Soliciting oppopinions: car related!

Kinja'd!!! by "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
Published 04/20/2017 at 23:25

Tags: That one car I own with the wheels? And the doors?
STARS: 0


Which of these many components is the most likely culprit of my severe clunking? It sounds like crashing into a curb when I go over small bumps, as an example.

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Thanks.


Replies (30)

Kinja'd!!! "InFierority Complex" (lanciere)
04/20/2017 at 23:28, STARS: 1

It might be that hand. Pretty sure those aren’t supposed to be there.

Kinja'd!!! "TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
04/20/2017 at 23:28, STARS: 0

The doohickey.

Kinja'd!!! "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
04/20/2017 at 23:29, STARS: 0

DAMMIT HAROLD

Kinja'd!!! "Nibby" (nibby68)
04/20/2017 at 23:29, STARS: 0

did you ask your car for permission to post pictures of its gonads online

Kinja'd!!! "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
04/20/2017 at 23:30, STARS: 5

Did you just assume my car’s gender?

Kinja'd!!! "HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
04/20/2017 at 23:30, STARS: 5

its my experience that small bump clunk is typically sway bar related.

Kinja'd!!! "JGrabowMSt" (jgrabowmst)
04/20/2017 at 23:32, STARS: 5

Ball joints look bad, but usually sway bar links make a lot more noise when bad.

Kinja'd!!! "Nibby" (nibby68)
04/20/2017 at 23:34, STARS: 1

I purposely did not use any pronouns to avoid such a thing!

Kinja'd!!! "TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
04/20/2017 at 23:35, STARS: 0

I’m triggered on behalf of all Tercels.

Kinja'd!!! "Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
04/20/2017 at 23:35, STARS: 0

Check your deltoids and your Z-joints. Also it’s probably that rusty rotor.

Kinja'd!!! "TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
04/20/2017 at 23:36, STARS: 0

“Bump clunk”

Kinja'd!!! "HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
04/20/2017 at 23:39, STARS: 1

its an engineering term.

Kinja'd!!! "TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
04/20/2017 at 23:42, STARS: 0

( °  °)

Kinja'd!!! "JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2)
04/20/2017 at 23:55, STARS: 2

sway-bar link is the noise maker, but you should fix those ball-joints (to include the tie-rod ends)... Like, soon.

Kinja'd!!! "gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
04/21/2017 at 00:03, STARS: 3

I know it’s probably more than you want to spend, it’s definitely more than I’d want to spend, but you may as well replace everything in the suspension that you haven’t already.....

Kinja'd!!! "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
04/21/2017 at 00:04, STARS: 1

I knew what I was getting into. I made mah commitmentz

Kinja'd!!! "gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
04/21/2017 at 00:06, STARS: 0

My Blazer was very much at that point when I sold it. Although, I get the impression that they basically came like that.

Kinja'd!!! "BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich)
04/21/2017 at 00:22, STARS: 0

Sway bar or lower control arm bushings.

Kinja'd!!! "shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
04/21/2017 at 00:31, STARS: 0

Yeah, they pretty much did. I lhave be the S-series trucks, but the front end components were a serious weak spot of them.

Kinja'd!!! "gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
04/21/2017 at 00:35, STARS: 1

Both my front wheels had like 1.5" of play side to side from the ball joints, and my mechanic said “yeah that’s within factory spec, apparently.”

If I ever get another one, which is likely because now I’m sentimentally attached to them, I’ll have to do something about that.... 

Kinja'd!!! "unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)" (unclevanos)
04/21/2017 at 00:40, STARS: 1

If the rear rattles like a paint shaker over any speed bump, its the exhaust hanger or a lose exhaust shield. Also sway bar links in the rear. Front only crashing noise is the sway bar links like every oppo has pointed out. If your car makes a popping noise at low speed turns its the thrust/control arm.

Source: old ass BMW with a sensitive and fragile suspension also still rattles in the rear since I am a cheapskate.

Kinja'd!!! "unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)" (unclevanos)
04/21/2017 at 00:40, STARS: 0

General Motors would like to hire you as the lead project engineer.

Kinja'd!!! "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/21/2017 at 00:49, STARS: 1

This ball joint(?) looks pretty well torn.

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Kinja'd!!! "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
04/21/2017 at 00:50, STARS: 0

Yeah no bueno for sure. But that’s just “imminently dangerous.” I was trying to pinpoint the clunking.

[Reminder: this car is on jack stands in my garage and not being driven]

Kinja'd!!! "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/21/2017 at 00:52, STARS: 2

I just assumed that the piece that looks the most broken is the most likely source of noise.

Kinja'd!!! "Khalbali" (khalbali2)
04/21/2017 at 01:31, STARS: 0

Ball joint will making popping noise under load like a sharp turn or something, bump clunk is generally sway bar links as other have said, but could be strut mount/bearing or the like.

Kinja'd!!! "RPM esq." (rpm3)
04/21/2017 at 01:44, STARS: 0

I vote for the ball-joint-y thing if only because it’s obviously trashed and I’ve had a torn one before that was very loudly creaking and clunking. And that one looks sufficiently trashed that everything could be running into everything else (yes, I have been drinking).

On the other hand, I also once had front control arms that looked very tidy that were clicking and clacking all over the place and took me forever and replacing many other things to figure out, so what do I know (NOT BLOODY MUCH).

Kinja'd!!! "RPM esq." (rpm3)
04/21/2017 at 01:45, STARS: 0

Also once a shock in a very stiff suspension setup was installed (NOT BY ME) upside down, which clunked like a motherfucker. Took me a while to figure that one out too. It trashed the mount, which is what I noticed first. I am not a smart person. The proof is that I’m still not sure how it’s possible to install a shock upside down, but at least I’m smart enough that I’ve never taken a car to that shop again.

Kinja'd!!! "BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
04/21/2017 at 04:36, STARS: 0

From the pictures I’d say the tie rod ball joint, but that ball joint doesn’t tend to produce horrible clunking sounds when it goes (although it will pretty much certainly cause that wheel to wander as you’re driving along).

If it’s just the one side causing horrible crashing I’d say check the anti-roll bar bushes and drop links (the balljoints of which can produce horrible clunking). You might not be able to tell from pictures either. Crowbar in there to wiggle it around is good, although the drop link balljoint would probably only be immediately obvious if you take it off and wiggle it around.

Kinja'd!!! "MyJeepGetsStuckInTheSnow" (myjeepgetsstuckinthesnow)
04/21/2017 at 06:16, STARS: 0

I’m voting “all the above”.