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I have a 1997 Chevy cavalier. when ever i apply the brakes i hear a loud clunk or pop sound coming from my car. i think its coming from the passenger side. it only does it when i apply firm pressure on the pedal such as coming to a stop at red a light or stop sign. If i just tap the brakes to slow down a little it doesn’t do it. any ideas on what this could be.
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Heres some pictures of the car i took this weekend while it was on jack stands. i would greatly appreciate it if you guys could take a look at the photos and see if anything looks bad or stands out. the two main things are my passenger side ball joint and what i believe to be a lower engine mount.
Heres the link: http://s1091.photobucket.com/albums/i389/380gb/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ24
I was having trouble posting on here directly. which is why i had to use Photobucket
I’ll be posting a video soon. i just need to edit it.
Thanks
Do you have a rear main seal oil leak on that car?
Also, did you source out why the drivers side CV axle and ball joint are covered in oil? Is that from a previous repair?
I could not see any obvious signs of damage but without seeing the vehicle close up on a lift, its hard to say what your issue is. Did you check all the previous suggestions from other forums members such as bushing and so forth?
Ill double check you pictures again when im back from work so i can spend more time studying them.
Does that vehicle have strut rod bushings and did you get pictures of them? Have you checked the brake pads themselves for the noise?
Quoted From dreamer2355:
Do you have a rear main seal oil leak on that car?
Also, did you source out why the drivers side CV axle and ball joint are covered in oil? Is that from a previous repair?
I could not see any obvious signs of damage but without seeing the vehicle close up on a lift, its hard to say what your issue is. Did you check all the previous suggestions from other forums members such as bushing and so forth?
Ill double check you pictures again when im back from work so i can spend more time studying them.
I’m not sure where all that oil came from. i had a small leak for a while but it looks like its gotten a lot bigger. it wasn’t there during my last inspection which was about a month ago. i hope its not my rear main seal. my transmission pan is also dirty and a mechanic told me i needed a new gasket. but i didnt pay much attention to the gasket on the transmission pan while i was under there. i was mainly focused on the source from the oil. i wasnt able to pin point it but it des seem to be above the oil pan.
I didn’t source out the oil on the CV Axel and ball joint but if i had to guess i would say my strut. my driver side strut has been leaking hydraulic fluid for while now. its for most part completely shot. when i do my repairs ill be replacing both struts. could that be the source of the oil?
I did check my control arm bushings but they looked solid to me. there was barely any movement or squeaking when i pulled on them by hand and with a pry bar.
Possible. Some struts are liquid filled, some are gas. I would degrease those parts that are covered in oil. That will make trying to source the leak alot easier.
I finally have the video edited and uploaded to YouTube
Heres the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtGUdP6kges
Its a little long i apologize for that i tried to keep it short as possible. i originally had about 45 min of footage but edited it down to 17 min.
The quick guide through the video if you don’t want to or have the time to watch it all
the first 30 sec has the noise from just turning the steering wheel left and right.
0:30-3:50 is driving to the garage here you’ll be able to hear the rattling its faint but you should be able to hear it with good speakers
3:50-4:20 i was jacking up the car and my struts were making a noise that they have never made before when ive jacked it up in the past
4:20-12:46 i going over the car checking oil pan, transmission pan, engine mount, control arms, tie rods, ball joints, wheel hubs, struts, etc pretty much everything in the pictures i posted.
12:46-13:18 i made a new observation that the popping noise coming from the steering wheel only happened when turning it to the right.
13:19-14:43 i had someone turning the steering wheel while i filmed the driver and passenger side wheel. here you can really hear the popping noise good
14:44-17:22 i performed the road simulation test on my tire with a hammer as Eric demonstrated in the finding suspension noises video.
so overall the few things i learned and/or observed during this inspection is
1. the popping noise seems to be coming more from the center than any one side.
2. the rattling is coming from the passenger side
3. the popping noise can be heard when turning the steering wheel to the right and not so much when turning it to the left
4. control arm seems solid so i think we can rule out the source of the rattling coming from the control arm banging against the sub frame due to a failed bushing.
5. the rattling seems to be coming from the tie rod. it starts at the outer tie rod end and goes all the way down to the rackso what do u guys think? i know the struts have to be replaced but what i don’t know is if ill also need to replace my springs and strut mounts. my outer tie rods ends were replaced last February so there still under warranty so ill defiantly be replacing the driver side. should i still just replace both inner and outer tie rod on both sides?
Since the struts are a known problem you might start by replacing those and rechecking for the condition to be honest there’s no use in speculating more if you know you have a problem especially with the struts. I would recommend you replace the struts (quick struts would be great because you can eliminate the upper strut bearing because you’ll get a new one) and then get back to us.
I would for sure do the struts ( make sure you don’t have a bad strut top bearing ) that sound sure seems to be steering rack related, as you mentioned it coming from the center area of the car. use a mechanics stethascope or really long screw driver and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while listening to the rack itself.
ill be replacing the struts soon. but as showed in the pics i have a pretty bad oil leak that i need to address then ill focus on the suspension. but i don’t think the struts are the problem. they need to be replaced and may have been the cause of the problem but their not the source of the noise. the popping is coming from the center of the car I’m thinking PS rack or steering column. the rattling is coming from the passenger side tie rod or is at least traveling through it. ill keep you guys updated on the situation.
UPDATE
i just got my car back from the shop today. my oil leak has now been hopefully taken care of. my oil pressure sending unit was leaking, the compression line on my PS rack was leaking and i had a small leak coming from my transmission pan. the sending unit has been replaced and the lines were switched out and i got a much needed trans service. The mechanic did say that i do need to keep an eye on my power steering pump. while he was under there he saw fluid all round where the hose enters the pump. he said might just have been from the leaking line dripping onto the hose from above or the pump its self could also have a leak. but for now i can focus my attention back on my suspension and steering.i need some part advice. i found a complete strut assembly from Leacree http://autoshepherd.com/product/Monroe-Quick-Strut/1307?v=158996 i haven’t heard much about this brand either but supposedly there suppose have one the best quick struts on the market. there about $120 each which is just slightly outside my price range. should i take the Leacree’s , the Monroe’s, or instead of quick struts should i just buy the struts and bearings separately and have a shop switch them out? both sets of quick struts have a full one year manufactures warranty. any advice would greatly appreciated.
I have not heard anything good about Monroe’s. There the same quality i believe as Gabriel struts that Autozone sell i believe.
You may have to wait for someone else to answer who has had experience with the above mentioned parts.
The biggest thing i want to know is how long they will last. for example lets say the Monroe’s would last 5 year and Leacree’s only 3 years then ill wait to buy the Monroe’s but if there about the same quality and will last roughly the same time then im just going to buy the Leacree’s. i just don’t want pay $180 for the Leacree’s only to have to replace again 18 months from now. when i could have paid $240 for the Monroe’s and have them last twice as long. but i cant afford to pay an extra $60 just for a brand name because i also need to renew the plates on my car.
Quoted From 380gb:
The biggest thing i want to know is how long they will last. for example lets say the Monroe’s would last 5 year and Leacree’s only 3 years then ill wait to buy the Monroe’s but if there about the same quality and will last roughly the same time then im just going to buy the Leacree’s. i just don’t want pay $180 for the Leacree’s only to have to replace again 18 months from now. when i could have paid $240 for the Monroe’s and have them last twice as long. but i cant afford to pay an extra $60 just for a brand name because i also need to renew the plates on my car.
Valid points to be sure but in my experience you get what you pay for with parts in more ways than one. The firs consideration is how long they will last as you pointed out but the other factor is how they are made and will they bolt up without issue, you may find with some ‘cheeper’ parts that they just don’t fit like the originals and as a result are more difficult to install IF you are even able to successfully install them. I don’t have experience with either of the parts you mentioned but like I said, you get what you pay for.
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