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Topic
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2003 Accord 4 cyl Auto 114,000
First off I did watch the video of finding suspension noises. And too bad it was an engine mount because the TL is basically the same car as the accord (except mine is i4). Anyway, I couldn’t find any specific failure points and could not reproduce the sound with the car stationary.
I am hearing a very distinct suspension clunk from the front left. It sounds like it is coming from around the dead pedal. It occurs on dips mostly, times when the suspension gets compressed and it will make the noise 1 time as the suspension rebounds and settles.
I had the wheel off and I can’t see anything wrong. All the bushes look good. Since it sounds like metal to metal I was thinking there would be some wear mark or an obvious worn or torn bushing. Everything also felt tight I couldn’t wiggle anything to create the noise.
Any thoughts? On the Honda forum they seem to think it is the lower control arm compliance busing which makes sense but I don’t want to throw money at that until I am 100% sure.
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Did you try hitting the wheel with a hammer as shown in the video you mentioned? Have you checked the stabilizer links? Have you checked the brakes? Did you check the tie rods and ball joints? Did you inspect the struts, are they leaking? Did you check the upper strut mounts? Did you find any orange dust anywhere? Yes, it could be a control arm bushing but I would look to the other wear items first.
More info on finding noises here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car
Good luck and keep us posted.
I did try that.
Brakes are good all around, I put new fluid and rotors 6 months ago.
All the ball joints look good. Struts aren’t leaking. Trying to shake the car around doesn’t produce any sounds.
No orange dust, besides surface rust on components.
How can I check the upper control arm bushings? The two upper control arm bushings and the rear lower control are bushing are facing front to back instead of up down so I can’t really see them…
This is a picture of the lower control arm front bushing. With the suspension on ground there is a small bit of play when pryed with a pry bar (normal?) Could this be causing the noise?
Actually that rubber bit in the middle with no dust makes me think there is excessive play and it is rubbing, if it has that much play I would guess it can also cause a clunk like I’m hearing?
To me the bushing looks normal and I don’t think that’s your problem. Did you try hitting the wheels as shown in the video to check for loose brake components? As for checking for loose control arm bushings, you do that when you move the wheel during the inspection like shown in the video. If you don’t have play when you move the wheel, then your problem is likely somewhere else. Don’t forget to also check the exhaust as well as the engine mounts. In addition, check the stabilizer bushings. Sometimes oil leaks onto them and they go bad. The article and video pretty much cover what to check. Don’t take short cuts or make assumptions, you’ll end up replacing parts that likely aren’t bad. Do what you can to gather evidence. We can only offer suggestions on the forum. We can’t magically tell you what’s wrong. I wish we could, but we can’t.
Keep us posted.
ok I fixed the issue. It turned out to be the splash shield lost a fastener. So on big dips the upper control arm would catch the edge of the splash guard and when the control arm rebounded would forcefully slap the hard plastic against the fender.
Some pics. If you look you can see a small shiny spot where it was rubbing. to solve it I had to cut away some of the plastic because I couldn’t get the hole to line up to where it was supposed to go.
Upon inspecting the rest of the suspension I do have some concern. I luckily (not for my wallet) found an oil leak, but i’ll make another thread for that.
The passenger side bushing is starting to tear. The drive side is cracked. My question is should I replace them now? My car needs and alignment and I just got new tires on. I can get complete arm with bushings in it for $60 and then I just need a pickle fork to knock out the ball joint?
Those inner fender liners ofte cause issues. Just one plastic clip breaks, and you’re now dealing with a noise. That said, I have seen issues with those lower control arms from time to time. The one looks normal, the other in the blurry picture looks like it might be damaged. Unfortunately I think you’re going to have to replace the whole arm to replace it.
Keep us posted.
Thanks for the help guys and Eric. Glad I figured this out and it was a free fix.
I decided I will replace my lower control arms since the passenger side is tearing. I know I have to replace the whole arm and I can do it in my driveway as long as there are no seized bolts.
My question is this: where to buy the part and what determines the quality of the control arm and bushings? I have 3 choices
RockAuto.com: $60 each side
Autozone Duralast: $115 each side
Honda OEM: $175 each sideSo you see my dilemma, I can get both arms plus a ball joint separator for the cost of just 1 Honda arm. How to choose? I know OEM generally is best, but is it 3x better than a “generic”? Not sure what to do.
If it’s an older ‘tired’ vehicle that you drive but don’t love to death, I would go with RockAuto. If you love it to death, go with OE. Personally, I’m not too fond of Duralast parts on Hondas.
Well I went with RockAuto Dorman control arms. I installed 1 today. and WOW what a job.
I went out and bought the special ball joint removal tool, what a magic invention. Must have been my lucky day the sway bar end links did not seize or get stripped. All told I spent 4 hours (and only finished half the job!) +1 hour to get the special tool.
I wasted the most time trying to align the bolt holes putting in the new control arm. I found the best method was to get them close and hammer the bolt through. But I was scared it might get stripped. Any tips for that part?
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