I'm hoping y'all might have insights into a hard to identify cause of a loud, metal-to-metal clunking noise that happens in my 05 R53 with almost 200K on it. Manual tranny.

So, the loud noise happens (occassionally) when I drive over speed bumps, brake, or turn to either left or right. I hear the noise as a metal on metal clunk, like something is loose and shifting. I feel when it happens as a small single vibration in the steering wheel and through the floorboard.

I recently replaces all my front end bushings with the exception of the sway bar, bushings, as they looked good. I have replaced both front shocks, keeping the springs. I have no bulging in the shock towers. All nuts/bolts are torqued with a torque wrench. I replaced both front axles. I replaced the front control arm bushings, too. I had to replace one tie rod (right side). I have no weird movement when I grab the tired (when lifted) and tug at them. Alignment is good, stays good, too.

What could be causing this sound? It doesn't happen every time I hit a bump or turn, so it acts like whatever is shifting around (if that's it) stays put, them gets out of whack. I am stymied.

I read elsewhere that slop in the steering could cause this. I would immediately think of ALL the bushings, but I just replaced them. CV boots are new (along with the axles).

Could this be caused by the springs not being seated well against the bottom spring plate stops? Would it be that loud and be felt in the cockpit?

Hope someone knows something and can help. Thanks for reading all this.....

 

Have you replaced the LCA bushings?

 

I have. I replaced all front end bushings, including LCA, with the exception of the sway bar bushings.

 

The noise, when it occurs, appears to be coming from the axle area, vice the LCA area, which is, as you know, a bit further to the rear. Then again, I don't have my ear down there......

 

is the noise isolated to one side or in the middle somewhere or both sides. lol I know it's hard to distinguish especially if your driving but maybe try going over a bump in a parking lot with someone outside the car listening to try to isolate the location.

 

I know I hear it from the driver side. I think I also hear it from the passenger side. I know, right? No help at all. I've chased all the obvious stuff, for what it's worth.

I'm curious about the springs, as mentioned in the op.
Also, maybe wondering about engine mounts? I doubt it, but what do I know, at this point?

 

Check all motor mounts including the dog bone on the bottom of the motor. While you are under pull the power steering fan off and give it a good cleaning.

 

Does the car feel stable under braking? If you changed all bushings maybe something is loose? If it is a loud bang, it rules out heat shield eh?

 

It's super stable when braking. And, I've gone around and re-torqued everything.

the one thing I didn't' replace was the sway bar bushings. That's next.

Check this out - when I had the front end lifted, I was running the car and turning the wheel back and forth. When I turned it left, I heard the same noise. This is with the shocks extended (since the wheels were not on the ground) and no road force. It was loud and pronounced. I could not recreate the noise -- I think that is because the component won't change position until the car weight is applied. Very weird.

 

Shock mounts intact? When the car is stationery and you turn the wheel end to end does it do it or only when moving?

 

Shock mounts looked ok when I was installing the shocks. No cracks or bulges. I'll have to double check everything, though, to be sure.

It makes the noise sporadically. I get the impression that something is shifting, and hard, just a little bit. See my earlier post about the springs. If I'm correct about this, the shifting items have to be loaded/moved and unloaded/moved before the noise will occur.

For example: I don't hear the noise every time I go over a speed bump. Say I have to drive over four speed bumps in a row, spaced out over maybe 1000 feet. I lower my speed accordingly. I drive over the first bump, I get the noise. I don't hear the noise for the next three speed bumps. It's like the first one shifted something.

Under this situation, I won't hear the noise again for a while - always after normal road driving.

Hope this makes sense.

 

When it makes the noise, is it a singular knock, or a series of knocks? Does it do it more when turning? If so, which direction is worse?

If the spring wasn't properly secured to the top hat, it should be a series of knocks due to the cycling of the shock. If it's a singular knock, it suggests what you're thinking, that something is shifting. I know you said you checked them, but my imagination takes me to the three strut tower bolts, like they aren't tight enough and are shifting back and forth. A bushing (in your case, the sway bar, since you didn't replace those) could make a similar noise, but I'd expect that to be 2 or 3 knocks in a row. If it's something to do with the axle, I'd think you could reproduce it by getting on and off the throttle rapidly.

 

HasAnMTBProblem, TBeast, sherman89, and Aaron Espinosa, thank you all for your thoughtful suggestions.

HasAnMTBProblem, it makes a single, very loud clunk, similar to the sound of a hammer on metal. It's violent but short/quick. It occasionally happens when turning, both directions, but it's usually heard over bumps and sometimes when braking. Again, it's like something is shifting a tiny amount, but there's lots of force/weight/torque involved in the movement.

I think I'm going to have to replace the sway bar bushings (didn't do it before because I didn't have the part) and, while I'm under there, triple check the torques on all the nuts, also looking for any failures (again). I will check the engine and gearbox mounts, too.

Thanks, everyone, for the help. I'll update this when I solve the issue. Any other insight anyone has -- please feel free to share.

 

I'm going to take a shot in the dark, based on the hammer on metal description. Something is loose (or too close) and is hitting the tub or the frame. If it was any of the thing already discussed, I'd expect the sound to be metallic, but duller.

 

I'll have to look at the proximity of things. I'll shoot myself if I installed something incorrectly....

I need a helper - it would be useful to actually be looking at the area in question when the noise occurs - I might be able to pinpoint it better.

As you can probably surmise, I'm trying not to have to take this to a shop before I know for sure I can't fix the issue. I predict a litany of repairs that are unneeded if I go that route.

 

If you were in the DC area, I'd help you out. But, you're a bit far away.

 

Last shot, did you undo any engine mounts? Try to step on it and see if it replicates the noise or push the engine with your arm to check for excessive play.

 

TBeast, that's a good idea. I had to loosen the rear one when I redid the control arm bushings. I'll take a look this weekend (if I don't get rained out) and report back. I appreciate everyone's help, truly.

 

Something else I'll check - the strut mount bearing. When I did the front shocks/struts, I checked these out, but if they are bad, that could be a source of shifting. It's unlikely, but another thing to consider, I guess.

 

Are your swaybar endlinks tight? I had an occassional knock before, mostly when coming to a stop or taking off, and tightening the endlinks fixed it.

 

I installed new ones a while back, made sure I tightened them to spec. I'll add these to the list of things to triple check. Thanks for the insight.

 

Have you checked the ball joints?

 

Power steering fan can cause a "jar of marbles" kind of sound and if it's got enough grit in it you'll feel it in the cabin under your feet.

 

Have you figured it out?

 

Have you installed aftermarket lowering or sport springs? If so, which?