Clunk from front over bumps or hitting gas

[Dragoon GST]

Okay so I have been searching the forums and reading for over a month and finally decided it would be okay for me to post this. I have a clunk sound coming from the front end of the car and nor myself or 3 other different mechanics can figure out where. It sounds like it is coming from the suspension because at first it would only happen when I hit a bump, and only on the side that hits the bump. NOW however it has gotten more common and also does it when giving it gas (while releasing the clutch) in first gear, second gear (more prominent), and sometimes third but not often.

I have replaced my drivers motor mount and checked the entire bottom of the car. The only thing that seemed even remotely loose that I saw were the sway bar bushings so I replaced those too. I'm stuck and I hate feeling like my car is gonna fall apart on me.

Any ideas?

Okay so from what I can tell it is definitely primarily on the right side. I can feel it in the gas pedal usually, but it is for sure more on that side.

 

[bald_eagle]

Ball joints or tie rods maybe?

 

[1992awdlaser]

Sounds like the swaybar end links since it does it both over bumps and when hitting the gas.

 

[tbonitz301]

How many miles are on the car? Could be a wheel bearing, tie rod, ball joint, lateral arm bushings wore out, swaybar links. I could go on but ill stop there. I just had the same problem, and i ended up replacing both lateral arms w/ball joints obviously, and the outer tie rods.Good luck

 

[PIMking]

check to make sure that the brake pads are not flapping around. mine do that.

 

[Dragoon GST]

The car has 103,000 on it and I thought the mechanic checked the sway bar end links... maybe he just checked the bushings and said to replace them. Is there a special way to check them or do i just get the car on some jackstands and check for play? I don't know if I can describe it a way that would help narrow it down since it could be a million things. It really does clunk bad... like if i hit a badly paved spot on the road that is bumpy it sounds like my car is just going to fall apart.

 

[1992awdlaser]

The car has 103,000 on it and I thought the mechanic checked the sway bar end links... maybe he just checked the bushings and said to replace them. Is there a special way to check them or do i just get the car on some jackstands and check for play? I don't know if I can describe it a way that would help narrow it down since it could be a million things. It really does clunk bad... like if i hit a badly paved spot on the road that is bumpy it sounds like my car is just going to fall apart.

From my experiance as a mechanic, it sounds like your swaybar end links. Of course there are other things that it could be. But most of the time these symptoms you are describing are due to bad end links. To check them just get the car in the air. Push up and pull down on the swaybar near the end link (not in the middle of the bar). Do this at a good speed. Don't go up and then a second later go down. Do it like you are trying to shake it loose. You will feel play in them if they are loose. Some end links take quite a bit of pressure to show play. So don't just push on it slightly.

 

[Dragoon GST]

Okay ill get by the mechanics and tell him what all ive heard here and get him to check everything. I will definitely post back once I have heard something.

Just curious though as to why hitting the gas would cause the clunk if its coming from the sway bar end links? Forgive my ignorance as Im learning...

 

[1992awdlaser]

Okay ill get by the mechanics and tell him what all ive heard here and get him to check everything. I will definitely post back once I have heard something.

Just curious though as to why hitting the gas would cause the clunk if its coming from the sway bar end links? Forgive my ignorance as Im learning...

When the front end lifts it changes the pressure on the end link. The end link is hooked up to the lower control arm and that will pivot when the front end starts to lift. It's much easier for me to explain if we were in front of a car so I could show exactly what I mean. This will give you an idea of what happens though.

 

[Dragoon GST]

Oh okay I get it. Well thanks for your help ill report back once i get it to the mechanic.

Okay I don't have a lift so I took the car to my mechanic to check everything that was listed here. Out of all these posts and everything that everyone said to look at all of it checked out and was fine. No play at all. My mechanic actually said he had checked all this stuff initially too but I told him to do it again just because of the feedback here. Is there anything at all that it could be? My mechanic said that the car is definitely safe to drive and that everything is tight but ill just have to deal with the annoying sound.

Any more ideas?

 

[Splitpi]

It really sounds like lower control arm ball joints to me... either the straight one or the S shaped one.

 

[rodent]

Your mechanic is missing something. I'd try another shop and tell them to check the sway bar bushings. Mine was doing the same thing and it was those bushings.

 

[Dragoon GST]

Your mechanic is missing something. I'd try another shop and tell them to check the sway bar bushings. Mine was doing the same thing and it was those bushings.

I actually had them replace the front sway bar bushings because those were actually the only thing on the car with play. The never ending saga! STILL CLUNKING! I'll get another shop to check it out completely before I sell the damn thing...

 

[Dragoon GST]

Oh and I forgot to mention that it has gotten worse. Maybe this will help someone diagnose this: Now just about every time I shift it clunks. From first to second, second to third, sometimes third to fourth, and rarely if ever in fourth to fifth. The lower the gear the more "clunky" it sounds. I have checked all the motor mounts for sure and the tranny mount.

So basically you have a clunk over bumps on whichever side hits the bump (i.e. hit a manhole cover on the left tire and hear a CLUNK from the left front side of the car), and now a clunk in each gear shift (which it seems like it is right next to my right foot on the other side of the firewall). I drive a clunker.

 

[SpawnedX]

Question, is this clunk more prevalent at times coming from a complete stop or coming to a complete stop?

 

[Dragoon GST]

Definitely from, in fact it never does when coming to a stop.

 

[SpawnedX]

Check your motor mounts?

Also, if you have the means check for play in your crank. I have run across a few people with a similar issue on multiple type of cars where the thrust bearings were worn and the crank was just sliding back and forth on acceleration from a dead stop and upon coming to a dead stop.

 

[Dragoon GST]

Would it also make the clunk just by going over bumps? Its not just accelerating, but even when coasting in neutral if I hit a bump it will clunk. I have checked all motor mounts and the only one that looked semi-bad I went ahead and replaced just to make sure. Still didnt work.

 

[SpawnedX]

It could clunk with a bump, anything that can put excessive stress on the motor would cause it to clunk. The reason it could happen more with shifting is because when you clutch out the clutch plate is applying pressure on the crank which could shift it. Bumps will shift it just from the motion alone.

However, you aren't receiving the clunk when coming to a dead stop, so we may want to check all the suspension suggestions first before we examine the crank. It's just a possibility that can explain a mystery clunk.