Search wasn't finding what i was looking for, so I'm throwing this one out there.

My 05 S is popping, clanking, clunking and overall freaking me out and annoying me. I thought it was my sway bar bushings or control arm bushings, so I replaced those with poweflex. Well, its still happening.

Here is my list of symptoms, described as best as possible.

- loud clunking coming from passenger side wheel area when the weight of the car shifts back and forth. 1st gear was easiest to test with. Going about 15mph, if I take my foot off the gas and the car weight shifts forward, it makes a cross between a clunk and a popping noise, just once. Same happens if I get back on the gas and the weight shifts rearward.
- it also pop/clunks occasionally when turning the wheel. Happens more turning right if I am not mistaken. Seems to anyway. Slower speeds or turning while stopped makes this happen.
- going around turns or curvy roads at higher speeds (around 50ish) it gets to a certain point and it seems to "shrug". like it settles into the turn. Its not normal at all. It jerks the wheel a tiny bit when it happens. Its really hard to explain. Like it rolled its shoulder, in a car sense of the word. Happens more often on left turns.
- this one is kind of infrequent, but in a straight line sprint, it seems to pull to the right a tiny bit and then back to straight when I take my foot of the gas. Might just be torque steer? The car was aligned after I did my bushings, so the alignment should be good.


I have asked around gear heads at work and they agreed with me its strut related. I'm not so great at troubleshooting suspension issues. So I am here.
That is all I can think of. Any advice on what it is will be most appreciated.

 

by what you say ... I am leaning to CV ..

 

You mentioned bushings...front lower control arm bushings? You haven't told us how many miles on the car but take a look at your upper strut bushings. Has the rubber cracked and separated from the bearing?

 

nope ... read the symptoms again I KNOW it is CV joint(s)

 

I have just under 75000 on it. Both control arm bushings, sway bar bushings and all ball joints were done. And as for the strut bushings, is that visible from under the bonnet?If so, I dont see any cracks or abnormalities.

 

Oh, and yes. Front lower control arm bushings. Sorry. And front sway bar bushings.

I'm not doubting cv joints, honestly, I'm more an engine guy. I get the basics of a cv joint but why would that be it?

 

Sounds like something I experienced a few years ago. On mine it sounded like a couple of pool ***** clacking together. It turned out to be a slightly loose axle nut. I tightened it up and the noise went away. Here is the thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-or-slow.html

And another.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...eleration.html

Don't feel bad about replacing the control arm bushings, they were probably due for replacement any way!

 

Can't hurt to give em a re-torque I spose, cheapest route too!!!. Or replace them. There symptoms are very similar. Thank you. I also definitely dont feel bad! It was a fun project dropping the subframe. Nice to get the hands dirty on dezi again.

Results tomorrow. Crossing my fingers

 

Well... good news, some more good news, and bad news. First good news is the torque was fine. So that wasn't it. Second good news is I found a ball joint loose, so I torqued that back up. It was disturbingly loose to. I think that was my bad. I put that in and neglected to tighten it completely. But, the clicking has subsided... mostly.

Still clicking. Not as loudly and its not clunking. Just a click noise. I didn't do to much road testing, just a quick zip around the block. It is noticeably better. I am back to the original click I had before I started the whole project.

I will play tomorrow on the highway and see what exactly the new symptoms are and what went away. Might narrow it down.

 

 

.

 

Here is all that is happening now. A single click when the vehicle weight shifts rearward, or a single click when the weight shifts forward. Everything else has dissipated. This is exactly where I was before I dropped the subframe and replaced my bushings. Which I guess is a relief and a pain all in one. A relief I didn't worsen the condition during removal and installation and that it was just a loose ball joint, a pain that this click is still haunting me!!!

 

Having the same issue. Thought it was suspension but the popping and cracking noises started one day pulling out of parking lot. The only symptoms other than the annoying sound was the road noise seemed louder and the drivers side of the car felt like it was sitting lower. Was at a garage day with the KC Mini Enthusiasts, and a mechanic from the Mini dealer was there. Popped the hood, he looked at the top of the strut and said upper strut bushing failed on drivers side. Buy the parts online since they are cheaper. Going to cost about $90 for parts buying both driver and passenger side. Labor is whoever will assist at the next garage day. At least I know the problem now. Now I just need to get the money to fix it.