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Okay, I'm sure you guys might be tired of seeing posts like this, but I will be as specific as possible. First things first, my name is Amol and I am new to this forum. I am not new to working on cars however. I used to be a mechanic working at a BMW specialty shop and currently own a 1989 325i and a 2002 325i. I am looking to get some insight on typical issues regarding the suspension on a 2008 RDX. This car is my fathers and well, he can't really work on it himself, so I created a account to get some help from the acura community and hopefully solve my problem.
Anyways, enough about me! LOL
The problem I am currently experiencing is that whenever I go over bumps, be it very small bumps or large speed bumps, slow or fast, frequent or irregular, I hear a clunking/rattling noise up front. I took a look underneath today, checked the sway bar links, CAB's, springs, axles and shocks, but could not find anything that seemed out of place. Everything looks tight, but when you hear the noise, something sounds loose. At first I thought it was the rusting heat shield on the cat, which I removed the bottom portion and tightened down the top portion. That, however, did not remedy the situation. It sounds too loud to be something that small anyways. I'm thinking some mount, maybe engine mounts, trans mounts or the strut mounts. But when I looked under there, everything looked normal, nothing loose or out of place. Is there anything commonly causing this type of noise on these cars? This is the SH-AWD turbo model if that helps.
i have a small rattle thats near the dash.. usually happens while in drive or reverse.. not sure if its inside the cabin or outside near the firewall.. not sure if thats that same noise you are getting it reminds me of a bolt that fell inside and is just rattling around when i do hear it
The bushings looked all around pretty good. I think the sway link bushings might have been a little flattened, but I didn't see any visible cracks.
Originally Posted by Mr Marco
Have had a similar noise for a year or so. It finally got bad enough for me to find it...sway bar link.
I have a new set on the bench in the garage, just need to get off the couch and put them in.
How did you figure it was the swaybar links? Mine look tight, although the bushing looks a little flat.
Originally Posted by bluecarbonfiber
i have a small rattle thats near the dash.. usually happens while in drive or reverse.. not sure if its inside the cabin or outside near the firewall.. not sure if thats that same noise you are getting it reminds me of a bolt that fell inside and is just rattling around when i do hear it
I wouldn't say it's much a rattle but more like something is knocking around. It especially occurs when crossing railroad tracks. It is very audible in the cabin.
Maybe I can get a video of the sound and upload it tomorrow. It might not be the best, but will give you guys a better idea. I am also thinking that it might not actually be coming from the front end. When I was pulling the car down off the ramps and had the door open, I could of sworn I heard something from the rear. Is there anything back there that tends to get loose or worn quickly?
Maybe I can get a video of the sound and upload it tomorrow. It might not be the best, but will give you guys a better idea. I am also thinking that it might not actually be coming from the front end. When I was pulling the car down off the ramps and had the door open, I could of sworn I heard something from the rear. Is there anything back there that tends to get loose or worn quickly?
Pop up the hood, remove the plastic protection covers over struts mounts and check if all bolts are tight. Its a common problem for RDXs to have those bolts loosen with some time.
Pop up the hood, remove the plastic protection covers over struts mounts and check if all bolts are tight. Its a common problem for RDXs to have those bolts loosen with some time.
I'll do that today and check for any loose bolts!
Here is a video of the sound, you may not hear anything until 30 secs in. It sounds worse towards the end.
Yes. I can't pinpoint if it is coming from the front or the rear. I can feel it under my feet, almost like it is coming from the middle. It sounds as if it is knocking back and forth when the suspension compresses and rebounds. Everything looks fine underneath though. No excessively worn out bushings, nothing looks loose (although maybe I should slap a wrench on those bolts and check for tightness to be sure), nothing looks out of place. The sway bars feel firm. I just checked under the rear and everything looks dandy. I might just have to take the damn thing to the dealership, it's really hard trying to diagnose this without a lift or proper jackstands and jack. I've got a cheapo HF aluminum jack and it is not in the best condition to lift a big vehicle and I've only got two jackstands.
possibly worn bushing then if you feel it at your feet.. you getting any wobble in the steering? very hard to diagnose.. seems suspension related though
possibly worn bushing then if you feel it at your feet.. you getting any wobble in the steering? very hard to diagnose.. seems suspension related though
Funny thing is, I feel absolutely no shimmy or wobble when driving at the most common speeds to feel those symptoms. The car drives completely smooth, at any speed. Handles great, just gave it a little shakedown on the back roads earlier. No problem with the handling what so ever, which is why I don't think a worn bushing is the problem. Visually inspecting, everything seemed in pretty good condition.
Strut mount bushings indeed was the culprit of my annoying clunking sound! At last i can enjoy smooth driving without the feeling that my front end is going to collapse..... Anyone who has a annoying clunking sound coming from your front suspension check your strut mount bushings before you start changing part.
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How did you figure it was the swaybar links? Mine look tight, although the bushing looks a little flat...
Originally Posted by Gsiraent
...Anyone who has a annoying clunking sound coming from your front suspension check your strut mount bushings before you start changing part.
Perhaps I should clear things up a bit on diagnosing rattles. The sway bar link is MY issue. Your actual issue may very.
The common method an autoshop uses to diagnose an issue such as this (after checking to see if everything is tight) is with the use of a device called a chassis ear. It is a device that uses multiple pick-up points with microphones in the suspect area to pin-point a spot that the noise may be comming from. The mechanic drives the vehicle and switches between the microphones to determine which one is producing the loudest sound. This can take several trips as well as relocating the microphones/transmitters and may not result in a fix the first time.
It is very hard to diagnose issues like this over the web. Who knows what the problem really is with your own cars...my wife left a pair of sunglasses in the bottom of the passenger door pocket and it took me two weeks to figure out where that fucking rattling was coming from.
Perhaps I should clear things up a bit on diagnosing rattles. The sway bar link is MY issue. Your actual issue may very.
The common method an autoshop uses to diagnose an issue such as this (after checking to see if everything is tight) is with the use of a device called a chassis ear. It is a device that uses multiple pick-up points with microphones in the suspect area to pin-point a spot that the noise may be comming from. The mechanic drives the vehicle and switches between the microphones to determine which one is producing the loudest sound. This can take several trips as well as relocating the microphones/transmitters and may not result in a fix the first time.
It is very hard to diagnose issues like this over the web. Who knows what the problem really is with your own cars...my wife left a pair of sunglasses in the bottom of the passenger door pocket and it took me two weeks to figure out where that fucking rattling was coming from.
hehehe that would drive me nuts with those sunglasses rattling around in the door pocket. You are right though, it is difficult to diagnose on the interwebz as such. I was just looking to see if there was maybe any common suspension components that go bad prematurely or often. Anything other owners have experienced. The car has roughly 100,000 I believe, so strut mount bushings sounds plausible.
I had such a noise on my 2007. Replacing the (2) front stabilizer links (about $24 each online) solved this problem. The hex of the nut is 17mm and of the hex let into the stud (part of the link) to keep it from turning while you take the nut off is 6mm (the Shop Manual won't tell you this). Torque to 80Nm.
I found it very difficult to crank the nut the length of the stud, because of rust. If yours is rusty, shave it, but DON'T cut it off or weaken it.
I heard a similar sound with my old 07 RDX. It turned out that the hood wasnt snug. So it rattled when I went over bumps. You should check that out. Grab the edge of your good over by the grill and pull up on it to see if it's loose when closed.
I just removed front pass side tire and examined suspension and sway bar. It all looks fine and nothing seems loose. BUT!!! Looks like my drive shaft might be the issue? Joint set inboard seems loose. I was shaking it and got the noise I hear. Anybody have experience with this repair yet??
Is it all 1 piece? axles were a pain on my 89 accord. That nut on the end is crimped on. I had a long cheater bar and stood on it, and bounced until it would turn. what a nightmare.
I bought a rubber mallet to help identify any noise or rattles. Not sure if it will help, but cant hurt. Too cold outside to play in the garage right now.
I'm having the exact same issue and the mechanics can't find the root cause of the annoying noise. Could you please tell if you solve this problem, and how you did it?
2015 RDX same issue; rattling noise, of the deep nature
Looking for help on this too, check the suspension chasis bolts in the engine compartment, covered by round plastic plugs. got a 1/4 turn out of one, still rattling. HELP!!
Sound more like sawy bar links!! I'm not a fan of replasing everything....withought knowing what you doing....but sway bar links are cheap parts(even original) and it worth it just change it by yourself...after that if noise won't go away you will need to try find good mechanic)))) Find a russian one.....but not young....they usually better know how to diagnose suspension with a pry bar))
Check the sway bar end links either by disconnecting them or take the load off of them by raising the vehicle. Sway bar end links seem to always feel good when loaded, you can't move them or feel any slack until you take the load off
old thread.. but I found the front rattle. I swapped out the Koni shock on the front drivers side this morning, and the rattle is gone. The Koni's have been rattling ever since new. like 4 years! insane. (yes I had rattling in the rear and the front) I had Koni's on the rear too at one time. In the process of isolating rattles, the rear koni's were also removed. So I am on Kyb+ eibach..
Have had the same rattling sound (chooka chooka sound). Just got the struts replaced today and $600 later, sound remains. Guess I’m going to take it to another mechanic
based on how easy the drive axle pops out of the socket in the transmission, I would not doubt it 1 bit if while the wheel is moving up and down, that the drive axle bounces in and out of the socket a quarter inch or so causing a clunking noise. I have no proof.. but it just makes sense that as the wheel moves up, the axle is in a longer position than when the axle is horizontal... I mean, something has to hold that axle in place to keep it from bouncing in the socket.. And I don't think they stay in very well. Because I have worked on my front end and they pop out super easy.
So for those people that find this online… I checked everything with the car on jacks (‘11 RDX) and couldn’t find any hint to what was rattling. So I replaced the struts (first time 160k figures it was a good idea) and when I did I checked the end link’s connection to the struts. Both felt fine. The clunking was still there.
well when I removed the end links I found out that they were DESTROYED on the bottom where they connect to the sway bar.
THE END LINKS WERE THE CLUNKING. 100%.
and my clunking sound was IDENTICAL to OP’s video.
So, replace your end links. Even with mine absolutely seized to all hell it took a little less than an hour total all said and done. Like $20 total for new MOOG endlinks. Hope this helps someone.
10-31-2013, 04:45 PM
