suspension clunk noise- 02 civic si

[Charbel]

I started hearing recently a clunk noise whenever making a right turn over a bumpy road, like when entering the driveway with a slow turn and going up. the noise is coming from driver side and it is a single clunk. there’s no noise when going over a bump on straight road, and no noise when turning right on flat road either. I watched the video by Eric on suspension noise and tried to check for loose parts and bad bushings, everything looks fine. no play in the wheel and was unable to reproduce the noise with the car on jack. any idea what that noise might be ?

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[Erin]

Upper and lower ball joints good? Sub-frame bolts tight? I bought a used car once that did what you described and the subframe rear bolts were loose (careless repairs in the past I think) Brake calipers and brackets tight? Engine mounts?
And do not forget the upper control arms (if you have those). They have ball joints that can fail. LUCKILY those control arms are not too much hassle to replace. Best way to check is with the wheel off the ground, grab the top of the steering knuckle (right below the upper ball joint) and shake the hell out of it. Should not move.
Check the lower ball joints with the wheel on AND off the ground. I forget if ours are considered “loaded” or “unloaded”.

What happens when you turn the wheels left and bounce the front? Center? Right?

Something else under the hood loose like maybe the battery just sitting there unclamped?

Front end noises can be a nightmare to locate. As long as the tie rods and all ball joints are good though, at least the wheel won’t fall off.

[Author]

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