Clunking noise at low speeds

[Ozone302]

Hey everybody, new to the forum. I have a 92 eagle talon awd that makes a loud clunking noise at low speeds from the passenger side front wheel area mostly under 10mph. I also noticed the front of the car literally "bounces". It only happens when going under 10mph and it's very annoying. The noise goes away after i start going faster. When im driving at say 45mph the steering wheel shakes bad which i know is not from wheel balance. When i hit a bump i can feel a clunk in the floor by my feet too. Also when I reverse it sounds like the breaks or something squeels but only in reverse. The car is drivable but I do not feel safe driving it like this. I'm thinking it's possibly a wheel bearing or spindle? It's not a clicking noise that a bad cv makes. It's a deep kinda loud clunk and is clearly coming from the passenger side. I will appreciate any input you guys have on this. Thanks!

 

[miguelmcv]

Lift up the car, and check for movement at the wheels bearing, that's the only way to find out if you bearings are toast.

 

[Ozone302]

Also, the car has a new clutch, slave, and master cylinder but the tranny only goes into gear when I push the pedal all the way to the floor. Is there a way to adjust the pedal so I won't have to push it to the floor all the time? It shifts great but it's just a pain because if I don't push it all the way down it will grind.

 

[awzer2]

could be the ball joint.. they were recalled. if it does happen to be that,hit up mitsubishi they should replace the part.

 

[Ozone302]

Lift up the car, and check for movement at the wheels bearing, that's the only way to find out if you bearings are toast.

Yeah I was gonna do that tomorrow. Just wanted to see if anyone had ideas beforehand. Does it sound like it would be the bearing though? I am not a drivetrain/suspension guy at all and am new to dsm's.

 

[Ozone302]

could be the ball joint.. they were recalled. if it does happen to be that,hit up mitsubishi they should replace the part.

Ok thanks. I'll check it out. I've just never had an issue with the car literally raising and lowering like this. Feels like the wheel is oval shaped but it has new tires.

 

[awzer2]

Ok thanks. I'll check it out. I've just never had an issue with the car literally raising and lowering like this. Feels like the wheel is oval shaped but it has new tires.

that is a clear distinct symptom of a bent or worn ball joint.
Did you run into any curbs?

 

[Ozone302]

that is a clear distinct symptom of a bent or worn ball joint.
Did you run into any curbs?

No I just bought the car. Are ball joints fairly easy to do with simple hand tools? I wanna do it myself. I'm very mechanically inclined.

 

[Ozone302]

Also, was there a recall on 1g cars for the ball joints? Or just 2g cars? Sure would be cool if I could get it fixed for free. Gonna take a look tomorrow though to see if it's the ball joints for sure.

 

[awzer2]

No I just bought the car. Are ball joints fairly easy to do with simple hand tools? I wanna do it myself. I'm very mechanically inclined.

i did it to my gsx 2 months ago and yeah just handtools and a cheater bar. take a look at the joint first if you can.

 

[Ozone302]

i did it to my gsx 2 months ago and yeah just handtools and a cheater bar. take a look at the joint first if you can.

Oh yeah I'm gonna inspect everything first. But I'm thinking its probably the ball joint. I'm gonna try to change both of them if it's the problem so I won't have to worry.

But does the recall affect 1g cars?

 

[awzer2]

Oh yeah I'm gonna inspect everything first. But I'm thinking its probably the ball joint. I'm gonna try to change both of them if it's the problem so I won't have to worry.

But does the recall affect 1g cars?

oh i didnt notice you had a 1g. i don't believe so.
even then, it's only a 10-15 dollar part. i went and found one at oreily's auto.
does your entire front end shake till around 60 mph?

 

[Ozone302]

oh i didnt notice you had a 1g. i don't believe so.
even then, it's only a 10-15 dollar part. i went and found one at oreily's auto.
does your entire front end shake till around 60 mph?

Yeah it's a 92. Honestly I haven't paid too much attention to it because I've just been having a blast driving this car. It's so fun. But I know at very slow speeds around 5 mph it feels like the wheel is oval shaped and the whole front of the car goes up and down and makes a clunk noise once every time the wheel makes a full rotation. Then when I'm cruising at 45 and more, the steering wheel vibrates very bad. And when I hit bumps at any speed I can hear and feel a clunk almost right under my feet.

 

[awzer2]

Yeah it's a 92. Honestly I haven't paid too much attention to it because I've just been having a blast driving this car. It's so fun. But I know at very slow speeds around 5 mph it feels like the wheel is oval shaped and the whole front of the car goes up and down and makes a clunk noise once every time the wheel makes a full rotation. Then when I'm cruising at 45 and more, the steering wheel vibrates very bad. And when I hit bumps at any speed I can hear and feel a clunk almost right under my feet.

I feel ya on that one. Yeah get that checked man,because the more you run it like the way you are right now,you're bound to run into way more suspension issues.
let us know what it looks like down there.

 

[Ozone302]

I feel ya on that one. Yeah get that checked man,because the more you run it like the way you are right now,you're bound to run into way more suspension issues.
let us know what it looks like down there.

Definitely, I will. One question for you though.. You said you got ball joints for $10-$15, but I just checked on O'rielly's website and the cheapest one is $28 each. Are you talking about tie rod ends? Because those are $12. Just making sure. I would like to take it somewhere to have it professionally looked at because I suck at drivetrain diagnosing. I know to jack it up and check for wheel play though and I can tell if something is broken. But if I can't figure it out I might have to take it to a shop for a diagnosis. But thanks for your help man I really appreciate it. I'll have an update tomorrow after I check it out.

 

[awzer2]

Definitely, I will. One question for you though.. You said you got ball joints for $10-$15, but I just checked on O'rielly's website and the cheapest one is $28 each. Are you talking about tie rod ends? Because those are $12. Just making sure. I would like to take it somewhere to have it professionally looked at because I suck at drivetrain diagnosing. I know to jack it up and check for wheel play though and I can tell if something is broken. But if I can't figure it out I might have to take it to a shop for a diagnosis. But thanks for your help man I really appreciate it. I'll have an update tomorrow after I check it out.

Maybe possibly they went up in price or I was mistaken.
Either way they aren't too much . Check autozone also.

 

[Ozone302]

Could a bad strut cause this? I checked the car and everything underneath looks good with no play in any wheels. But the passenger front strut is like spewing fluid pretty much. That's all I could find. It's really weird. Although I figured it was bad from the harshness of ping over bumps. But would this cause the problem I'm having? Wheel doesn't look bent either. I'm stumped besides the strut.

 

[miguelmcv]

Yes, It can be the strut, If there is no bump stop in the strut, It will feel kind of bad.
I had a strut with out a bump stop and I can feel hitting, It only does it when a really bad bump, But that's because my strut was in good conditions.
I think is time to change them which they are all wet (leaking).

 

[Ozone302]

I'm just wondering if it would cause my clunking and flat tire feeling at low speeds?

 

[1995gstdsm]

Im experiencing the same problem, just put a new passenger side axle seal in my '93 TSI awd and when i put everything back together im getting a 'clunking' noise above 15mph and clunks when turning the wheel. I replaced my tie rod ends and sway bar links also, but they are tight with no play in them. And the wheel has no play either, i checked that because i was assuming wheel bearing. Just frustrating because sound wasnt there before i fixed the seal , i dunno

 

[faulkner]

Anyone resolve the problem??

 

[mercaholik]

To the op, you should actually check the rim and tire for out of round. Bring it to be balanced and they should be able to tell you. I see you say it's not a balance issue, is that cause you went to have them balanced? I bent a rim on my 1g and it bounced like that.