I bought an '05 TL in May. I absolutely love the car its a dream come true...but...a month or so into it I started hearing this clunk. Looked at it and everything seemed alright. Now, whenever I hit a bump it sounds like the left front side of my car is going to fall off. Any suggestions to what it could be???
I checked the lower control arm bushing and there were to cracks in it but I don't know if thats normal wear and tear or not...if anyone posts back I'll post pics...thanks guys

 

This will probaby get moved to the "problems and fixes" section. But yeah, I had (have?) the same problem. It seemed to mysteriously go away a couple months ago as the weather started warming up. It seemed to happen shortly after I swapped my stock coilovers to the A-spec suspension. I did the same things as you; check the control arms, bushings, other suspension parts. I could never find a visible problem.

Mine would only do it when I hit a pretty good bump in the road at a decent speed so I made a point to avoid any major bumps or go over them slower. I started treating it like a "go easy on your suspension" alarm Either the warmer weather has helped or I've adjusted my driving style over bumps to the point that it never happens anymore. Dunno. If you find out what it is, let me know.

 

Have a good shop inspect the front suspension. Any decent mechanic will find what is worn and rattling if it's making that much noise. It can only be a few things.

 

sounds like a ball joint

 

Check your upper control arm... it has 2 long 14mm bolts that go thru the bushings. Make sure they aren't loose. Check all bolts on the suspension that you can get to. Just tighten them up a bit to make sure they're not loose. The lower control arm bushings are always torn, so that's normal. It should only have a couple of cracks though.

Next, lift the car and check the wheel for play. Grab the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock and firmly try turning the wheel left and right. It should have minimal play. Also, do the same at 12 and 6 o'clock. This should give you an idea on wether it's the ball joints or not. Make sure to look for any torn boots on all ball joints.

 

I love this whole forum idea. I have talked to multiple mechanics and they all have been stumped. My father is a mechanic but and old school one. He hasn't caught on to the greatness of foreign cars. Anyway, we checked the wheel for play and there was nothing. I know the part itself is only 15 dollars and I work at a newspaper factory that has a 2 ton hydraulic press so if its that it isn't a big deal to fix. Any other thoughts/suggestions, it has my father and I baffled. I will post photos tomorrow.

 

check your motor mounts