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2.2l ’03 Olds Alero, 89k miles
My car has an unsettling noise. It is a single (sometimes loud) clunk in the front end that can be felt. It only happens when turning the steering wheel just past where the wheels are aligned when going forward. It also happens when backing out of a spot to the left. It is only one solid clunk. At slower speeds it’s more noticeable. This clunk isn’t always loud, and can be subtle. It is as if something is getting caught up, then freeing itself. If I do a figure eight, the clunk will be the loudest with the first wheel turn to the right, then will either get quieter or disappear all together. Let the car sit for a while, and the first turn will be the loudest.
Things that have been done:
Full Strut/shock assembly (including mount) replacement on both sides of the front suspension.
Sway bar link replacement on both sides.
Both front control arms, complete with ball joints and bushings, have been replaced.Possibilities I have heard about, but haven’t changed or on the list to examine/replace:
Sway bar bushings
Wheel bearings
CV Joints
Engine mounts
Tie rod endsWhat should I be looking at first? Is there something I am missing? I have heard a lot of people point to the CV, but it’s only a single clunk, is that possible? It’s been to the mechanics a few times, but no luck on finding answers. For a few days after the control arms and sway bar links were replaced it was OK, or dull enough not to hear. Almost as if something settled while up on the lift. Now it’s back. Any suggestions, questions, or ideas are appreciated.
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if its your stabilizer bar links or stabilizer bar, the bar links will have a lot of space btween the stabilizer bar because they are all mashed in, this causes a lot of play, as you come into a corner the stabilizer bar produces a clunk because of the play in the stabilizer bar, if the stabilizer bar itself is broke then you will have issues with clunking coming into corners and you will see the bar is broke where it bolts too the stabilizer links, the links themselves can also break.
Engine mount, a issue i am currently having with my car is a common issue on these W Body cars, the engine and transmission mount get old and fall apart causing excessive movement from the engine producing clunks, commonly when accelerating, and backing up, turning can assist and agitate the clunks as well… too check this CARFULLY!!!!!!!!! put your car in wide open space and with the hood open have a buddy watch the engine, put the car in drive, and with the break very firmly pressed and the parking brake applied, begin applying throttle, just a bit! then do this in reverse, just a bit! if the engine has a LOT of movement and seems too start too climb from the engine bay you need new mounts, this is a good idea too replace because it causes torque steer, alignment issues, and wears on CV joints and even your transmission!
wheel bearings cause sort of groaning noise don’t commonly cause clunks on W bodys but good too check them still, diagnose and don’t assume.
CV joints can also cause clunks, the inside CV joint can cause clunks and vibrations when accelerating, the outside CV joint will cause a tick tick tick tick tick tick tick when accelerating through corners…
tie rod ends can cause noises but initially when you steer the wheel, a good way too test the tie rod end is jack up the front of the car and put it on stands, and with the weels straight, put your hands on the 9/3 position and short of pull and push back and forth and take the play out of the wheel, if there is ANY play in the wheel and tire, from the 3/9 position check too see if there is a lot of wiggle in the tie rod end while you are doing it!
more in a sec
check this out…
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car
then my own personal pattern failures post on W body cars says some things about this too, check this out has videos descriptions and the like!
hope all this helps, keep us posted 😉
It has been a while, but here is an minor update. I have not had a chance to do any in-depth testing regarding the engine mounts, but I have figured out how to replicate the noise. I will do my best to describe it below:
The noise itself: One singular clunk. Almost as if someone hit a part of the suspension/steering with a rubber hammer (so a clunk, not a clank). Sounds almost like something held in position but then moves. Upon settling, it clunks.
The action that creates the noise: I have narrowed it down to steering. But only when moving, speed does not matter, 2mph, 20mph or beyond. It will clunk. Just not sitting still. When I pull out of a parking space in reverse starting straight, then turning the wheel counter clockwise, it will clunk just shy of full extension of the steering (roughly 1 1/2 turns from the center going clockwise). If I hear the sound reversing, I am guaranteed to hear it when I drive forward and come back the wheel’s center position and bear to the right a few degrees, turning the wheel clockwise. It acts as if the problem part is going back and forth between two positions, clunking when it switches positions. I can also feel it more in the floor, than the steering wheel.
I have tested this in my driveway. Backing up and to the left (turning the wheel counter clockwise) until I hear the clunk. Then I can pull forward back to the original position of the car and “reset” the problem by just turning to the right a bit. In other words, backing up and moving forward in the shape of a quarter circle will reproduce the noise at each end of the move.
The other odd thing is that the clunk is sometimes more pronounced than other times. Almost as if the problem part doesn’t have to move as far.
If this description helps out any, let me know.
For what it’s worth, I think you can eliminate the CV joints and wheel bearings from your list of suspects. I’m tempted to eliminate the tie rod ends as well, because the “clunk” doesn’t happen when steering at a stand-still, but I think this falls into the category of “you never can tell”. It may seem like engine mounts should fall into this category too, seeing as how steering input shouldn’t really affect how they perform, but then again, I suppose the side loads of angled front wheels are transferred to the mounts. I’d investigate the engine/transmission mounts the way 13aceofspades13 describes.
Thanks for the reply. I just found the following video on YouTube. It is not my vehicle, but could I use it as a frame of reference? Do the engine mounts shown appear good or bad?
I really can’t say if those mounts in the video are good or bad. Some cars have a lot more engine movement than others, and I have no idea where an Alero would slot into that spectrum.
A quick (but not definitive) check you can do by yourself, with the engine off and cold, is to see if you can rock the engine fore-and-aft and sideways by hand. If you can shift the engine far enough and forcefully enough in a certain direction, you just might be lucky enough to cause it to clunk, if the mounts are at fault to begin with.
The video looks like acceptable motion to me. As for your clunk, I think it could be your steering sector shaft (aka intermediate shaft). GM vehicles in this generation had a lot of issues with these and there were TSBs issued concerning them.
Nate 1 – did you ever find out what the problem was? I have this EXACT ISSUE with my car and have no idea what it is… Thanks!
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