Strange "clunk"

[Tim]

Sometimes my Festiva makes a "clunk" or a double clunk when I'm starting from a stoplight or changing to 2nd gear at low speed. It sounds like it comes from the front driver's side wheel, and I have no clue what it is.

I doubt it's the CV joints as they are practically brand new. The car performs fine but this clunk bothers me. Any ideas what it might be?


Regards,

Tim

[miami man]

clunk

mine make a clunk when reversing out of a parking spot but not all of the time. my driver side wheel is a little loose when you shake it from side to side but nothing major also grabbed the top and bottom of wheel and shook it but it did not have any play in it. i have no clue about my clunk.

[gomer]

possible bad/loose strut mount

[HappyMom]

My car clunked or double-clcunked when turning at a corner (slow turn) or hitting a pothole, but not all the time.

Turned out to be a ball joint -> wheel fell off -> not good

[kirko]

i have exact same issue, ever find out what it was?

[miami man]

my clunk went away without doing anything..weird

[mechanicaldj]

BIG SUGGESTION..................

take a long look at your ball joints

before they wave bye-bye

take a long pry bar and wedge it between the lower control arm and the pinch bolt area of the spindle and pry up and down, you should have absolutely no play at all

[Hodag'stiva]

BIG SUGGESTION..................

take a long look at your ball joints

before they wave bye-bye

take a long pry bar and wedge it between the lower control arm and the pinch bolt area of the spindle and pry up and down, you should have absolutely no play at all

Just did the ball joint replacement on the 91, bumped into an interesting problem on the whole issue of whether or not there should be any play in the system

After replacing the CV joint boots back in 2004, I had the intermittent clunk problem when I would make sharp turns. Two weeks ago, the clunk was the last thing I heard before my passenger side tire decided to go westbound in the southbound lane.

Ordered the replacement balljoints/LCAs from FMS, and replaced the passenger side half shaft in its entirety.



The passenger side LCA looks like crap - the pin was loose and sloppy, the boot was halfway hanging off. The driver's side looked so good that it was a pity to replace it - but hey - FMS sells them in pairs for a reason.

When I put the passenger side back together again, there's still play in the system - not enough that I could get them to fall apart again.

The test drive this afternoon told me that whatever play was in the system making the knock is long gone. But the play remains . . .

Is this worth taking apart and possibly replacing the entire assembly?? I also replaced all the hardware and I really don't want to wrestle with it again.

B

[ramichael]

I had to replace the rack-n-pinion on mine the driver side was really loose. I also had to replace both ball joints.

[oxbrain]

I have been getting a clunk like this from my right front wheel. It's still there after my whole suspension swap. New balljoints and aspire hubs. I think I'm going to double check that it's torqued down properly.

[kirko]

Weirdest thing ever.

When i originally made that post about my clunk, it was intermittent, like i woul never hear it, then all of a sudden hear it. The stipulation with hearing it is when its wet outside. I didnt hear it for the past 3 days, then rain today and it comes back. im lost as all hell. I rechecked the balljoints again today, and no play at all. The more and more i hear it i think its coming more from the center of the car than the side. Bad front motor mount anyone? It looks clean and intact...

[Guest]

I started getting a clunk from the pass side every time I hit a bump or turned a corner.. of course I looked at the LCA/Balljoint.. it was good.. turned out that the pass side upper strut bolt was missing the lock washer, loosened up just enough to make the noise..

[Festy46]

You can check the motor mount with the help of another person. Prop the hood open and have someone watch the engine from the side of the car. Set the parking brake on good and start the car. Put it in first gear and let the clutch out quick enough to put you back in the seat. Then quickly push the clutch back in before you stall it. If the motor mount is broken, your helper should have seen the motor rock a good distance from front to back. If the motor only moved about 1/4" (eyeball estimate) then they are probably good. If it is a broken motor mount, it is probably the one on the back side of the transmission next to the steering rack and the firewall.

[Hodag'stiva]

The test drive this afternoon told me that whatever play was in the system making the knock is long gone. But the play remains . . .

I posted too soon - the clunk is back after a few miles of city driving.

After parking the car for a few, I looked under the car and sure as sugar, there was a small puddle of transmission fluid underneath the car. The CV joint is popping in and out again.

At this point, I'm wondering if the steering gear hasn't gotten knocked out of whack so badly that it pushes the CV joint out of the transmission. It isn't loose like ramichael posted now are there missing parts like xpnsyd had - so if there are any problems maybe they're the result of being that far out of alignment.

Grumble.

B

[Guest]

This may have no bearing on the problem, but I had the pass side cv that kept popping out no matter what circlip was on it.

Turned out that a little fender bender in the past was the culprit.. it was barely moved back less than 1/2".

It was aligned everything was good no abnormal tire wear, we just didn't realize that it had any damage until we measured the side that was hit vs. the side that wasn't.. this small amount would allow the inner joint pull away when stressed latterally.

We couldn't regain the 1/2" so the next best thing was to move the inner cv joint closer to the trans by 3/4" and welded it to the shaft.. This gave our 1/2 back and a little more..

It has never popped out again..even if the circlip fails, it won't pop out..