Rattle/Clunking front pass side, losing my mind, HELP!
 

Im going crazy here. 99 TL
Sound comes at low speeds (10-20), going over bumps, pot holes really make it bang/rattle/clunk. Sounds like its coming from passenger side and happens when I drive pass side over bumps. I can feel it in steering wheel. Once car is above 20-25 I dont hear/feel anything.
Replaced front struts about 3 months ago.
Had a clunking noise and car started pulling to right. Decided probably a ball joint, and car was due for suspension over haul anyway (180,000) Replaced
upper/lower control arms
upper/lower ball joints
inner/outer tie rods
sway bar end links
Even replaced pass side axle as boot was ripped and it was loose at end where it goes into center shaft. Drivers side replaced last year. Had transmission rebuilt last year.

Sound still there!!
Not sure what else to check.
If I hold onto inner fender and rock car up and down I hear a slight clinking. Problem is kinda hard to be under car and rock it up and down.
Ideas?

I had a similar rattle and also ended up changing out pretty much every front suspension part (struts, links, balljoints, tie rods, bushings etc)..

The rattling sound actually turned out to be the hood latch.. it was loose and so every time I hit a bump or crack in the road the hood was rattling against the latch somehow..

Took 15 minutes to unbolt the latch, move it down a 1/2 inch and bolt it back up, no more noise! I also adjusted the two rubber mounts/stoppers that connect with the hood when it's closed.

Alternatively it could be something to do with the heat shields above the exhaust pipes/catalytic converter, if those are loose they rattle.

^ Thanks, I'll check my hood as a cheap quick check. I have a rumbling at low speeds as well. Been thinking it was upper strut mounts.

Radius Rod bushings, buy the oem ones along with a new lock nut or reuse with thread lock.

With the symptoms you described check those out.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...6a5b2364f5.png

^ Thanks, I'll check that too.

Awesome, I will check those for sure!

Nice! Thanks for tanking the time to post that diagram man. How can I tell if they are bad? Or should I just replace?

Another possibility is a worn upper strut bearing.

It's easy to check, just look at the shock towers. The strut shaft should be center in the shock tower and symmetrical from side to side. If not then the bearing is detective.

Strangely, the rattle will sound like it's coming from the dash area.

Thank you for response. Do you mean bushing and not bearing? There is no upper strut bearing on 99.

^ correct


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...eae7048c59.png

Cool...I ordered the radius bushings from Delray Acura (I live right down teh street) and will change those. If not I will change the all the bushings in the struts. By the time I am done I may have changed every single bushing on the front end. :what:

There's no reason to change the strut bushings if the strut is centered in the shock towers and symmetrical.

I had the same noises/symptoms a while back. I changed the two stabilizer bar bushings (it's like $3 for each), problem solved.

^ OP mentioned he replaced the endlink bushings, but it's possible it could be a bushing on the stabilizer itself.

I’m in the same boat. Does it clunk and rattle like crazy when you going down alleys at slow speeds(like there is no gas in the shock) ?, seems to be fine on smooth roads, but with some looseness suspension with a lot of roll. There is no visual smoking gun for me and I have come to the conclusion that my original suspension is just really tired at 200k and all bushings are dried up lost their purpose. I plan to replace struts,top hats, ball joints, and all bushings, including sway bar bushings. I have already replaced my front sway bar links a couple years ago. I am convinced that if I had to run from the cops, I would have the motor, but stand no chance with my suspension and would die in an amazing rollover. This is an overhaul I probably should have done about 50k ago.

Eric the car guy did a video on the TL where a suspension clunk ended up being worn motor mounts!

My front brake pads rattle when going over small bumps ('01 CL-S)

Checked my hood latch over the weekend, it did need to be tightened a bit, but was not the source of the rumble. Will be checking radius rod bushings next.

I want to go out on a limb here. What about the bushings that actually hold the sway bar to the frame. I know that may not seem like it, but if all of your connections are tight and bushed. The weakest link is going to have a rattle sound, as the rubber is just totally played. I may actually get louder as you've tightened everything else up, by replacing it with new. I'm just thinking about all the moving or hinged parts that eventually connect to a solid (non moving) part of the frame. I work with mechanical & electrical engineers all day and we are continually looking for the failure sources.

^ Saturns were notoriously bad for rattling rear sway bar bushings. Worth checking there too.

^ Edit: Yes, I know a Saturn has nothing to do with a TL. Just popped in my head that it was a common problem on the S-series cars in the 90s. Both of ours did it & the SC my dad raced had the same issue.

Is there a visual check on radius rod bushings to tell if they need replacing? 15yrs. 240k miles & 3rd owner; I have no way to know if they've ever been done before.
I'll likely be under it this weekend for an oil changes & 3x1 trans fluid change.

When was the last time you replaced motor mounts? I just replaced all of mine for the first time around 200K and every single one was shot. The passenger side mount had completely separated.

Also, did this noise start before or after you replaced the struts?

All three of my TLs had the same clunk. It was the stabilizer bushings in the middle. There are two total. I replaced my end links at first and it was still making noise. Then replaced the bushings. Noise gone. Many people do not realise these go bad just as often as the end links.

Super cheap at rock auto/amazon and takes 5 minutes to replace.

I'm having this issue, tried everything... will try this next. thanks for the tip

how u replace in 5 minutes

Get under the car. With 14mm socket, remove both bushing retainers(total 4 bolts) which allows the sway bar to drop down. Remove the old bushings and replace with new. Button it up and you're done.

CV axles?
 

Have you checked the boots on the CV axle to see if they're cut or torn? I had a clunk in the font end and it turned out to be a bad axle.

04 acura tl
 

So I lower my 04 tl and now I get vibration when I get 20 miles per hour after that it goes away already got alignment on it...any suggestions? Will be very appreciative