'90L, Front end klunk - NOT CV joints

[Pgh5spd]

A klunk from the right front at irregular times - NOT CV joints. Sounds like a ball joint, but I replaced the lower control arm a couple yrs ago when that really was the problem. Today I made a 10mi trip in the city and it didn't make the noise at all. Other times it makes the noise a lot. Jacking it up the wheel feels tight. Not tie rods either, and the bushings in the lower control arm and sway bar also seem tight. It doesn't wobble on hitting a pothole the way you might expect if the front end was loose, either.

Could it be the strut? Any good way of telling?

[fudge]

Is it happening around turns? I had a very similar problem that turned out to be a loose LCA bolt. Maybe it's the same for you.

[WmWatt]

I got that from loose brake rotor bolts. Try grabbing the rotor and shoving to see if it moves, also look for sign of movement along seam between rotor and hub. It's a pain to fix as the knuckle has to be separated from the hub to get at the bolt heads. I also had the loose pinch bolt problem mentioned above. That knocked when going over bumps. Much easier to tighten than the rotors. I guess you tried a pry bar on the sway bar to see if the rubber bushings are worn? If it knocks when starting or stopping or both that could be worn rubber bushings in the motor mounts. I'd drive around targeting, say, speed bumps to see if you can hear anything, also stopping and starting hard and swerving from left to right. Good luck with it.

[mikemounlio]

Check you strut top mount nut. If that nut comes lose which they can! you will get a clunk at times. I have one that came lose after the install of my advanced setup. Took me a good while to figure it out.

[sactnato]

The clunking sound I had ended up coming from the rack and pinion. Depending on how smooth the roads were determined if I heard the sound or not. I jacked the car up checked all the bolts and couldn't find anything loose including the tie rods, but when I pushed up and down on the fender and could hear the noise. I reached down and grabbed the rack while pushing up and down on the fender and could feel the knock within the rack. Replaced the rack and the clunking was gone.

[mikemounlio]

The clunking sound I had ended up coming from the rack and pinion. Depending on how smooth the roads were determined if I heard the sound or not. I jacked the car up checked all the bolts and couldn't find anything loose including the tie rods, but when I pushed up and down on the fender and could hear the noise. I reached down and grabbed the rack while pushing up and down on the fender and could feel the knock within the rack. Replaced the rack and the clunking was gone.

Great!

[Eaglefreek]

The clunking sound I had ended up coming from the rack and pinion. Depending on how smooth the roads were determined if I heard the sound or not. I jacked the car up checked all the bolts and couldn't find anything loose including the tie rods, but when I pushed up and down on the fender and could hear the noise. I reached down and grabbed the rack while pushing up and down on the fender and could feel the knock within the rack. Replaced the rack and the clunking was gone.

I too have an odd clunk and it started after I replaced the rack with a rebuilt one and haven't been able to trace it down. Hmm, I wonder if I have defective rack?

[1990new]

Even though the LCA sway bar bushings appear to be tight from the outside, just to be sure, you might want to take off the bolt and washer and make sure the rubber has not separated on the inside.

A good way to analyze the problem is to jack up the front end, put it in gear and let it run. Turn your steering all the way left and right several time and listen for the noise.
If you hear none, then the problem is most likely (but not always) to be suspension related.

[Pgh5spd]

To Fudge - Not specifically on turns. Usually not on turns.

All others, thanks for suggestions! I'll get back once I've checked them out...