Front Left Noise

[Drawnnite]

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firstly i have searched without much help.

so ive probably brought it up before but i have a knocking noise in the front left of my car.
it was first heard after these new tyres went on, and that rim did have a blow out occur on it, however it was not damaged at all.
This only happens once the car has been driven for 70+kms and braking after that distance.
and can only be heard/felt at under about 60km/h and from driving over a bump

however if i have driven in the rain/wet roads. this sound is not made. which is strange. maybe it is some heating up problem?

to understand the sound. go to a door/coffee table thats wooden. and tap it. thats the sound =P

brand new Struts have been put in, which has made it not as bad, however it is still there.
all bushes have been tightened recently. and they are in tip top condition.
has just had a wheel allignment.

my thoughts have been maybe to change
tie rods.
Engine Mounts
wheel bearings.
steer rack?
Springs? (they are country pack btw)

pretty much where should i go from here?
anyone have any ideas?

[Asmodai78]

start at the cheapest one on your list and go from there

[Brett_jjj]

Could be a worn top strut mount and/or strut bearing. Were these replaced as well when the new struts were fitted? Also Id check the ball joint in the control arm as this can cause a knocking sound when it gets worn.

[RX25SE]

Adding to the above list; swaybar link bushes.

[Drawnnite]

thanks guys. will definately look at getting some of the cheaper bits first.

when the new struts went in it was just the struts/shocks themselves.

[Drawnnite]

ok new things now.

would you guys recommend getting the whole front end rebuilt to remove this noise?
brand new bushes (even though i have been told they are all good), control arms, tie rods and bearings. (anything else)
and any idea on the cost of these items?

also since having these new struts in when turning at really low speed (5kms for example) i get this "grrk" noise at the same point each time.
could this just be some parts have been done up to tight? or maybe the power steering is getting close to going?

just to put this out there aswell. i had a blowout on the rim that is now on the front left about 15 months ago. no damage was done to the rim visually. but that noise started since that rim was put on the front.
could this possibly have been a causing factor on the noise or am i just going crazy?

thanks in advance

[Drawnnite]

went to holden and got a rough quote (comp was off as i got there just before closing)

was told the strut bearings were approx $70-80 each
and the tie rods were about $50 or 70 each.

now i know i could most likely get the tie rods for cheaper. but what do you think of the bearings price. worthwhile?

[Drawnnite]

anyway to update the prices.

bought some tie rods from a place called "sunbury brakes online" they were about $24 each.
bought front strut bearings/seat mount things for $35 each from Holden.

lets hope this fixes all problems.
ill let you guys know how it goes when it goes in for next major works (about 3 weeks time)

[Drawnnite]

ok so im going to need your help again.
with finding a solution that is.

so this knocking nosie hasnt gone away but has become quieter. but it occurs more often.
i have replaced:
Front Struts.
Strut Top Mounts/bearing
Tie Rods
and had the Steering realligned.

now this is still only occuring under heat.
and when water is present (wet day etc) this does not occur.
so could it be a temperature related problem?


after searching this site i have found this-

Some places and things to check:

More likely:
1) Top nuts on suspension / shocky unit - visible from top of engine bay on the shocky tower
2) Faulty shocky (a definite possibility)
3) Worn ball joints, tie rod (steering arm) ends, or control arm bushings
4) Loose or worn radius rod mountings or bushings
5) Loose wheel nuts
6) Loose nuts on the stabiliser link - they should not be over-tight (the bushes should NOT bulge in the middle from being tightened too far), but no free play in them either.
7) Stabiliser bar (sway bar) hitting something, due to the changed ride height of the car.

Not so likely:
8) Loose or worn steering rack (it's been replaced, so maybe it's not tight)
9) Worn out wheel bearing (not terribly likely, but possible)

so everything is tightened. all bushes in top notch condition.
so could it be one of these problems? (if not im so tempted to drive this thing off a cliff)
also found other common Vs problems are radius rod bushes and Steering racks.
could it be warping rotors? engine mounts maybe?

to give another explanation
1. it only happens with the engine has been warmed up/travelled a fair distance.
2. comes from the left hand front.
3. after i drive (and can hear it) i can "press down" on the front to hear the noise
4. i do not have to be steering in any direction to hear the noise. i can be driving dead straight on a reasonably smooth road.

seriously this is driving me mad. so any help would be appreciated.

[Wombles]

Have you had a look yourself?
Sounds like a suspension problem.
Get it on ramps and get a mate to help out.

[Drawnnite]

Have you had a look yourself?
Sounds like a suspension problem.
Get it on ramps and get a mate to help out.

thanks for the quick reply =P
yeah ive had a look myself. there is nothing i can see.
also had a mechanic look at it (and change the parts as im lazy with that side of things)
its just come back from these being done so i guess i could give it a week for new parts to settle in and what not.

so thoughts
engine mounts?
steering rack?
radius rod bushes?
metal warping?
control arms?
inner tie rods? (more a vt fault but this car is made in 2000)
grease up the tie rod end?

also if someone has a complete suspension diagram for reference that would be awesome.
thanks

[ephect]

have you replaced the ball joints yet?

might not be the ball joints itself but the huckbolts may have stretched. changing the balljoints you'll get new bolts. the dreaded left-hand side clunk... my story

[Wombles]

Like I said. Sounds like suspension. So take out engine mounts idea.
Get underneath and check out the bushes for the suspension. Check for anything that doesnt look right. Check all bolts and nuts for tightness. See how you go after that.

[Drawnnite]

have you replaced the ball joints yet?

might not be the ball joints itself but the huckbolts may have stretched. changing the balljoints you'll get new bolts. the dreaded left-hand side clunk... my story

thanks for that. read the whole thread but have one question.
did it occur all the time or only when the car was warm?

Like I said. Sounds like suspension. So take out engine mounts idea.
Get underneath and check out the bushes for the suspension. Check for anything that doesnt look right. Check all bolts and nuts for tightness. See how you go after that.

yeah i jumped under last night just for a quick look (country pack springs = already jacked up =P ). it looked pretty good.
hopefully ill get under on the weekend. but i would have thought if something was easily spotable that the mechanics and people doing all the wheel allignments would have noticed it.
but yeah thanks for that. its definately something i will look more into.
any suggestions on what i should exactly be doing?
eg tightening everything (certain torque settings?). having a feel around? greasing up any areas?


well sounds like on friday ill be able to get the car out for a real run and will hear the noise again.
hopefully when i get home ill just straight under and get someone to "bounce" the car up and down and ill use a screwdriver to listen to various areas.

but yeah again thanks for the helpful replies.

[Wombles]

Just make sure everything is tight.
Make sure everything looks ok. Get a bar and lever away.
Look at the strut to steering knuckle bolts.

[ephect]

to be honest i dont think so, but i cant remember now..

i think it did it all the time.

[Drawnnite]

so anyway got home today and it was doing it again (although quieter)
got out had a quick look then jumped back up and started to "bounce" the front left side up and down.
was making this sorta "clunk" each bounce.
also tried the right side and there was no noise just for a comparison.


a guy at work who is pretty good with cars suggested it could be the ball joint.
seems to be pretty cheap and pretty logical.
and am i right in saying they are seperate from the tie rods? or do they go in the tie rods? (seeing i just replaced them =P )
looking into it there are 2 ball joints. the tie rod ones and the inner ones.

i guess it would be the next part to try?

[Drawnnite]

had a look tonight. and did a bit of a measure.
the left wheel is about 20mm further back from the front of the arch then the right hand side.

anyone know what could cause this?
im thinking this could have something to do with the problem.

[hako]

Could be radius rod (Z bar) bushes at the front or where it bolts to the lower control arm - front part of the Z bar determines how far back the wheel is. To locate the knock I would not use a screwdriver - simply place a finger on the item nearest to where you think the knock is coming from - this should guide you to the source.

[Drawnnite]

thanks for that hako.

ill have a look when i can (most likely tomorrow). and take some measurements.
probably mean more things to buy and get put in.

also when driving today i could feel about 1/2 of the knocks through the actual steering wheel. im not sure if that helps when trying to find it out.

oh i got some type of mount/bushes the other day. its the black rubber part right up the top. (you see when you open your bonnet)
i opened the bonnet and started pushing up and down. when pushing down and was pushing onto those mounts the noise was pretty much non existant.
also trying to source the ball joints and plates with the 3 bolts that go into them. read that could also be a problem.
now to most likely add these radius rod bushes to that list =P

if its none of those it could then be inner tie rods. steering rack. or control arms.... the expensive items =P

[Drawnnite]

so anyway went out there today and had a look at a few things like i said i would.

i decided to push car up and down, and heard a rubber on metal sound.
which it turns out to be these (red circled). only on the left hand side aswell.
i have new ones for both sides (i just do both sides all the time for things for the hell of it)
i got a socket onto it and turned it slightly (it goes back to original position, did it on both left and right) and it would make the rubber on metal noise.
could be the problem all along =P
or something to do with the whole plate assembly under that (hope not)



radius rod bushes looked and felt really dry. felt like stone actually =P
would this be a problem? and should it feel like the other bushes?
so should i get these changed?

also would it be worthwhile doing the ball joint and plate with 3 bolts?
or would that just be wasting money?

i only ask these last 2 items because if its going to go in to get the mount disc things changed would it be worthwhile getting the others done?
and before you say the engine bay is filthy. where i work its that dusty it isnt funny =P

[James39]

or something to do with the whole plate assembly under that (hope not)

Yes it will be what is under that.

[Drawnnite]

do you know what the part name is for what is below that rubber part?
are they top strut mounts?
or are they castor strut mounts?

also where is a good place to get them and an approximate pricing?

thanks

[James39]

do you know what the part name is for what is below that rubber part?
are they top strut mounts?
or are they castor strut mounts?

also where is a good place to get them and an approximate pricing?

thanks

It will be the top one, but maybe replace both....no idea on price or where to get parts as I was lazy and just replaced the whole strut that came from the wreckers....

I have a RHF strut here, not sure if it is any good without the other one. but there is nothing wrong with it.

[Drawnnite]

if only it was the RHF that was the problem =P

thanks though.
ill probably go see Holden and see what i could get it for.
which if done the whole front strut assembly in my car will be pretty much brand new =P