Clank Noise Detailed Diagnosis

[theKnifeArtist]

So I've been chasing this intermittent front end noise for a while now. Now that it's summer time, it's worse than ever.

I was able to duplicate the noise today at a standstill.
Here are the conditions of my noise concern.

-Car must be driven and be warm or hot.
-When the car is cold, or the temperature outside is under 60°, it is very intermittent.
-Turn the steering wheel 45° left. Then turn the back to the the right and you hear a loud metallic BANG.
The steering must be returned to the left and back to the right to duplicate the noise again.

-The noise is heard from the left front.
-If the left front is jacked up and unloaded, it can not be duplicated.
We took off the left front wheel to have a look and to load the suspension without the wheel and by that time, the car cooled down and we could not duplicate it again. After a quick lap around a couple blocks and back into the driveway, i could duplicate it again.
-If you park the car under the conditions, you can sometimes push down or pull up from a front fender and get it to the clank ONCE.

-The noise is also heard while driving.
-A shift of the car's weight will make the clank.
For example, coming to a stop and having the weight shift to a final stop, you hear the clank. Once you try to take off again and shift the weight, the clank is heard again.

-When driving low speeds and turning the wheel, the clank can be duplicated.
-When driving at any speed, the is no vibration or wandering of the steering.
-Play in the steering does not feel that excessive.
-Feels kind of like a ball popping in and out of it's socket.

Tried using a stethoscope to pinpoint the noise, but the loud clank transmits very well through all the metal components in that area.

My initial thoughts were a coil spring binding and now im leaning toward a steering rack and/or inner tierod.

I had it on the lift and couldn't visually find anything.
Retorqued the subframe bolts while i was there.

Any ideas?

 

[CyFi6]

Get in there with a prybar and start prying against all your ball joints and bushings etc. Make sure theres no movement between the ball/socket. Pull up and down on the tie rods/rock a wheel side to side to check them. Make sure your sway bar is tight and the endlinks are good etc.

 

[MarkIII4Me]

I was having a very similar issue on my Celica. It turned out to be a combination of the drivers side wheel bearing causing an intermittent grinding/screeching noise and the passenger side front control arm bushing which caused a banging/clanking noise. Just throwing that out there.

 

[supraguy@aol]

I have what sounds to be the exact same thing, and i also think it's related to the steering rack.
My inner and outer rods are less than 3 years old, and my front bearings are just as recent.

 

[7Matt-GE]

my steering rack clanks really loudly when i turn when im getting out of a parking space something (thats my example) like its a LOUD CLANK and i know its my steering rack cause the boot is shredded but that might be your issue.

 

[IwantMKIII]

Does it sound like if you lean up against your fender too hard and it dents in and when you take you weight off it pops back out, like that kind of noise? Or a loud solid metal to metal CLANK.

*On a side note this thread made me lol, cause it just reminds me of one of those games where you give clues and have to guess what it is. I can just imagine playing it with a bunch of supra guys the scenarios you could come up with for our cars lol.

 

[theKnifeArtist]

Get in there with a prybar and start prying against all your ball joints and bushings etc. Make sure theres no movement between the ball/socket. Pull up and down on the tie rods/rock a wheel side to side to check them. Make sure your sway bar is tight and the endlinks are good etc.

I had the car on the lift and i had a prybar flexing the sway bar bushings, the endlinks, subframe bushings, control arm bushings..Nothing found. Lower ball joint didn't seem to have excessive play, but still a possibility i presume.

I was having a very similar issue on my Celica. It turned out to be a combination of the drivers side wheel bearing causing an intermittent grinding/screeching noise and the passenger side front control arm bushing which caused a banging/clanking noise. Just throwing that out there.

Word thanks, yeah it could be a bushing.

my steering rack clanks really loudly when i turn when im getting out of a parking space something (thats my example) like its a LOUD CLANK and i know its my steering rack cause the boot is shredded but that might be your issue.

OK Yes, i have the same conditions. Doing parking maneuvers makes it clank loud and a lot. And yes, LOUD CLANK
How would your boot get shredded from a rack with a loud clanking play?

Does it sound like if you lean up against your fender too hard and it dents in and when you take you weight off it pops back out, like that kind of noise? Or a loud solid metal to metal CLANK.

*On a side note this thread made me lol, cause it just reminds me of one of those games where you give clues and have to guess what it is. I can just imagine playing it with a bunch of supra guys the scenarios you could come up with for our cars lol.

This is a loud metallic clank or SNAP
You made me remember something. If you park the car under the conditions, you can sometimes push down or pull up from a front fender and get it to the clank ONCE.

 

[7Matt-GE]

I had the car on the lift and i had a prybar flexing the sway bar bushings, the endlinks, subframe bushings, control arm bushings..Nothing found. Lower ball joint didn't seem to have excessive play, but still a possibility i presume.


Word thanks, yeah it could be a bushing.





OK Yes, i have the same conditions. Doing parking maneuvers makes it clank loud and a lot. And yes, LOUD CLANK
How would your boot get shredded from a rack with a loud clanking play?


This is a loud metallic clank or SNAP
You made me remember something. If you park the car under the conditions, you can sometimes push down or pull up from a front fender and get it to the clank ONCE.

mine clanks because the whole entire boot is now off...and has been that way since before i bought the car...no oil in the boot any longer = snap snap snap SNAP CLANK!

it kinda sounds like a stressing bridge or metal support right?

 

[theKnifeArtist]

Right. This sounds like the same sound.
I've done a little reading around as well and at this point I'm thinking Left inner tie rod, or the steering rack, or the steering rack bushings.
I guess i should try to pull the boot back and check if i can see the snapping play in the inner tie rod. Why do you believe it would be the rack instead of a joint?

 

[IwantMKIII]

This is a loud metallic clank or SNAP
You made me remember something. If you park the car under the conditions, you can sometimes push down or pull up from a front fender and get it to the clank ONCE.

I would start here and have a friend push and pull for you while you listen. Best possibility to find the culprit.

 

[theKnifeArtist]

It would seem so.
The noise is so bad and frequent, it should be cake. ..and yet im still here.

 

[theKnifeArtist]

So, any more ideas?
I'm thinking left inner tie rod or the rack. Any ideas how to isolate this? Any more tests?

 

[Poodles]

Gotta get the wheel off the ground, but load the suspension. It could be a ball joint, but if the wheel is at full sag it won't show.

 

[theKnifeArtist]

While we were able to duplicate the clank parked and just turning the wheel, we had the car jacked up and loaded up the left front with a jack to the tire. The noise was not there. Then when we put the car down and it wouldn't do it at all.

 

[Poodles]

Something is obviously shifting, hmmm...

 

[theKnifeArtist]

yeah, im still not convinced this is a steering system concern.

 

[7Matt-GE]

my bet is the rack bro...its not always that the rack clanks..just a couple times. its hard to explain...i wish i had like a video or something.

 

[theKnifeArtist]

How would the rack make the noise? Gear to tooth gap too much? It would make these kinds of noises? Im just still uncertain

 

[thedave925]

Say your doin a quick u-turn and you tag the curb with the wheel.
What kind of stresses does that put on components?
Could it be possible to bend something out of square/alignment?
What if the rack is no longer straight in its transition side to side as you turn the wheel?

If you were doing a fast 3 point turn into a drive way coming in at speed with the wheel turned to lock, that would probably clunk pretty bad with all the geometry at work, no?
Just tryin to set up scenarios that could cause that racket in the first place

 

[kingrichard]

I had the car on the lift and i had a prybar flexing the sway bar bushings, the endlinks, subframe bushings, control arm bushings..Nothing found. Lower ball joint didn't seem to have excessive play, but still a possibility i presume.


did you use a ball joint gauge? or are you just guessing? how much movement did it have? my ball joints dont have any play..