[jimmywhisker]

I should have read this post ages ago. I have a very similar sound to what is being described here. I thought that it had to be something in the spare tyre well. It is a hollow metallic clunking rattle. Unfortnately it is not in there and I cannot find it for the life of me. My mechanic doesn't seem to be concerned but it annoys the hel out of me at times. Seems to be worse at low speeds on jiggly roads. Nothing over larger or speed bumps and nothing at all when stationary and I bounce the car.



I think that my next point of call will be for a cracked mounting.



If anyone has solved this one, keep us posted.



Thanks,



Peter

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[czar]

Add me to the distinguish list of victims of this 968 "feature". My mechanic searched all the obvious causes and simply responded "interesting - come back when it gets worse". It may not be getting worse but it drives me crazy. Considering the age of the car and a leaky power steering pump in the past, I may just replace the sway bar bushings just to eliminate one possible cause.



Czar

'94 White Coupe

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[tamathumper]

Do you hear it when you have a passenger in the car with you, or only when you're driving alone?



As a test, the next time you're on that bumpy stretch of road and driving alone, reach over and place your hand firmly against the top of the passenger seat, and push it away from you. I've found on all three P-cars I've owned that the top/back of the passenger seat tends to "rock" sideways when bumps are struck (e.g. towards the passenger door then towards you), and depending on the condition of the hinges or the under-seat rail, it can make a hell of a racket. Everything from a squeak to a clunk to a very deep thud.

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[apex]

haha - I'm tracking down an intermittent clunk as well. Very pronounced - usually when the body or suspension is stressed, as when going over a speed bump, turning, or with uneven weight distribution across the wheels. Pronounced, yes, but very intermittent. Seems to come and go. I'm having another shop look into this tomorrow. I'll report back with any info...

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[DaveN]

I had a nasty clunk like this in my Toyota once. Turned out to be a tie rod ball joint wearing out and would give the most horrific clunk when the front tire moved "just so" or the steering was turned just enough.

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[jimmywhisker]

Guys,



I have the exact same noise. Right front wheel area, only over choppy bumps. Have replaced my stunts and rear shocks, checked all of the bushes, mounts and castor blocks look good, but it has me stumped also. Absolutely silent no matter how hard I try to bounce and jiggle the car when stationary, but drive down a choppy road and it I get this hollow sounding rattle/clunk. I am wondering if the fact that the noise occurs when the wheel is effectively being shaken as it rides over bumps as opposed to a bouncing motion maybe something with the brakes or a stone guard.



Anyhow, i cannot drive the car for a month after surgery yesterday on my left quad muscle tear. Unfortunately, i have Some spare time on my hands to trawl through all the 'clunking noise' posts!!



If anyhow has hunted this one down, please let me now. On the positive side, there is no performance issue that I can ascertain so maybe I just need to use the radio from time to time!!



Cheers,



Peter

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[flash]

windshield washer tank?

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[gbarrier]

Same clunk in right front. Happens once as I slow down and again once as I start moving. Blamed caliper or pads but all is tight.



Somebody figure this out.

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[flash]

there are so many places for a clunk to originate that it is almost impossible to do here.



one by one, eliminate the following:



ball joint

bearing at the top of the strut (with the wheel hanging in the air, grabbing it at 6 and 12, rocking in and out, see if there is any play in the shaft at the top of the strut)

upper strut mount

sway bar bushings (be sure they aren't swollen or show any gaps)

caster block

front control arm bushing

steering rack bushing

cross member bolts (these can come loose if you installed a sway bar brace and did not torque properly)



failing those, you have to start looking at the less obvious like:



windshield washer tank

headlight bucket

oil cooler

power steering cooler (though this one is usually more of a rattle)

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[ds968]

Add me to the clunk club , everything has been thouroughly inspected and yet the mystery remains ( clunk seems to be coming from the front suspension ) . And like others here is intermittent, and when the load when turning and related steering is " just so " . I can

throw the car into violent , sharp side to side turns, go over bumps, and nothing will happen , but make a fast wider / sweeping turn or a " just so " turn on a downhill incline and half of the time the loud clunk is right there.

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[flash]

i'm hoping yours has gotten to the point where i can now find it. the next time you are down here, we'll get it up in the air and see what's going on

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[ds968]

sounds like a plan, thanks

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[jimmywhisker]

Thanks flash for your usual well thought out response. There are a few good ares to look into on your post. It drives me mad this one - no matter how hard I try to ignore it, that click is like a dripping tap in the night!!



Hopefully, eiher myself or another member will post a silver bullet but it sounds like steadily working through the balance of items on that list is the way to go.



Cheers,



Peter

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[jimmywhisker]

I got around to replacing all of the sway bar bushings on the weekend.



One thing that surprised me was when I went to replace the steering rack bushes. My car does not have any!! I am guessing that the RHD cars must have used a different system - where the brackets are a metal-on-metal clamp style. I suppose that I should have looked first, but it seemed logical that the LHD and RHD system would be the same given that the securing points are identical. There was no indication of any difference in the parts catalogue.



Cheers,



Peter



Peter

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[flash]

that's pretty weird. looking at the PET it shows 2 for LHD cars, but i only remember changing 1 for delrin, and paragon only shows 1, though lindsey shows 2. when i see my blue car next, i'll get to look at that again.

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[jimmywhisker]

Thanks Flash,



I don't have any bushes whatsoever on my steering rack. So I guess I can add these to my stainless brake hoses (not legal) as keeping the global economy sound!!



One question I had for you was in relation to the to the windscreen washer bottle you referred to above as the possible cause of my rattle. What is the best was in to check how well that is secured. Wriggling the filler neck does not indicate any obvious issues.



Cheers,



Peter

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[flash]

yeah - that won't work, s the filler neck is separate from the bottle, and inserted into the bottle



the only way is to pull back the fender liner and reach up and in there and see if it is solid.

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[jimmywhisker]

Flash,



Do you have the correct torque for the cross member bolts? Sway bar busings made the car feel better but no change to the clunk/rattle!!



Cheers,



Peter

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[flash]

not off the top of my head, but it's in the workshop manual.

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[968Z]

I had the same "clunk" as well. Had the front sway bar bushings replaced, and the clunk went to just an occasional "click".

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