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I am sure this is a common theme but it is driving me crazy!!!!!! I have a pretty steady ..........I will call it a rattle or suspension noise.........coming from the front right. It only occurs while driving slow and it doesnt need to be bumpy roads which doesnt make a lot of sense. When I am at faster speeds I never hear this noise. I have noticed some deterioration of the lower control arm rubber but it is not destroyed by any means.......I had one motor mount recently replaced during my oil pump seal repair. What will be the most common area to look at for this low speed rattle?????
Thank you
When the wheel is turned hard right or left I can get a real good look at the lower control arm .....I will call forward joint.....the rubber in that joint is all there but I can easily see cracks in the rubber. I have since soaked these rubbers in 303 and begged them to magically return to new but that was only an exercise to maybe make them last a little longer. I will see if I can enclose a pic of the joint I am talking about. I was talking with another forum member about the lower control arm....and I looked up the parts which arent too bad. The bonus of that repair is you get several rubber parts replaced. I have never done a suspension repair before....have watched the vids on this repair....not too bad from what I can see. But if I replace the arms and it still rattles then what? Motor mounts? Tranny mount? I guess I could put the car up on jack stands and just start shaking the suspension hoping the car doesnt fall on me????? Only 115k on the car
303 will arrest oxidation but won't reverse it or bring back any elasticity already lost. It'd be like trying to spray primer onto rust to turn it back into steel.
Ok.......I am considering options at this time. I just bought the car a month a go.....have replaced the oil pump seal and oil pan seal with a seal kit. This was unexpected and very expensive yet my fault for not getting under the car when I purchased it. There are many other new parts on the car as well as I replaced many of the fluids. So here she is almost ready to go and now I feel I have to at the bear minimum replace the lower control arms. I did just buy brand new tires for the car so I am in deeeeeeeeeeeeep far deeeeeeeper then I ever intended. Purchased for $5600 and sittin pretty......then 2k to replace gaskets for the oil pump....oil pan....and 2 valve cover gaskets and 1 motor mount. When I got her back from the shop I replaced rear diff...clutch pack...transfer case...and tranny fluids. Also cabin and air filter and wiper blades. Then I said what the hell I am in deep.....so I got new tires for her. Previous owner just replaced starter. alternator, battery, timing belt and water pump. Now in deep at 9K for a car that still needs attention and I think the best I could sell it for would be $7500 or 8k if I am lucky. Seriously considering a Infiniti G37 and wash my hands of the RL......I like the car...but when will it end
Ya I do that with primer sometimes..............of course I know 303 or primer dont have magic powers.........it just makes me feel better at that time.
First when you say 'rattle', is it a clunk sound, or one that goes 'tik tik tik tik'.... and is it once, or is continuous until you reach a certain speed? is it while turning left or right, or only while moving slowly forward?
Good questions 09RL
I back out of my garage on flat ground put the car in drive and pull forward slowly say 5 to 10mph in our alley.......the noise comes from the front and it is not a tick tick tick......its a fast clunk clunk clunk clunky clonkclonkclonk clonkity clonk clonk clonk clonk it is not loud but anyone with ears can hear it. I feel it is coming from front right. It has nothing to do with turning left or right as I notice it moving at slow speeds all under 30mph. It sounds like hitting a thick but small metal pipe on another thick but small metal pipe but one pipe has a slight rubber coating .........Once you are up and driving you wont hear it at all until you find yourself rollin slowly in front of MacDonald's considering a Big Mac or QP w cheese. Note but surely unrelated....I do get the high pitched whiring noise while driving under 45mph when the car is cold then it goes away. I feel my clunking sound must be suspension or some type of motor mount.
Take it to a mechanic, have him hear it, then lift the car. He'll use a metal rod to test which are making any noise.. better then buying a part for nothing.
could be the stabilizer bar links, control arm, .... but those rarely break. u caught one ready for maintenance.
Ya I have taken it to a shop for the other work and they didnt do a good job of isolating the noise.......I guess I will take it to the dealer for a free estimate kinda thing and see what they say it is
12-23-2019, 09:42 PM
.........Once you are up and driving you wont hear it at all until you find yourself rollin slowly in front of MacDonald's considering a Big Mac or QP w cheese. Note but surely unrelated....I do get the high pitched whiring noise while driving under 45mph when the car is cold then it goes away. I feel my clunking sound must be suspension or some type of motor mount.
