Front end noise?

[jasonlee]

I am getting some noise, from the front of my car, at least I think its the front. I have jacked the car up, have checked all the suspension components, replaced sway bar bushings front and rear made sure everything is tight. Still it clunks. I can't for the life of me sort it out. Its driving me crazy. The only other thing it could be is my strut insert. Sometime ago, i had a similar noise and my mechanic said the roll pin holding the insert was broken, so he replaced it. At the time he said, I needed to do my sway bar bushings. So I did. All that said, I think this may be the issue, but is it likely to break again? Further more, I can't seem to get the top nut undone on my strut. I know I need to hold the large washer, but it is not happening. Any ideas? Impact wrench?
Looking for some insight from the brain trust, as this is sending me around the bend and not in a good way.

[wrxnofx]

The clunk could be a loose gland nut that holds the damper tight inside the strut. Grab the strut and try to wiggle it back and forth, like here:
Front Strut/Damper Rattle

To get the top nut off, you'll want to use an impact wrench. I tried without and the whole thing would move instead of loosening the nut.

[jasonlee]

i will check that. Thanks. Impact wrench makes sense.

[Oh Haha]

+1 on the gland nut.

[Targa Me]

maybe ball joints need to be replaced?

[jasonlee]

gland nut is fine, all is tight. Roll pin is fine, and strut insert is where it should be. Question the metal tube on the upper part of the strut, do I need to use that or can I run it "naked" as it were. It seems the outer house may be rattling against the strut body.

[JINKATIN]

When do you hear the clunk? When turning, going over bump?
I had similar problem when turning at low speed, it was the spindle. I would also check front bearings as well.

[DRACO A5OG]

To verify if it is not the rear bearings find a road or drive that has a sloped burm, drive along side and slowly merge onto the burm. If you hear a CLUNK, your rear bearings are the culprit. Yes, the noise does migrate to the front.

+1 check the front bearings and struts to remove them from the list.

[Bob Harriman]

My 69 had a thud noise going over bumps but only when turning left when the weight was transferred to the right. It turned out to be the cap that screws onto the top of my boge strut was not screwed down tight and was loose. The top of the strut in the trunk with the three allen head bolts were tight. I guess that would be what you refer to as the gland nut. Took me three years to figure that out but not until I was replacing the dampers.

[Oh Haha]

Originally Posted by jasonlee

gland nut is fine, all is tight. Roll pin is fine, and strut insert is where it should be. Question the metal tube on the upper part of the strut, do I need to use that or can I run it "naked" as it were. It seems the outer house may be rattling against the strut body.

I didn't put these back on when I replaced my shocks and I haven't had any issues.

[rnln]

Jason,
tao take the top nut off when you don't have an impact wrench... do you see there is a little cut on the edge of the big washer? Someone posted a hint on this board and it works for me, using a big short socket to jam the washer to the chassis while wrenching the nut.

On the noise, I have the clacking noise on sharp turn. I checked my top area, top mount, strut cap, big glance nut, bushings ... without help. If you can sort out this noise, please post the result.
Thanks.

Originally Posted by jasonlee

I am getting some noise, from the front of my car, at least I think its the front. I have jacked the car up, have checked all the suspension components, replaced sway bar bushings front and rear made sure everything is tight. Still it clunks. I can't for the life of me sort it out. Its driving me crazy. The only other thing it could be is my strut insert. Sometime ago, i had a similar noise and my mechanic said the roll pin holding the insert was broken, so he replaced it. At the time he said, I needed to do my sway bar bushings. So I did. All that said, I think this may be the issue, but is it likely to break again? Further more, I can't seem to get the top nut undone on my strut. I know I need to hold the large washer, but it is not happening. Any ideas? Impact wrench?
Looking for some insight from the brain trust, as this is sending me around the bend and not in a good way.

[amdopp]

There is a moderate pitch whining noise coming from the front end of my 1982 targa. Shop guys say maybe the fuel pump. Any thoughts. It does not change in sound or pitch with acceleration.

[stlrj]

Broken swaybar mount?