MPR

Alright, this is driving me crazy.

Time for me to ask the rest of you for opinions/help for a change...lol

This issue has been going on for over a year and I still can't put my finger on it...SO ANOYING!!! aaaarg! Yes, even a Gear-head can get stumped from time to time...

I'll try giving as much detail as possible to give you a good idea of what's going on...

The vehicle: 2000 SiR (EM1) 242,000kms.

The problem: There are 2 things going on with this car and they may be related, but I'll describe them both seperately.

#1: The clunk: I hear a clunk noise when driving over sharp/small-medium sized bumps. Like a gravel road or cracks in pavement. It ONLY does it when the suspension/front wheels are moving independantly, like hitting train-tracks on an angle or when one wheel hits a bump. If I hit train-tracks head on (both tires hit at the same time) there is NO clunk. If both tires hit a bump at the same time there is no clunk. It sounds like a very low tapping/thumping. It can't really be felt, only heard. It's not super-loud, but it's definitely there...

I have checked the whole front end many times over. The ball joints, tie-rods/ends, wheel bearings have both been replaced, bushings still look good, but have not ben replaced. Everything feels tight, there is NO play anywhere in the front what-so-ever. I have checked the anti-roll bar bushings and end links several times. Everything looks/feels fine/tight.

It has been doing this for over a year now and it's really starting to bother me.

#2: The creeking: This problem has been off and on over the past year or longer as well. Sometimes it doesn't creek, but lately it has been there all the time. This noise only occurs when turning the wheels (either direction). It does not creek going over bumps. Only when the wheels are turning. I have heard that a ball-joint can creek like this, but they are tight so I'm not 100% sure. I have had a friend turn the wheel while I listen, but it's the type of noise that is very difficult to determine the location of the source. You think it's coming from one spot so you move your head closer and it's coming from another location!lol. It's a higher-pitch creek, like a door hinge, and has a sort of plasticy/rubbery sound to it (kinda hard to explain). Like dried rubber...(this may sound funny, but to those of you with a dog, when they chew on a cong and their teeth make that creeking sound against the rubber, that is pretty damn close to the sound I hear...)


If anyone has any suggestion please feel free to share. Maybe it's something simple I'm not thinking of that it could be. Normally I can hear a noise and figure it out pretty quick, but this has been there quite some time and still can't nail it down. I don't want to throw parts at it cause I don't have the money and that's not the proper way to diagnose/fix a problem.

The creeking I think is a ball joint, tie-rod end or bushing seizing/going bad. But the clunk has me baffled...lol.

Sorry for the long-winded novel of a post, but I wanted to explain with the most detail.

Thanks for reading.

Mike.

gavin.p89

Have you check the steering rack? I know it is not a Honda, but I had a simlar issue with my olds achieva the rack was creeking.

MPR

I've looked at the rack, visually. But it's too hard to pin-point exactly where the creeking is coming from.

I'm going to remove the spindals on the weeked and inspect the ball-joints more closely. I think I have a seizing lower ball joint. With the number of civics I've seen on this site in the past year/2 that have had the lower ball joint break while driving.... not taking any chances.

JDMej1

good call with the extra inspection of the the ball joints. i'd say just heavily check those over, and give all the bushings a very very good once over, maybe consider the energy bushing upgrade kit. as for the clunk, maybe one of your wheels is hitting something? or something with the steering rack, hows your power steering fluid?

MPR

^giving all the front bushings a good inspection as well, yeah. The steering fluid good, but wouldn't effect it though.

If one or more bushings are shot, I just might have to install the energy suspension kit... great excuse for an upgrade!

I'm thinking the clunk could be coming from the dampers, damper/strut mount locations possibly...

Robb

iTrader: (1)

Steering rack bushing inside. Its a plastc bushing that wears out. Also replace teh radius arm bushing and lower control arm bushings. With that year and mileage, most likely those parts need replacing anyways.

Also, it can be worn rubber engine mounts.

MPR

^^Going to check all those things. Thanks.

Motor mounts have already been replaced with energysuspension urethane mounts.

Darrylmcl

iTrader: (2)

Something like that happened to me at one time... it ended up being that I had replaced my upper control arms and hadn't tightened one of the bolts enough, once doing so.. it disappeared.

Just my thoughts.

Harrold

My car creeks over bumps and speed bumps. inspected everything thoroughly and just as I was gonna give up. It found it. Mine was / is the top control arm on the passenger side. the bushing where it bolts up to the body of the car is mangled.

Worth the check.

jdm ek4

I had the same similar noise before, only happened when i went over speed bumps and hit bumps or holes. It ended up being the upper control arm bushings, it was completely broken and luckily i didnt get into a acident or else i would've been in deep trouble. It could be that, take a look at them closely at each sides.

chris_v2

Creek is the balljoint.

Clunk is either your control arm bushings or sway bar endlinks/bushings (most likely links though, you typically feel bushings in the floor boards)

trunk_munkey

When in doubt pull it all apart. sometimes something looks good when assembled but when you start removing parts you will find???? A broken/cracked bolt. You know what I mean.

Take it to a local professional thats what they do, you'll never know what they know.

D.T.P

Mike, I got the easiest solution, time for an EG :P

trunk_munkey

ah thats the problem, time for an upgrade

HabaneroRed06Si

I had the same thing happening to me three times during my ownership of my Talon. First time was a wheel bearing, Second time was the steering rack and third was a loose bolt.

Well helped all I can. Good luck with this. One thing I know for sure is make sure you have alot of light and a clear mind when working on a problem. Working with stress will stop you from concentrating and brainstorming diagnosis/solutions.

MPR

Didn't get a chance to pull it apart today, so tomorrow I'll post up my findings. Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Gave me a few more ideas/things to think about...

I appreciate your suggestion to take it to a shop. The truth is, I never take my car to a shop for anything anymore. To me, that is simply not an option. lol.

I've had first hand experience with some pretty incompetent mechanics. I'm not paying them $100 an hour to figure out what I can figure out and fix myself. If I don't know, I research, learn and figure it out, then fix it myself.

HabaneroRed06Si

I don't know Mike well. But even I know telling him to bring his car to a shop is like telling a Samurai to give you his sword.

jdm ek4

I have the same mentality as you MPR. lol great minds think alike.

MPR

HAHA, Couldn't have said it better! Hope you don`t mind, I had to put that quote in my sig...lol

Upon further investigation, I found a huge gash in the rubber boot on the driver side front lower ball joint. Last time I checked all the boots were still ok. Looked pretty dry though. Changing both lower front ball joints tomorrow.

All bushings looked fine, but looking at them doesn`t tell you everything. When I have more time, I`ll have to pull it apart further and take a closer look.

HabaneroRed06Si

np bro. I think this should become a DIY thread once you find out the problem. We all mentioned every possible problem and you've checked almost all possibilities. Would be interesting to know what it is!