Front End Noise Post Shock Install

**kool-aide** · 05-31-2008, 11:12 AM

Well I finally got new shock mounts for the new shocks. I finished the job today and now I hear a metal kind of clunk.

I don't hear anything going over normal road bumps or man hole covers or like at the end of a drive way. The gutter things.

I only hear it when i turn the wheel while driving and only in one direction.

It is coming from the passenger side.

The easiest way to get the noise to happen is yank the wheel from left to right real quick when going straight. Otherwise you only hear it when turning one direction, left i think. Or maybe right, can't remember.

Hmm, i'm stumped. Could it be the sway bar? Could it be the upper A arm? I have no idea.

thanks

kool-aide

**chuckie669** · 05-31-2008, 12:00 PM

Not sure what all you removed, but start with those things to make sure they are torqued right/tight enough. Upper control Arm bolt with codder pin, Sway bar, lower shock mount.

Did you tighten all bolts with a load on them, or were they hanging?

**kool-aide** · 05-31-2008, 12:08 PM

I torqued every thing while one side was on a jack stand.

Bolts on/off and torqued:

4 upper shock mount bolts
1 shock nut, the on that holds the mount to the shock shaft
crown nut for upper A arm
2 lower shock bolts/nuts
sway bar end link
lug nuts, lol..5 of them of course not torque in the air, on ground

I have done both sides, and done the same way. I only hear a noise from one side.

later tonight I may bring the car into the garage, put it up and turn the wheel back and forth.

The only bolts I would think you could get to with the car under load would be the top 4 shock mount bolts. The rest would be a bitch to get to if not impossible.

thanks....I'm still scratching my head. BTW this side was the PITA side from hell.

**chuckie669** · 05-31-2008, 12:20 PM

Hope this doesn't sound retarded, but did you make sure to take the old shock/spring boot (not sure the name goes between the metal on shock and lower side of spring) and put that on the new shock. Also, make sure it's not shifted.

**kool-aide** · 05-31-2008, 02:38 PM

that's not retarded, trust me, i would have thought the same thing.

The old dust boot is on the new one. When the spring compressor is compressing you can't get that darn thing out,

.

I use a sharpie to mark the lower spring location on the perch and that round disk thing it sits on. For the upper I just make sure the spring and shock mount line up and I can get it in the car.

I put the car up and made sure the end link was tight, it was.

While the car was up I had my wife yank the wheel around. No noise and I could see anything wobble or bang.

So the noise is only when I turn right and only when the car is moving and has weight on it.

I don't think I have the sway bar on backward or upside down. I only took it off once and basically just laid it under that car where it was.

Could the ball joint be bad now? I mean I had that side apart 4 times in a week.

My technique is to use a hammer to the underside of the bolt to jar it loose, no pickle fork. When you loose the castle nut it doesn't go flying.

mind you, this car is 102k miles and looks to have all original stuff. I know the ball joints are because they are still press rivet in. And it doesn't look like the whole arm was replaced.

I'm still baffled. Too bad i didn't have a camera under the car while is was driving.

**kool-aide** · 05-31-2008, 02:41 PM

Oh and this noise was there during the "intermediate" repair. I call it that because this was the period when I bad a busted shock mount on the car rigged with big washers to get me home.

So I was praying this noise would be fixed with the new shock and shock mount. But of course not, not my luck.

What noise would a bad ball joint make? Its not a big clunk. More like a smack or tap. If I had the radio on I wouldn't hear it, lol...

thanks

**kool-aide** · 05-31-2008, 02:46 PM

is a ball joint it like a tie rod end? Does it have a boot that holds grease or something?

is it just me or does any one else have poorly positioned sway bar end links? Mine are in at a little angle that makes it hard to bolt up through that dumb peep hole.

**kool-aide** · 06-01-2008, 05:32 AM

could it be the sway bar?

still stumped...

**chuckie669** · 06-01-2008, 05:37 AM

I hope you can get it figured out or someone else posts up. Only thing I can think is that it wasn't there before and is there now, you'll have to retrace your steps and see if you can find it. I know you've done that twice already which sucks, but I got nothing.

Good luck, and let me know.

**kool-aide** · 06-01-2008, 07:12 AM

thanks. Yeah I sit around all day just thinking what could it be. I'm just wondering how long it has been there now. I normally drive with the windows open and radio blasting.

The car doesn't feel loose or shaky or anything weird. Ok, well, it feels different because I have different shocks, but each side feels the same.

I pulled out of a local parts store and had a nice fish tale, which is normal. Nothing like being mid hill crossing four lanes of busy traffic all with complementary blind spots, lol...

That felt fun. For that moment I forgot all about the noise,

.

No noise going straight, and no noise straight on bumps, and only noise turning right, ugh...

Considering I have take this one shock off a total of three times myself and once at a shop, it should be happy to get so much attention.

I'll drive some more and see if I can getting a better feel for the kind of noise.

**kool-aide** · 06-01-2008, 01:48 PM

well i would say it is more like a clunk. It sounds like something shifting and then once it gets to where it is going on the other end, clunk.

i hate to say it but it reminds me of a bad caliper. The only difference is i don't here grinding as i drive, and i don't notice any difference in stopping. I replaced both front calipers in early 07. I had the driver side get stuck and i said screw it, I'm replacing both.

I still can't think of what else it could be.

**kool-aide** · 06-02-2008, 01:34 PM

I two foot drove today on the way home. As best I can tell the noise is still there even while breaking, as expected.

The noise is most noticeable in a right hand turn. And of course there will be some level of breaking.

the big thing was the drive straight yank the wheel with the brake on test. that still yields a noise.

It is possible it happens a little less when breaking. Hard to tell because I'm breaking, gassing, and yanking the wheel like a mad man that should have his license revoked.

**tom96formula** · 06-02-2008, 06:54 PM

My '01 Trans am has a funny clunking noise when turning in and out of the gutter of my driveway. I've only noticed a couple times, and I'm not sure if its when turning right or left (wheel to the left I think)? Noticed it more in reverse. The other symptom I have is a very loose feeling steering over wavy road surfaces - country roads. I was suspecting the ball joints and/or bushings wearing out.

Put it in the air and checked the steering, and looked at the ball joints. Nothing obviously loose or damaged. Ball joints felt like they had no grease left in them. Probably haven't for a couple years. Everything else seemed to be tight. Nothing else has been touched since it left the factory (~88,000 miles ago).

Not that this helps your predicament, but the symptoms seem similiar to mine, and I haven't ever had the suspension apart on this car. I'm planning to install new bushings and ball joints sometime in the next couple weeks (or months). Maybe shocks too with 88k on the ticker. Keep us posted on what you find out. Tom.

**kool-aide** · 06-03-2008, 01:56 PM

thanks.

it does sound similar.

sometimes the noise is some what loud and other times it is some what quieter.

88K, lol...I bought mine with 89k on it 1 1/2 years ago.

well, I can say I wouldn't be looking forward to new upper ball joints. The factory use three press rivets, and I hate drilling them out. It takes too long without a good drill press.

what ball joints where you thinking about, Moog?

**kool-aide** · 06-08-2008, 08:30 AM

Well it turns our the passenger side has play in the upper ball joint, and a little in the lower ball joint.

So the car is getting new upper and lower ball joints today.

I am not surprised the ball joint may be the problem. My first test drive on the new shocks when I didn't know the shock mount was bad took a beating. I had some serious up and down smackin and clunkin and bottoming out, awful stuff.

well, hopefully this will fix the noise. If nothing else i'm just replacing old parts,

. Good for another 100k mile, woo whoo.

**kool-aide** · 06-08-2008, 04:11 PM

ok, so maybe not. The left and right steering feels a little better but the clink is still there. The upper A-Arm bushings have play in them and are very worn.

I bet the A-Arm is shifting a little bit during some turns. Well I guess I know what is next on my list.

**kool-aide** · 08-09-2008, 09:40 AM

well i think i figured it out with help from this thread.

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93231

It was a complete paranoid act of double checking every thing while I was working on my A/C. I did so much swearing and banging around i wanted to check to make sure i didn't break anything. Sure enough I looked up at the engine mount and saw about 1/4 inch of bolt from the nut backing off.

I was surprised and glad i noticed it. I tightened it up as best I could and the clunk seems to have gone away. I'm glad I found it before getting to deep into spending money replacing parts in a trial by error approach.