Front suspension rattles? - Page 2

97EldoCoupe · #16 (**permalink**) 01-27-09, 11:08 AM

My Eldo is developing the same symptoms. Checked it out on a trip and I believe it is the strut mount. It has new shafts on both sides. When i take it out of winter storage I'll get it fixed because that rattle IS annoying.

jbrown93etc · #17 (**permalink**) 01-28-09, 08:54 PM

Same problem here, but I've had it for a couple of years. I know it needs struts but they're not causing that noise. I figured it was the mount. Pictures of the repair and step by step instructions would be much appreciated.

Mrmackey · #18 (**permalink**) 02-04-09, 05:19 PM

Haven't posted for a long time but i feel like i really need to do this now. Last spring car kinda started to make clunking noise and it came from the front of the passengers side. So i took it to the shop and they said that the strut mount was bad. Changed it, nothing...sound is still there, it kinda occured when driving on rough pavement. Not very loud clunking but it was still really annoying. Went back to the shop and after a while they informed me that the problem should be bad strut. since the car had about 72K miles on it i thought what the hell...it's possible so in october the original one was replaced with Monroe's 40022. ABSOLUTELY nothing sound's still there. Checked Alldata for TSB-s, found the one that sugested replacements for Front Spring Seat and Upper Insulator. Had those replaced. NOTHING. SOund is still there and now it's really annoying. It's really audible when car is cold (lower temperature- stronger noise) in really slow speeds and when turning (but not only) and it kinda goes quieter with driving. So took it back to the shop yesterday, guys checked everything and the outcome is that the noise comes from the Monroe strut that is 5 MONTHS OLD!!!!! i mean is it even possible? that you buy a new strut for 450USD and it's bad after 5 months? kinda hard to believe...and btw it's not the intermediate shaft thing, had them replaced twice since 2003 when i bought that damn car. so is there any ideas....CV joint? something else? because it's really hard for me to believe in this strut thing....i've had 5 american cars (believe me having them in europe isn't easy) Olds 98 Regency, Caddy Fleetwood, Taurus, Thunderbird and this STS and none of those first 4 have had half of the problems that this damn STS has...still got this damn 60mph shaking etc....and the car has just 76K miles..... "standard of the world" my a**

egheorghe · #19 (**permalink**) 02-05-09, 11:59 AM

I think it does sound like bad CV joint. Struts can't get ruined so fast. I would change the shop!!!

Mrmackey · #20 (**permalink**) 02-05-09, 04:49 PM

got my car back from shop. nothing, noise still there and they said that there's nothing wrong with the CV joint, drove to the federal inspection point got second opinion from them...they said that yes when you rattle front axle on their shock absorber testing machine it kinda feels that the new shock has a little empty space there...but at the same time they tried the CV joint and seems like there is also a little clunk so...tomorrow will go to have another 2 opinions from different places and then we'll see what comes out of it...but frustration is....HUGE

Mrmackey · #21 (**permalink**) 02-06-09, 06:14 PM

moment of truth. went to the shop today who specializes on Monroes, they took the shock absorber out and yeahh there was pretty huge void when you yank it up and down...they even gave me completely new strut to compare and the difference was pretty noticeable so seems like this damn shock absober is still the reason for this clunking. 5 months old, maybe 2000 miles max.....damn.

N*Caddy · #22 (**permalink**) 02-06-09, 07:33 PM

Changed everything on the suspension, stating with the least expensive parts: bushings, strut mounts, rack and pinion (wait that’s not suspension) until finally I changed the struts. No more noise ever since but I went OEM.

egheorghe · #23 (**permalink**) 03-26-09, 07:28 PM

I finally decided to try to fix the rattle noise on the front end. I will start with lower ball joint and this weekend I want to replace it.
In the service manual doesn’t say anything about using any kind of grease for new ball joints, but it sounds logic to probably use bearing grease as the joint is dry right now. My question is when to grease the joint? before installing or after everything is in its place and all the nuts tighten and the car lowered?
Have you guys seen on the forum any instructions, preferably with pictures, of how to replace ball joint? Do I need to loosen the hub nut or there’s no need to touch it? I will try to take pictures as I go but I don’t want to start without being sure i know what I’m doing.
Thanks

Necrosan · #24 (**permalink**) 03-27-09, 12:12 AM

I think the noise is coming from the struts themselves, as N*Caddy said.
Check how old your current ones are if you have the rattle over bumps.

finerwoodworking · #25 (**permalink**) 03-27-09, 08:31 PM

Hey,
Here is an update on the rattle on the right front end on my car. I had a bearing going out on that side so I changed the hub bearing and while I was in they’re I changed the outer tie rod as well. It quieted it down some but the rattle is still there. The next job is to change the strut-bearing top. I think that it is the strut, with the Magna ride, but I want to make sure before I change that out. Its $ 750 min to replace that one, with some assembly required.

egheorghe · #26 (**permalink**) 03-28-09, 11:05 PM

Updates on my project.
Today was a bad day. Everything went wrong starting with taking the tire out: I broke a torque wrench, but that’s nothing. I tried to remove the lower ball joint without using a ball joint separator. After an hour of swearing and sweating (the temperature was only 40)I figured out I can’t do much without a tool or a pretty big pry bar – the pry bar I used was too small and I couldn’t put enough pressure on the arm control . Therefore, I went to Sears and bought a separator fork that worked ok, but I was looking for a different tool (OTC Tools 6297)that would’ve been perfect. Anyhow, trying to pry apart the ball joint I over extended the CV Joint and came out from the inner joint. I figured out today was not my day and I just stopped. Tomorrow I have to drill out the ball joint, put the CV joint back in its place and hopefully put everything back together. So far this has been a PITA. I wonder how much a shop charges to change the ball joint.

egheorghe · #27 (**permalink**) 03-30-09, 02:05 AM

i changed the ball joint

i wouldn't do it again! The noise is still there

finerwoodworking · #28 (**permalink**) 03-30-09, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by egheorghe

i changed the ball joint

i wouldn't do it again! The noise is still there

That sucks, did you take a look at the outer tie rod and hows your bearing?

egheorghe · #29 (**permalink**) 03-30-09, 11:57 AM

Quote:

That sucks, did you take a look at the outer tie rod and hows your bearing?

That sucks indeed! The strange thing is that i can't reproduce the noise when i jerk the tire from 12/6 position, actually i can't feel any play in it, so i guess the bearing is ok - that was not a sign of a worn ball joint either, but...
It might be the tie rod, when i steer i can hear a play probably on the tie rod, but it doesn't look bad. How can i check the strut? oo, just in case .. .. it makes i lot of noise when i drive over small bumps and it sounds like something is loose. ???? any other suggestions?
Thanks

egheorghe · #30 (**permalink**) 03-30-09, 12:00 PM

I'll go for tie rod next. I hope it wont be that bad to replace it. It doesn't look too difficult, is it? I'll inspect it closely first.