I doubt I can get an answer to this one. It started a couple of days ago and has been getting worse. There is a clunk kind of noice when I roll over some rough roads. Not all the time just depends. I first thought it was ball joint but had a look at them last night and could not see anything visiabley wrong. Has anyone had problems with the shock towers or control arms. I can for the life of me think what it could be. Car drives and handles the same and I dont notice anything in the steering wheel when it happens. I did hit a very large pot hole about a week ago but that was on the passenger side and the noise I hear now is from drivers side. I think I am going to have to have someone look at it but if anyone has any ideas let me know, I would like to at least have a bit of a clue.

 

Loose strut/spring? Bad bearing?Broken end link on front sway bar or worn end link bushing(s)?Did you hit the pothole hard enough to damage one of the steel belts in your tire and it just sounds like it is coming from drivers side.?I am just guessing-could be most anything. BJ

 

I think there might be damage to both sides. drivers is way worse. i hit pot hole hard enough to turn the check engine lite on. pretty big hole and i was doin at least 60kph. I thought tie rod end. but it has to be something that is moving up and down when not side to side. minimal noice when turning. much louder when you hit bump head on. Could be the sway bar, is there a lot of motion up and down from the sway. i always thought it was for side to side. tire is damaged and so is rim, but they are not causeing the noise. maybe shock tower?

I appreciate any ideas here, not that i expect you to know exactly, just maybe you have had some experience with this kind of thing.

tierod ends are fairly cheap (if I can get them) most other parts are not available here in Canada. i am affriad this is going to cost me thousands.

 

Check the Sway bar Bushings in the middle of the Subframe. They are known to Break. Get under the car and try to push/pull in the Sway bar. I am About 80% sure that is it.

 

whats the other 20% say? lol

 

Bad upper spring Seat. But usually they will only POP while turning.

 

I dont think it would be the shock tower.If you hit hard enough to turn check engine lite on I agree with Tech, it probably is a broken end link/damaged bushing or you actually broke a spring or strut itself. BJ

 

I had one other thought,Zigzag. If you hit a pothole that hard, you may have broken a motor mount or the transmission mount.The shadetree way of checking for bad motor mounts is to chock the wheels of the car, start it, put in gear, have someone stand to the side of car with hood open,slowly apply gas and watch for excessive engine movement. Tech may have a better way to do this check. Just a thought.

 

that shock thing could be, it seems to happen on the upstroke of the bump more than downstrock. I have been hoping it was ball joint. could hiting pot hole on passenger side cause damage to drivers side. I guess it could or maybe just a coinsidence. I will have to take it in on saturday and get someone to look at it. I dont have a garage of my own. Can you replace just the bushing or do you have to get a new tower?

 

New idea here, I take car in on Saturday so I should know by Monday what it is.

Contest. who can guess what the noise is? Winner gets a cookie.

I think it is ball joint.

 

Given the nature of this problem and the fact that none of us save you have had the chance to see/hear/feel it-- if anybody BUT you guesses it right they should get the Johnny Carson/Carnack the Magnificent Clairvoyant of the Year Award. Lol. BJ

 

I told you everything that is happening. It is a large clunk, obviosly a moving joint somewhere, I dont have any wheel shake when it happens just a noise. drives like normal. hummmm maybe I change my guess to sway bar. Now that i think about it, sway bar is linking both sides of car. if pot hole hit passenger side then sway bar may have been damaged at other end to pick up what ever torsion what not taken by shocks. By the By this noise doesn't happen at every bump, sometimes even small on will do it. slower speeds seem to make it happen more. 50 to 60 kph. sometime large bump where you think it would happen and nothing.

Get you envelopes out. here's jonny.

 

Hm-m-m. I think I guessed sway bar in my first post re this issue-so I will stay with that as well. Here-es-s-s Johnny.BJ

 

This STILL gets my Vote!!!

 

ill go with the sway bars like Tech

 

everyone who said sway bar bushin, you get a cookie, Please log on to SaveU.com for you very own cookie. Apparently this is the first one in Canada to have this problem. I feel so honoured. I have to order part so hopefully I will be able to get it fixed this weekend.

 

Maybe first one in Canada to get dx'd with the problem but I doubt it is the first one with the problem. Congrats on finding the problem. I'm glad it was what it was and not something more serious (read expensive). BJ

 

me too, and yes it is a canadian thing. S40 has only been here since 2001 and I have a 2001 S40.

 

Ver-r-r-r-y interesting. Did not know that S40's were so late in coming to Canada. What I meant was I'll bet there are a few other 40's in Canada with bad sway bar bushings that just havent been diagnosed with same as yet. Anyhow, glad you are going to be "clunkless" soon. BJ

 

yes, it is a bit unnerving. even now that i now what it is still scares me a bit.

I cant wait for the part to show up. I have had this noise for over a week now. I am sure more canadian cars will develope this problem, I think I just aggravated it when i hit pot hole