Annoying little "clunk" sound. Worn Shocks?

Rey · #1 (**permalink**) 06-09-07, 05:21 PM

Am getting a little clunk on short interval (small) bumps at city speeds. Thoght it might be the sway bar end links or sway bar itself. Checked these. They are tight. Checked other suspension fasteners, and they are also tight.

I am thinking that at 53K miles, my front shocks may be failing. No signs of leakage from them, nor is there any change in ride and handling. It is just that this sound/clunk reminds me of another car I had with old shocks and similar sound.

I have some QA1 shocks that I have had on the shelf waiting until my OEMs wear out. I think I will install the fronts and see if this eliminates the noise.

Dennisscars · #2 (**permalink**) 06-09-07, 08:10 PM

Check your sway end links mine were loose, you'll have to jack up and relieve weight otherwise you won't find it.

rand49er · #3 (**permalink**) 06-09-07, 10:05 PM

Hey, Rey (hey, that rhymes!), do you happen to have a GC kit? If so, Feffman's fix is in order.

Seattle CTS-V · #4 (**permalink**) 06-09-07, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rey

Am getting a little clunk on short interval (small) bumps at city speeds. Thoght it might be the sway bar end links or sway bar itself. Checked these. They are tight. Checked other suspension fasteners, and they are also tight.

I am thinking that at 53K miles, my front shocks may be failing. No signs of leakage from them, nor is there any change in ride and handling. It is just that this sound/clunk reminds me of another car I had with old shocks and similar sound.

I have some QA1 shocks that I have had on the shelf waiting until my OEMs wear out. I think I will install the fronts and see if this eliminates the noise.

Get those QA1 shocks on the car. You're missing out on some good times while waiting for the stockers to wear out!

Rey · #5 (**permalink**) 06-10-07, 12:17 AM

No GC kit, just Eibach sway bars. So what is "Feffman's fix"?

rand49er · #6 (**permalink**) 06-10-07, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rey

... So what is "Feffman's fix"?

It's for the "thunk" with the GC kit ... sorry, won't help you.

Edit: You know, a bunch of us had a clunk with the Hotchkis sway bars ... I wonder if you're having the same issue. If our situation, the front sway bar had drifted to one side (or the other, it didn't matter which) and was encountering the shock. The fix for that was installing collars to retain the bar in a centered position. Someone else reasoned that by taking some corners in a rather spirited fashion helped keep the bar centered, but for those of us that typically had family riding with us (who wouldn't have stood for that), we were the ones with the drifted sway bar. Hotchkis sent us all the collars, and the problem is history.

Rey · #7 (**permalink**) 06-11-07, 10:16 AM

I have Eibach sway bars, and did call Eibach tech line to see if the Eibachs need the retention collars, which both the OEM and Hotchkis have. Eibach says no collars are necessary.
My next move was to reinstall the stock OEM bar, with no change in the clunking sound.

nikon · #8 (**permalink**) 06-11-07, 11:31 AM

I never got a 'clunk' per say with the hot bars, different noise, hard to describe...the iebachs could be doing it too...it's easy to see if it's the problem, just pop a wheel off and check the shock, if it looks like the sway bar was rubbing then thats your problem...if not, it's the shocks...I know I had a bad shock that wouldn't leak when it was compressed, but up in the air it leaked...I got the same kind of clunking sound over the same type of road surface...my advice, install the new shocks and be done with it.

Seattle CTS-V · #9 (**permalink**) 06-11-07, 02:28 PM

I had a clunk when I first got the car that was really only noticable going over small bumps in parking lots. After about 4 days at the dealer, they finally figured out that it was a loose bolt on the tranny.

98CaddyDaddy · #10 (**permalink**) 08-26-07, 03:18 AM

I have the 'clunk' too, and the alignment guy i use said the sway bar links was causing it. You might want to check your tie rod ends too, mine are bad and causing the front tires to shake at 60+ mph.

Rey · #11 (**permalink**) 08-26-07, 11:21 AM

Found the "clunk" - it was the left front shock. When these oem gas shocks fail they usually leak oil, which is easy to check. The leak will not be enough to show on your garage floor, but the leaking shock will look different from the others being covered with greasy grime. I replaced both front shocks, and checked every suspension fastener. All were very tight, except the bottom shock bolts, which were not exactly "loose", but not tightly torqued. I used Loctitie "Blue" on all shock fasteners.