I once thought my ball joint was going bad when I got a sharp pain immediately adjacent to my femoral artery, after drinking too much tequila. :biggrin5:
For a knock on the passenger side, the usual culprit is a failed hydraulic upper engine mount, for knock on either side the next likely cause is a torn guide support bushing.
To evaluate the ball joints, unbolt the outer ball joint bracket and drop from the steering knuckle, grasp the bracket, it should only roll & swivel, for the inner, grasp the control arm firmly and feel for lateral play. Feel for lateral play in the tie rod end; at 100k miles all the ball joints will articulate easily, but they shouldn't wiggle or click.
Well engine mount is out of the question. because I replaced my old hydraulic one with a tsw mount last year also. the lower was replaced at the same time with a BSH. I can't move my engine at all.
Once we get some warmer weather ill try what you suggested and see what I find. should I unbolt the tie rod end too? or leave it attached to the knuckle?
Also what do you mean by guide support bushing? where is that located?
The pitch control bushing attached to the chassis from a TSW mount can separate resulting in noise (in the best case), having a TSW upper engine mount only eliminates hydraulic failure mode.
No need to separate the tie-rod end, just grasp the arm.
Post #6 for a photo of a torn guide support bushing.
Those guide bushings look ok on mine at least from the top side. When I installed my koni yellows I gave them a good look over perhaps the stiffer suspension damaged them where I can't see? looks like I have a good list of things to look at.
I checked those when I initially heard the noise they seemed ok but I'll check again. The noise wasn't there when I first installed them. They've been on the car since September. Never hurts to check again I guess.
K-huevo ball joint check is better than this, but mine is easier. Jack the car up under the control arm (you have to have the suspension compressed) and grab the top and bottom of the tire. Push in and out. It should not have any play. Grab the tire at 9 and 3 and wiggle. If you have any play the tie rod ends are suspect. If you have bad ball joints you should be able to feel the handling not being as precise. When you start into a corner the car will feel funny gest as you start the corner. Once the loose joint is bound up the feeling goes away.
I gave carlB's method a try seeing it would take too much time. I didn't have any play grabbing the wheel from the bottom. I did however have play moving the wheel at 9 and 3 it didn't wiggle but twisting it moved it. but upon closer examination moving like that was trying to turn the car what little movement kept getting stopped cause the steering wheel lock engaged.
I also checked the tightness of the drop link and the top nut I will have to attack when I have a helper. I can't hold the strut shaft and tighten it at the same time.
I am beginning to wonder if a majority of this noise I'm hearing is because of my tires themselves. Taking the wheel off today I noticed it is eating the wear bars now.
Figured i'd update this thread as my issue seems to be more apparent now. I spent last week at MOTD needless to say I thought my car was riding smooth and ready for the dragon... wow I was wrong. The first run on the dragon resulted in thunking sound coming from what seems the passenger side wheel when in tight turns (long sweeping turns didn't seem to make a noise), at some points when taking left turns if I hit the gas pedal a little harder I could hear a louder more apparent thunk, I also noticed that I am getting pretty significant tire noise from the passenger side once I get over 30mph, rotating the tires only helped slightly. I rechecked the ball joints doing carlB's method and couldn't find any play. I'm starting to wonder if I am looking in the right place.
I had been talking with Chad about my noises he suggested either the axle or a wheel bearing. I plan on pulling the wheel bearing to see if I can feel any roughness in it. As for the cv how would one check to see if that's bad? I know the boots aren't torn or anything.
Short of removing the axle and boot for inspection, drive with the wheels at full lock in each direction, listen for clicking. One symptom of a worn CV joint is vibration under acceleration.
Well I have vibration when accelerating but I think most of that is nvh from my engine mounts. Perhaps they are masking the cv failing. When driving at full lock should I be going pretty slow? Like doing a slow motion donut?
So I tried slow circles tonight after work. Turning left the passenger side didn't click but made a sound like a bad tire would. Pretty much an amplified version of what I hear daily. Turning right resulted in no noise on the left but a duller sound on the passenger side. The front tires are two months old. I did circles long enough each direction to the point where I was dizzy.
My plan for this weekend is to remove everything off the wheel hub and turn it by hand while attached to the car. (figured this way I won't disturb the bolts holding it just yet) also while I'm in the far I will be double checking the ball joints.
Also to add the car didn't feel funny while turning no steering vibration etc
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