Hi all.

Did some front end work yesterday on my 99TL. Changed rotors, calipers, pads and also front shock absorbers. Braking system works great now....no more shakes I do however still have a suspension problem. When driving over uneven roads (even at 5 mph) I hear a "hollow clunking" sound. At times it comes from the left, other times from the right. I thought, my original shock absorbers may have been the culprit, but after swapping them out, the noise is still there. I did not change the strut bushings, as they looked fine and tight....maybe I should have though.

Last summer, I changed the lower balljoints and tie rods. 3 months ago, changed the upper ball joints and wheel bearings....so these parts should be fine.

I'm thinking maybe the stabilizer links and/or stabilizer bushings. Could worn links create this sound I'm hearing?

Any other ideas?
Thanks
Itch

 

Its either the swaybar end links (you can tell by looking at them or by pulling on them) or the balljoints. My guess is the ball joints. Mine are new and have play in them already and clunking

 

I got the best balljoints I could find...I'll be pissed, if that's the case. When I jacked up the car and moved the wheel, with a hand on the balljoint, there was no play on either side.

Ihope it's the links...cheaper and easier

I looked at them yesterday, they looked ok. I didn't pull on them though. How can I tell if they're shot? Do they move, have play in them?

 

they shouldnt move

Mine didnt have play in them till i jacked up the suspension (wheel off) then i was able to get them to move.

 

All right, I'll check it out. In fact, I'm just going to order them and replace them. Time it takes to check....might as well replace them at the same time.

Moog's OK? I can get for 15$ each

 

Im done buying new balljoints. Im just going to buy the whole arm. Time spent taking the control arm out pressing the old out pressing the new in is worth the price of new arms to me. (plus i want the new bushings at the end of the control arm)

 

thats a good point Kris
People may be changing out one end of the problem, while the bushing end of the arm gets no attention. It would make sense that if parts are new on one end- to check the other.

this must be the only part that hasn't lasted 100k plus for you man- what going on!!!

 

what about lowers though, they are attahced to the knuckle? thanks. ( i think i need to do mine) and i did also just replace the whole upper control arm for 60$ a side instead of pressing the new ones , much easier

 

Upper arm including balljoints for 60$?

 

This story sounds very familiar. I had both ball joints replaced and all was good for about two weeks. Then the clunk noise came back and the play in the steering came back as well.

 

I replaced the original at like 210k and 230k The ones i replaced them with from napa didint last

 

What about the lowers? They can be replaced, and acura actually has those.

 

sorry, is it best to just take out the knuckle and press in new ball joints?
Yes to the other question for the upper control arms, I got them through MAC auto parts online, $60 for the upper control arm with the ball joint, just took out the old and put in the new,

 

holy cow that's a good price!! wonder if the balljoints that come with it are good ones....but at least you got new bushings with the new arm

 

i have had them and no problems. much easier than trying to press in ball joints...

 

ya no kidding!

 

Yes, you have to remove the knuckle to press the old out and the new in

 

Humm. I may try them and the lowers out. I see the lower control arm comes with a new ball joint to press in the knuckle

 

Don't forget about the inner tie rod if you're replacing the outers. I've been steadily replacing all of my suspension since the roads are beating the crap out of it. With the tokicos and most of it new, it seems to kill off anything I haven't changed pretty quickly. I'm guessing the additional stiffness doesn't help the old parts.

 

Hey guys,

So I finally received my end links today. I did the driver side only tonight...what a bi@$h to get them off. I did the rear links last year and there's way more room to work there. Anyhow, after checking out the old link...it looks decent....not great, but I don't think the new links will solve my "clunking" problem. Everything else looks tight, spcifically the balljoints. I tried jacking up the suspension with the car on jackstands with a hydraulic jack and dropping it quickly to try to simulate a pothole in hopes to isolate the sound, but without the weight of the car pushing down on the suspension, there was no sound to be heard.

One thing I did notice, is that the bushings in the lower control arm...specially the inner bushings, from what I could see (which isn't much if you don't remove the arm), look worn. No play when I shake it, but clearly not much rubber to be seen.

I'm going to do the passenger side link tomorrow and take it for a test drive, but I'm pessimistic that my problem will be fixed.

What do you guys think....can worn lower control arm bushings be the cause of my noise?

 

they certainly can make that noise

 

ball joints will make noise when forced. Dropping them inst a way to test them. If you havent replaced the uppers you should look into those.

 

One of the reason I change my own oil is that occasionally I jack up both wheels, put support stands under the car and get my BIG screwdriver out and prod and poke at all the suspension parts to see what's loose or worn. When my outer tie rod on the steering rack went bad all I did was jack up the front end (both sides) and tap on the wheels. The play was ever so slight but you could feel it when you tapped on the tire. Got that fixed and an alignment and it drove like it should again. My tires (Avid v4's) worn out in 24,000 miles so I knew something was wrong. The Acrua garage didn't find the problem. DA! I asked around town here and found a guy that was a true expert on front-end diagnosis and repair. He replaced the tie rod and did an alignment and All is well now. I had previously taken my car to the Acura dealer and after returning it 4 times to get the steering wheel straightened, I just gave up on them. The alignment tech. at Apple Tree Acura was an ass to me and could not get the steering wheel staight. He blamed me/the tires/any and everything but himself. I was told by other people here in the area that he was not a good tech. AMEN to that. They lost my business over that one along with jerking me around on more repair issues.

 

My goal is to start replacing every thing with bushings on it. I replaced my upper arms with new ones and i can say that the car rids A LOT better. Now im on to the lowers and the rear arms. Those rubber bushings slowly wear out and cause noise and play.

 

Agreed. Just took it for a test drive after changing the passenger links. I'd say the Clunking got 40% better....but it bothers me because I can still hear and feel it. I saw lower arms at MAC auto parts for 69$...including the balljoint! Or I can get inner and outer bushings only for 30$ a side, I'm tempted to replace the whole arm, but am not sure what kind of quality I'll get for 69$. Either way, the links have to come off again....

Oh...and upper balljoints were replaced 3-4 months ago

 

The mystery box is full of bushings.

 

Try moving the balljoints with a pry bar. Grab the sway bar and try to move it in all directions,if it moves change the links. Check body bushings as well.

 

Balljoints are good....tight, no play at all. Just changed the links today and stab bar bushings are good. Body bushings are good, everything's tight....I read the other post about the loose nut on the body bushing, checked mine, all OK.
It's definitely the control arm bushings

Go Habs!!