Clunk from the Front

[dnale]

I get a clunk when going over speed bumps and on bumpy roads. I always figured it was the struts that were shot. The local place I get tires/alignments tells me the struts/springs are ok. I've looked at the end links and they look intact. Could it be a motor mount is bad?

The car is a 2002 P5 with about 150,000 on it. I thought just the msp's had the infamous "clunk".

Any help would be great.

[Diehonda]

Is it a creaking sound or a clunk? Mine creaks sometimes if it has been sitting for awhile or if it is cold outside. I have right over 160K and it is caused by the springs.

[dnale]

I'm pretty sure it's a clunk/thud. It's sudden, not like I think a creak would be. It comes summer or winter and the car doesn't sit much.

[P5inder]

Could be the steering column (had that problem with my Neon) or one of the front steering arms...I believe they have nuts on them to keep everything tight. If the nut loosens, the arm will rattle/klunk over speedbumps/potholes, etc.

I have that problem with my wife's Pathfinder...

Then again, I may just be making things up...and it could be something else entirely...

Check all nuts/bolts on all moving parts and undercarriage...clunking means something is definitely too loose.

BTW, I get a nasty clunk when I release the handbrake after the car has been sitting for the night or especially over a couple of days.

[dnale]

I'll have to dig into that option when I change over to summer tires. Which I planned to do this past weekend and then saw snow in this weeks forecast.

I thought for sure it was the struts and you would think a shop would agree so they could sell them to me, but nope.

[Diehonda]

Do you have any performance alignment shops in your area? I thought that I had a bent strut and took it to three places before I made it to the performance shop that said a strut was bent, hub assembly knuckle was bent, and that was the cause of all of the crazy tire wear. All of the other shops said everything was fine.

Bottom line, take it to more than one place.

[dnale]

There are lots of shops, but none that I know/recommend. If I replace struts I'm upgrading for sure. I don't have crazy tire wear. Nothing unusual that is.

[mazda protege 2]

my car does that to, even though its a protege i hear a clunk noise and it sounds its comming from under the floor board! i just greased all my joints and it has seemed to go away

[Kansei]

I'm experiencing this as well right now. .. mine kinda sounds like it could be coming from the front motor mount, but I inspected it the other day and replaced the nut that had apparently fallen off underneath it.

To all you guys, check your front sway bar bushings... to get to them, it's easiest to have the front wheels off. The bushing that mounts the sway bar to the chassis will cause a noise like this if worn out.

[dnale]

I swear I can almost "feel" it that it's from the left front. Can you pick up those sway bar bushing or are you looking at an all new one? Is it a simple energy suspension part?

[aMaff]

I had a similar issue not too long ago. Make sure the bolts / nuts on the strut top and bottom are all tight. Mine were abt an 1/8 turn loose. Clunk stopped after that.

[dnale]

I think I checked those first. I'm not sure how "tight" those are supposed to be. They were pretty tight without breaking out the torque wrench.

[aMaff]

what was the torque set to?

[dnale]

I don't know, I didn't use the torque wrench. I was hoping someone would have a torque spec and share with us.

[Kansei]

My strut bolts (top, bottom, side, north south, east, west, inner, outer, etc) are torqued to hundreds of foot lbs :P seriously they are though. I can also "feel" the clunk by my feet, and guess what's pretty much right on the other side of the firewall there.. the sway bar bushing :)

[mazda protege 2]

yeah thats what i felt, a clunk at my clutch foot, i jus greased my bushings and i havent heard it scince/. the dealer said that it just had to be greased to

[Kansei]

Yeah I was ordering other suspension bushings and rubber pieces so I figured I might as well just get brand new bushings for that (I'm over 80k miles so stuff is getting worn out). I'll hit them up with some Energy Suspension lube before installing them.

[dnale]

Now I'll have to stop some where. Is it a custom peice or is there a measurement for the bushing?

[speedymp5]

dnale I had this same problem on another car i owned, if the sound is coming from the suspension when it drops as in rebound from a speed bump or dropping into bump in the road etc... I found that my upper strut mounts had gone bad, swaped them out problem solved. Check them out

[dnale]

I'll try to look at it this weekend. I'm not sure how to tell if the top mount is shot though. With 150,000 on the car and not knowing when if ever the struts were replaced, it might be time to replace them, but I don't want to throw money at it if there isn't anything.

[ho bag]

Damm you kansei! i was hoping mine wasnt bushing but it sounds exactly like yours, Clunking on driver side floor, feel like its behind the pedals i guess. Was hoping for en endlink but i guess bushings it is.

How long does it take to swap out the bushings?

[speedymp5]

I found my problem doing a shake down. with the veh on a lift and the suspension at full droop I was able to lift the tire in a manner that felt like the upper strut nut was loose, but it wasnt. It could hardly be seen with the naked eye and barley felt but it was magnafied ten fold driving down the road. I chased this problem for years before it was located It sounded like it could be from anywhere. a motormount a crossmember loose I mean it was very noticeable when it hit bumps if I were a betting man I'd bet the farm that its those upper strutmounts especially since you look dropped and if you've ever bottomed out the struts thats real hard on the strut mounts and with that mileage thats gotta be the problem.good news is if Im right certainly someone here has a set on the cheap and theyre as easy to swap as a set of springs.

[NVP5White]

I have the clunk although it is limited to occuring on hard bumps like driveway aprons and potholes. Expansion joints, too on crappy highways, and speedbumps maybe; I never go that fast over them. The dealership siad it was probably the swaybar bushings, but I haven't looked to confirm.

This may be obvious to some, but what is the best way to test upper strut mounts? Does the car need to be off the ground?

[dnale]

I'll take a look in the classified for those mounts. I'm not dropped but that photo looks like it. I might go for a little drop if I replace struts anyhow. I'll be in there and needing an alignment, might as well go all out. I don't want to drop so much that I loose my winter driveability though. I love the P5 with my snow tires on. Although I can't wait for the better weather to put the toyo's back on and corner like mad.

[speedymp5]

nvp5 your description is dead on for the sounds you might hear and when. you probably wouldnt hear/feal it if you crept over speed bumps. All you have to do is jack the front of the car up support it on stands securely and try to move the front tire in/out up/down front/back this is a typical shakedown you should feel no movement also this doesn't mean that the struts are bad its the bearings in the upper strut mount that usually wear out. Mine didnt start going until 200,000 and I didnt find the problem until 240,000 remember it doesnt have to have very much play to be very noticeable.

[NVP5White]

nvp5 your description is dead on for the sounds you might hear and when. you probably wouldnt hear/feal it if you crept over speed bumps. All you have to do is jack the front of the car up support it on stands securely and try to move the front tire in/out up/down front/back this is a typical shakedown you should feel no movement also this doesn't mean that the struts are bad its the bearings in the upper strut mount that usually wear out. Mine didnt start going until 200,000 and I didnt find the problem until 240,000 remember it doesnt have to have very much play to be very noticeable.

Thanks for the reply. I'll have the car on jackstands when I change the oil tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find...

[BradC]

LCA Bushings

[Kansei]

LCA Bushings

there aren't any aftermarket replacements for those huh? also they're press in so you can't really do it yourself for the replacement >_<

[BradC]

there aren't any aftermarket replacements for those huh? also they're press in so you can't really do it yourself for the replacement >_<
No idea, never looked into it. I know I had a squeak over low-speed bumps and a clunk at a high-speed bump and that is what it was. It was about 2 years ago and still under warranty, so I didnt look for parts or anything, just took it in. IIRC that is what they changed, and it stopped the problem.

[dnale]

My clunk went away! I replaced the top strut mounts and the endlinks. I'm 90% sure it was the endlinks. Particularly the end on the sway bar. The link popped right off the ball on end and lots of "dust" came out of the boot. New ones on and it seems to have made the sounds go away. I did one side first and drove it and then I really noticed the other side making the same noise. I love air tools now!

[aMaff]

yep, that'd be the end links. Good job :)

[dnale]

yep, that'd be the end links. Good job :)

Thanks. I now know why everyone hated changing them out, but I think now after doing it it wouldn't be so bad. Mine, like most others, were rusted on the bottom and I couldn't get my impact wrench on it. I busted out the metabo and 5 minutes later it was out. The tops came off like a champ with the impact wrench.

[Kickin' MP5]

You might also want to check your ball joints. They can get axial play in them causing the clunking noise you hear when you hit a bump or even brake hard. Just do the shake test and look at the ball joints, if there is any side to side movement, that is your problem.