Need help diagnosing suspension noise

doitdubdoitdub familEE
in Suspension, Braking & Wheels
91 Civic Wagon RT4WD
This thing had been sitting for quite a while, and I've done a lot of maintenance to it...in the front I've got new upper control arms, new lower ball joints, new lower arm bushings, inner/outer tie rods, and recent alignment.

With that being said, when I'm driving and sometimes hit a bump, there's a knock in my driver's side suspension that sounds like a rock hitting the undercarriage. It seems to be in relation to the suspension travel. Other than the noise, it drives well, the steering wheel is a little shaky between 40 and 50, but other then that, all is good.

I've raised the car up, shook on the wheel and can't feel any play. I jack up the suspension to see if I can see anything loose or recreate the noise and I can't. The only thing I notice is that the new lower ball joint on the driver's side, the boot already looks a bit worn (god damn ebay parts)...just replaced them a month ago. Sad

Would a worn lower ball joint make this noise? How bout worn strut?

Can anyone give me any other recommendations to look for here??

Comments

  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    I would say ball joint. My wife's CR-V it was the inner tie rod, but most of the other cars I have worked on with the same problem it was the lower ball joint. We usually use a crowbar or something similar to test the components because you can put more leverage on it to test for play.
  • JakerJaker familEE
    If it's manual steering, I'm gonna guess steering rack bushing (internal).

    **Edit** Now that I look at your post again, and actually read that it's an RT4WD, forget that.

    I know once when I changed the lower balljoints on a car, and didn't use the retaining clips, the balljoint slid up inside the knuckle so that the LCA was making light contact with the bottom of the knuckle. Also, check all your fasteners again to make sure they're all tight. Especially the 2 bolts that hold the end of the radius arm to the LCA. Might want to have a look at the bushings in the subframe at the front end of the radius arms as well. Ask Quarters about that one (or better yet, find his thread).
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    The 40-50 prob sounds like a wheel out balance prob.
  • tapia831tapia831 New Wagonist
    yea dude check your wheel balance n make shure ur rack is held in place cuz what happened to mine was the bushings that held the rack were worn and every time i would go over a bump id hear a clunk.. recheck everything make shure its not loose in the front end.. also sway bar buthings could be making noise... n when i replaced my rack n pinion. the vibration went away.
  • ogwagonogwagon Wagonist
    First double check all the hardware in the front suspension especially everything you touched. Do you have any aftermarket suspension components installed such as a camber kit,etc? The reason I ask is because sometimes the aftermarket parts don't have perfect fitment and may be coming into contact with something else during suspension travel(this was the cause of two noises on my cars). You can also take your car to a local muffler shop or alignment shop that uses the type of rack that you have to drive onto. With the car in the air you can perform a more detailed visual inspection of the suspension components with all four wheels in there normal ride height position. Check for clearances between parts and make sure parts aren't coming into contact with each other. Also check the hardware at the upper control arm where in connects to the body and the bushings.
  • BIOHAZARDBIOHAZARD Wagonist
    when i had a small "knock" sound over bumps after i had put in a S2 camber kit on the front it ended up being the pivot bolts on the control arm being just a tad to loose when under the load of a bump. if you did the upper control arms check that too.
  • leWolfleWolf Senior Wagonist
    yeah I havent even gotten into fixing the terrible clunk in my suspension.
  • Eagle BeagleEagle Beagle familEE
    maybe yor trailing arm bushing(s)...
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