
 
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Barnes

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Feb 9, 2003
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Richland, WA
K. Another possibility. A bad strut/shock. You said they are good, so perhaps I'm wrong. #237 had a bad front left AGX and it make a horrible clunk. Granted it was dead as a door nail, but anyways, just throwing it out there.
 

belize1334

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Nov 18, 2003
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3,316
Location
Bozeman, MT
You said you can feel it in the floor boads? Maybe you have structural damage to the chassis or the front subframe.
 

mountaineerjeff

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Oct 21, 2008
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1,155
Location
west virginia
are you sure it doesnt have bearings? they are a stock/oem piece.
my car was having the same problem, I replaced the upper strut mounts and the bump stops. unfortunately I did them both at the same time, so I dont know what fixed it, but I do know I havent had a problem since.
 
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Barnes

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Feb 9, 2003
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6,249
Location
Richland, WA
Can't you just park it next to #1051 and the awesomeness energy field will heal #503?
 
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