A couple of months ago I posted about a weird phenomenon occurring with my car. Since it occurred again last weekend I thought I'd post an update. My car runs perfectly when limited to shorter trips, say under 30 miles or so. But once in a while when I take a longer run like I did last weekend (approximately 40 miles), a knocking/rattle develops that sounds like a loose suspension joint under the passenger side of the car. It is hard to tell if it is towards the rear or the front, but is most noticeable when driving slowly, say 10-20 mph (when road noise is not sufficient to mask it). On top of that, a groaning sound becomes evident in the front right strut when turning the wheel (including while stationary). When I put my finger on the top of the strut in trunk and had someone turn the steering wheel, it felt like what a metal rod turning inside a rubber clamping device would feel like. But if you leave the car overnight, there are none of these symptoms the next day unless I take a long enough drive.

On Monday I drove it sufficiently to get the noise back, then dropped into my local shop that installed the Damptronics last spring (about 10k miles ago) so they could hear the noises. I'm leaving the car with them when I leave town tomorrow for the weekend, so they can take a look and fix whatever is wrong. The mechanic thought it might be a sway bar bushing. I'm hoping it will be obvious when they get it on the hoist and look at everything. But just in case it isn't obvious, I'd appreciate any info or opinions some of you may have from any similar experiences. I'll provide updated info about whatever the shop finds later this week or early next week.

 

Maybe try this?

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...fixed-diy.html

 

I saw that article last month. I don't think my rattle is the same issue as the OP's "clunking". Also, there seems to be some dispute as to whether this modification is necessary if the struts are correctly installed. But I will keep it in mind if all else fails. Thanks.

 

Sorry, I noticed you had seen the thread after I posted.

 

I have not experienced any knocking on longer drives with my Damptronics as of yet. I only get the "spring binding" sound when backing out of my driveway at slow speeds.

It's funny how it seems that all the noises come from the front passenger strut.

Let us know what they find.

 

Update: I left my car with the shop last week. They put the car on the hoist and checked everything and couldn't find anything that might be causing the noise (no loose connections, bushings, etc.). They then took it for a 50 mile drive and couldn't get the noise to come back. So I'm picking it up tonight. Next time the noise shows up I hope to be able to get into the shop so they can have another look while it is acting up. I hate these intermittent hard-to-diagnose issues.

 

did they CLOSELY check the front drop link/sway connection? the bolt needs to be "stupid tight". even if you cant feel any play or looseness by hand, it def needs to be torqued.

i also had a knocking while going over uneven pavement or bumps. TWO guys - one certified mechanic, another a DIY track junkie - missed the diagnosis. granted we were at the track and had limited resources and time but...they definitely checked those bolts and missed the problem because, albeit snug, they werent TIGHT. took me 2hrs to narrow it down when i got home.

 

My mechanic said that was the first thing he checked, as he suspected it might be the cause. He checked all the torque settings and found nothing amiss. Thanks for the input. Any chance you could point out where the specific bolt is located in case I encounter this problem again? (It only shows up after extended drives, so seems to be heat related).

 

i'm horrible at describing sounds and even worse at describing how something looks. your best bet is just to google search drop links/sways or something and find a pic. basically it's the bolt that holds the bottom of the drop link to the end of the sway bar. this connection is low and close to the inner wheel well.

 

btw, i believe i also had the other sound you describe above, "like what a metal rod turning inside a rubber clamping device", but this was before i had damptronics. the cause was the OEM upper strut mounts and was fixed under warranty couple yrs ago.

 

Thanks. The mechanic apparently checked everything, including the mounts, and found nothing. I'm just going to have to wait until it shows up again. It may be a faulty strut, as I purchased the set used (about 5000 miles) from a member in Chicago. My mechanic noticed when he installed them that there was evidence of some salt corrosion at that time.