[Dan]

Thank you, I will give this a try tomorrow and report back.

[Dan]

WIth the 1st question, are you saying your outer tie rod is loose. That can explain your loose stearing as well.

Outer tie rods are nice and firm – I had issues with my outer tie rods on my previous vehicle, and was hoping to have the same diagnosis here Lol. Unfortunately not the case!

CV Axels can have a little movement but should not be able to move all over the place. Most the time you will hear the clicking or thrumbing in turns if that is the case.

It does have a little movement – in fact it was the *only* thing that wiggled slightly when I tugged on it. There is no noticeable clicking while turning. Everything else, surprisingly, seems nice and tight. That’s why I’m so frustrated – was thinking this would be an easy diagnosis! Luckily ETCG has this forum.

Lastly check out Erics FAQ
https://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car

Thanks so much — digging into this right now. I saw some of his suspension vids on Youtube but didn’t think to check here for his whole collection! Will report back if I find anything.

[Dan]

You should also take a look at the control arms, if the bushings on the arms are bad you will hear a metal bang like noise similar to someone hitting the cast iron arm with a hammer.

if the noise is a loud bang when decelerating, accelerating or turning it most likely is the control arm. If it is a slightly softer noise check the CV Axel (the noise is hard to describe in writing).

Thanks so much for the reply. Going to reply to each of your suggestions, not necessarily expecting a secondary reply but for everyone who may be viewing. Control arms seem fine to me – thanks for describing the noise – not hearing a loud bang or anything, more of a deep “thunk”.

To your second point about the control arm, it’s not specific to accelerating or decelerating, it’s more of a thunk noise when hitting small bumps in the road while driving. I notice that at highway speeds it doesn’t really happen.

I was thinking it might be the struts/springs? I saw one video where the upper mount (where the struts screw in under the hood) was loose, but I’m not sure how to diagnose. I should mention that when I bounce on the car while stationary I *cannot* reproduce the noise. That’s what has me so irritated!! Lol. I don’t see anything leaking btw. I saw a few vids online saying to look for something leaking, that’s why I bring it up.

[Dan]

Thanks for making this video, Eric. This might sound silly but I have some annoying rattles in my car and for some reason never even thought of trying to fix it myself!

[Dan]

[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=159712]I’ve written extensively about these issues here. Please read them over and you will most likely find the cause of the issue.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-idle-problems
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/determining-the-causes-of-vehicle-vibrations

Good luck and keep us posted.[/quote]

Eric, thanks so much for taking the time to read this. I scanned your site for info before posting but somehow missed the links you posted. At first glance I’m suspecting a fuel delivery issue (possibly leaky fuel injectors) which I suspect also explains my negative fuel trim. Going to investigate more tomorrow and I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again — over the past 2 years you’ve saved me thousands of dollars 🙂

[Dan]

[quote=”DaCoder” post=159650]
Alot of emphasis on the MAF sensor, from what I have read online that was the cause of a lot of issues.
[/quote]

Hey thanks so much, I’ll give this a try and report back.

[Author]

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