Front Strut 'clunk'

1995CadillacSTS · #1 (**permalink**) 04-26-05, 01:24 AM

Hello all..,

I've got a case of the proverbial "Front Strut Clunk" on a '95 STS-N*.

Can anyone tell me if they've experienced similar troubles with their suspension ?

I'm kinda thinking it's the 'upper strut bushing that's worn, but then again, it could be failed hydraulics as well.., don't know for sure.

I look forward to any/all remarks towards a fix on this.

Thanks in advance,
Dale
1995 Cadillac-STS N*

Krashed989 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-26-05, 04:04 AM

Check out your sway bar end links to see if they aren't whats causing the clunk. If your struts are bad they will cause a clunk. and if your tie rod ends are becoming worn they will cause a clunk. Its usually one of these three that cause the noise.

swimmster · #3 (**permalink**) 04-26-05, 11:26 PM

94 eldorado with the same mysterious "clunking".. I've had my car to FOUR different shops.. the last one was recommended by the previous 2 shops.. this poor mechanic spent 3 1/2 HOURS trying to find ANYTHING loose on the front of my car to no avail.. So.. if you have ANY thoughts, lemme know. I have a minor alignment problem and a REALLY bad rattle/clunk over bumps. I've put brakes on the car and believe me.. I checked EVERYTHING I could get my hands on. mine is for sure not the swaybar end links. I got a HUGE list of what it's NOT... lol.

Let me know what you find out PLEASE.... I got the same request from the last mechanic who worked on it too.. gave me his home number to leave a msg.

Thanks in advance!!
Jamie

Krashed989 · #4 (**permalink**) 04-27-05, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmster

mine is for sure not the swaybar end links. I got a HUGE list of what it's NOT... lol.

Let me know what you find out PLEASE.... I got the same request from the last mechanic who worked on it too.. gave me his home number to leave a msg.

Thanks in advance!!
Jamie

Are you sure about that? If the wheel is turned just the slightest bit to one side, it puts load on the sway bar which makes it very hard to tell if its going bad. Sometimes it helps to get under there with a rubber malet and whack various things to see if they make noise. You have to make sure that you don't kill what your whacking though, lol.

1995CadillacSTS · #5 (**permalink**) 04-27-05, 04:35 PM

Hi guys,

You know what Krashed989, I've personally checked everything under the car possible, and not unlike 'swimmster' I've taken it into a couple of (hmmm) 'professional' caddy dealerships that simply cannot locate the source. They've all suggested re&re on various parts, but as we all know, that's just a scam to to take your hard-earned monies.

The only area that hasn't been specifically eliminated is the 'upper strut bushing caps'. Now, I've been into my jobber parts supplier(s) who have been kind enough to give the exploded diagrams of the strut units and they've shown me where these bushing caps are, and they've explained to me that they frequently sell them (at least for my '95 STS) for this model of strut.

Apparently they harden prematurely and in the process they compress and this is what is supposedly causing the noise.

Like I said in my post, when ever the car is going over any kind of irregularity in the road surface, it 'CLUNKS', and I'm sure it's coming from the 'upper tower' 'inner fender' area, but without actually laying on the hood (or under it . LOL) to listen, I can't be exactly certain that's the location.

Whenever I'm HiWay driving, thiese 'clunks' don't occur, I'm guessing it's because the RSS is loading the struts and taking up the slack, but otherwise at normal in-city driving, it's driving me crazy...

Can either of you guys tell me how much these struts job out at in your parts of the country ? Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and replace them.

Well, thanks for your 'bits guys, sure hope we can figure this out...

Dale.

1995CadillacSTS · #6 (**permalink**) 05-05-05, 03:00 AM

Okay, I'm really getting annoyed with this thing. Short of replacing the whole front sub-frame, has anyone got a fix for this ?

gevange · #7 (**permalink**) 05-05-05, 09:19 AM

I could not find my clunk so after reading this forum I just changed the sway bar linls and the noise went away. Hope this helps. George

iametarq · #8 (**permalink**) 05-05-05, 10:15 AM

what does the sway bar look like? I am not familiar with them. Would they also be called "Sway Bars" in the FSM? Anyone have a picture?

iametarq · #9 (**permalink**) 05-05-05, 10:26 AM

what does the sway bar look like? I am not familiar with them. Would they also be called "Sway Bars" in the FSM? Anyone have a picture?

iametarq · #10 (**permalink**) 05-05-05, 10:28 AM

doh... double post.

JC316 · #11 (**permalink**) 05-05-05, 03:26 PM

They are called stablizer links in FSM. I am currently hunting the CLUNK also. I have replaced the sway bar links and the clunk is 70% better, but it is still there. Next I am going to look at the sway bar bushings themselves. I do not believe the strut is to blame here, because when just bouncing up and down it dosen't make the noise.

Krashed989 · #12 (**permalink**) 05-05-05, 03:50 PM

The sway bar, also called the stabilizer bar, is connected to the side of the strut itself. Then it goes down underneath the engine parallel with a frame crossmember, then back up to the strut on the other side. Its usually the upper bushings on the end links that go bad (where it connects into the strut).

This is supposed to look like the sway bar in between the struts, lol. Don't mind the dots.

.l............l.
[]\_____/[]

Hope this helps.

lathe2nd · #13 (**permalink**) 05-06-05, 01:00 AM

question for Krashed:
you had mentioned a while back in a reply to one of my posts that there are actually screw in the struts where it may be possible to refill them - you also added that you wouldn't attempt it... i may give it a try for a temporary fix... any info on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
(we had the struts rebuilt in a plane once and they were a little to firm, so we had to release some of the fluid to soften them up a bit,they've been working great, so i assume it may be possible to buy some time in the old struts) You can email me at roof_doc@yahoo.com so we don't go off topic here
Thanks,
Larry

NoFear365@yahoo.com · #14 (**permalink**) 05-06-05, 09:46 AM

OK, just came back from the dealership yesterday for the infamous mystery front suspension CLUNK! Well, I had 2 broken stabilizer bar links, & 1 broken strut mount. I replaced both links and both mounts. He showed me that my passenger side strut is on it's way out. It collapses on it's own weight. Though my car does ride nicer now with the new mounts and links, the noise is still there.

They want over $800 for each strut upfront and one of my shocks out back are leaking as well. F! THAT! I'm not paying over 2 grand for struts, shocks, and installation!

Looks like I'm calling strutmasters today and buying their $500 kit. I need to do a little more homework on them first though.

P.S. You don't even want to know what yesterdays affair cost me!!!

JC316 · #15 (**permalink**) 05-06-05, 02:03 PM

The stealer is shit nuts when it comes to strut prices. I paid $65 a piece on the links, which pisses me off royally, just to stop the damn clunk.