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Audible front end "clunk"


kobalt

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A noticable, singular "clunk" sound manifests itself somewhere in the front end every time I turn left onto my street from a 10-15mph roll. The search brought me to a cv joint thread but the sound does not repeat itself, so I doublt thats it. Anyone know what this could be?

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OK,

A bit more info needed. Have you tried going to a parking lot and doing some left / right turns to see if you can repeat it? It's possible it could be a ball joint.

Do you hear any clicking noises near the wheels when turning left / right? This could indicate a CV joint problem. Have someone stand outside the car as you travel by and turn.

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These types of noises are very hard to diagnose in person let alone here, there are so many things that can cause your clunk.

How are your tires wearing especially the tire on the side where the clunk comes from?

Can the clunk be reproduced going over bumps?

Do you get a clunk coming to a straight stop or taking off from a light?

Will it clunk sitting still and just turning the wheel?

Are the ball joints greased regularly?

How is the directional stability of the car on turns, meaning if you are on an exit ramp or on a turn and you hit a bump does the handling act erratic? Does the handling tend to skip and re-adjust its heading?

These items can cause a clunk; ball joint, strut mount, strut rod bushing and lower control arm bushing.

These items can cause a bump induced clunking; stabilizer bar bushings, stabilizer links, ball joint and possibly strut bar bushings.

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Intermedite steering shaft. Lots in the achives.

Rick

2001 STS Mettalic Otter Grey, Black Leather, 213,000 kilometers - miles - ? Still running strong!

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Tie-rods and intermediate steering shafts are also good possibilities, as I mentioned, this kind of problem is very difficult to diagnose here let alone in person.

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Ok gang, I took some time to observe the clunk in detail. Here are the answers to your questions:

How are your tires wearing especially the tire on the side where the clunk comes from?

The tires are new, but the old ones had pretty even wear.

Can the clunk be reproduced going over bumps?

No. I tried numerous times, the clunk is not bump related.

Do you get a clunk coming to a straight stop or taking off from a light?

No. I tried quick accleration and sudden braking, no clunk.

Will it clunk sitting still and just turning the wheel?

No. Tried this numerous times as well just to make sure.

Are the ball joints greased regularly?

No. I didn't know they could be greased on the Seville. Could you explain how exactly I sould grease them?

How is the directional stability of the car on turns, meaning if you are on an exit ramp or on a turn and you hit a bump does the handling act erratic?  Does the handling tend to skip and re-adjust its heading?

The handling seems fine but feels a bit rubbery or "isolated" from the road for the lack of the better term. Perhaps Im not used to magnasteer or such a large sedan.

I spent some time trying to find the exact method to reproduce the clunk. Perhaps some of this information could be pertinent to a more accurate diagnosis: My testing was done in a freshly-paved parking lot with no pot holes so that's ruled out as a cause. 3 out of 4 times of the time the car will clunk when coming to a semi-sharp turn (ie. side street) and taking that turn from a roll (20-25mph or so) with little or no brake use. The clunk manifests itself turning in either direction but about twice as often when turning left than right. Sometimes a secondary clunk can be heard right after the first clunk, other times the second clunk can be heard when turning the wheel back to straight. 3 out of 4 times there is no secondary clunk, however. Lost yet? Thanx for any info in advance.

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Intermedite steering shaft. Lots in the achives.

Rick

Intermidiate steering shaft. Lots in the archives.

Rick

2001 STS Mettalic Otter Grey, Black Leather, 213,000 kilometers - miles - ? Still running strong!

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I belive I have an intermediate steering shaft problem as well...Not sure at the moment weather you do or not. However my "clunk" or "click" came from the bottom of the steering console and was accompanied by what felt like a "knot" in the steering wheel. It occurs when taking right/left turns..and when bringing the wheel back to center after a turn...Also it doesn't occur all the time. I've had the problem for a number of years now...doesn't seem to get worse...doesn't seem to get better. Good luck

A.J.

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My guess would be a strut rod bushing since your tires are wearing good..
Scotty, I think that bad strut rod bushing would result in a clunk while heating a bump. For the same reason a stabilizer link should be eliminated. Sounds rather steering related problem to me.

I would also suspect the motor mounts but the car passed acceleration test...

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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No. I didn't know they could be greased on the Seville. Could you explain how exactly I sould grease them?

kobalt, you need a grease gun to grease the lower ball joint. remove the tire and you'll see a fitting right on the ball joint.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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adallak what is the acceleration test and how does aid in determining the state of the motor mounts? I've noticed that the front of the car will shake on start up....was wondering if it had something to do with the mounts...but im not sure how to test/check them...thanks

A.J.

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My guess would be a strut rod bushing since your tires are wearing good..
Scotty, I think that bad strut rod bushing would result in a clunk while heating a bump. For the same reason a stabilizer link should be eliminated. Sounds rather steering related problem to me.

I would also suspect the motor mounts but the car passed acceleration test...

A bad strut rod bushing will not necessarily cause a bump induced noise but will allow the control arm to move fore an aft especially on turns and cause a thud or clunk. It allows too much play in the lower control arm. This can be many things, and having experienced the intermediate steering shaft myself it could also be an intermediate shaft, but you feel that in the steering wheel as a bump also...

These types of problems are very hard to diagnose

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I belive I have an intermediate steering shaft problem as well...Not sure at the moment weather you do or not. However my "clunk" or "click" came from the bottom of the steering console and was accompanied by what felt like a "knot" in the steering wheel. It occurs when taking right/left turns..and when bringing the wheel back to center after a turn...Also it doesn't occur all the time. I've had the problem for a number of years now...doesn't seem to get worse...doesn't seem to get better. Good luck

Its very easy to fix, from what I understand the grease in the intermediate steering shaft dries up and needs to be replenished and the noise is gone.. I had it in a 2002 Monte Carlo.

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adallak what is the acceleration test and how does aid in determining the state of the motor mounts? I've noticed that the front of the car will shake on start up....was wondering if it had something to do with the mounts...but im not sure how to test/check them...thanks

Acllak7, you can open the hood and watch the movements of the engine while performing power braking (the brake firmly applied put the gear selector in D or R and press the gas pedal). Excessive movements (say, more than half an inch) of the engine indicate bad mounts. It is easier to watch mounts while on a hoist.

A bad strut rod bushing will not necessarily cause a bump induced noise but will allow the control arm to move fore an aft especially on turns and cause a thud or clunk. It allows too much play in the lower control arm.

Scotty, when my bushing went south a splash shield was hitting the rod every time I drove over a bump. It was kind of plastic sound clunk but pretty loud so that all the passengers told to me that something was wrong with my front end.

Nevertheless, I agree with you to many things can cause similar effect.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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I had a similiar problem with my '92 Seville...

The front stabilizer-bar bushings were bad (but looked good).

The car would make a knocking sound at slow speeds (10-20mph).

Every little hump in the street would yield a 'knock'.

Steering from side to side would also cause it to knock.

I diagnosed it by sticking a wooden shim between the bar and the crossmember.

The sound was immediatly gone.

It was a cheap fix. The bushings are only about $10 each.....

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Check this thread, KGER2 fixed his problem with new strut rod bushings, Mike

http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5152

Here was his symptoms:

groaning sound (left wheel turn only) as well as the rubber band chewing sound going over slow bumps and dips.

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