strut mount noise?

8 years ago

trying to track down front end rattle on my taurus. i jacked up front end and unbolted both outer tierods to check the play of inner tierod. they seem tight. no slop. i than rotated both struts by hand and could hear a grinding from top of strut on 1 side of car while the 2nd strut has a little rumble. the bearings are not exactly nasa grade hardware. more like what you see on a lazy susan. i did find 1 loose sway bar link and the 2nd link is barely loose. i replaced both links as they are cheap. but, i dont really want to tear down 2 struts to change the mounts. car has 140k and probably could use new struts and a pair of ready struts is 100 delivered thanks to the internet. quality parts? meh. but they are new.

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Comments (2)

jemdandy
8 years ago
Under what conditions does the rattle occur?

Does it sound like a metal or plastic part

Does it sound like it might be a heavy, load bearing part?

Does it sound like a trim piece? Bumper support? Bumper cover? Hood rattle?

Which side of the car does it come from?

Can you make it happen with the car parked by pushing the car up and down as much as you can? Try one front corner and then the other. Both corners should behave the same. If they don't, suspect the damper action of the struts.

With the car parked and engine off and shift lever in park, try rocking the car front to back with the hood raised. Hear any clunking? If so, check out the engine mount that counteracts driving torque. Its a front wheel drive and the engine/transaxle assembly directly supplies torque to drive the wheels. Somewhere on the engine there is a control arm that does this job and limits engine rotation. The elastomer bushings in this torque arm are subject to getting beat up. On most cars, this arm is easily replaced.

If a clunk sounds occurs mainly when only one front wheel hits a bump, suspect the bushings supporting the anti-sway bar.

From underneath the front of the car, whack the bumper with a rubber mallet. Don't pound on the plastic bumper cover, but hit the metal parts. Make sure that the ignition key has been off for at least two minutes. There are crash detection accelerators up front somewhere and we don't want to blow an airbag.

Rattles can be difficult to locate. If you can find a road next to a wall, drive with the front windows down and listen. Sounds that you don't normally hear will bounce off the wall and be more easily heard. I've used this technique to identify noises from wheel covers. I once had a wheel that flexed a small amount and caused the wheel cover to make a scrunching sound with every wheel rotation. In this case, the wheel was normal and the spring clips in the cover were misshapen and weak. The wall does not have to be high to be effective. It is helpful to have an observer in the passenger side to help find noises on his side of the car.

You could take the car to a tire shop such as Firestone and have them check out the suspension and steering. They are adept at pushing, pulling, and prying to find worn joints. Its best if the shop have mechanics who are certified to do work other than replacing tires. The shop that I use can replace entire drive line parts including axles and axle housings on 4 wheel drives.
stoveguyy
Original Author
8 years ago
changing the links solved 90% of noise. yes car does squeak and make noises over bumps but it is much improved. i am not going to touch the struts. i did find a new ready strut assy on CL for $30. do i feel like changing 1 strut? meh
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strut mount noise?

Comments (2)

jemdandy

stoveguyy
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strut mount noise?

Comments (2)

jemdandy

stoveguyyOriginal Author

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stoveguyy
Original Author