Knocking and tapping in driver's wheel well

[NoHaveMSG]

Noises like this are tough. I'd try giving all suspension components a full check with a wrench. Then start looking at wear items. Wheel bearings tend to make a whining noise when turning. I'd also check the springs to make sure the collar didn't back off, and look at steering components.

[Baldoak]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Noises like this are tough. I'd try giving all suspension components a full check with a wrench. Then start looking at wear items. Wheel bearings tend to make a whining noise when turning. I'd also check the springs to make sure the collar didn't back off, and look at steering components.

Check this gnarly boot out:

I think this is it. Since this boot is in this condition, ill replace tie rods on both sides and replace LCAs in the near future.


EDIT: Will update this thread with results of course.

[Jdmjunkie]

How many miles does your car have?

[Baldoak]

Originally Posted by Jdmjunkie

How many miles does your car have?

Right around 75,000 miles.

[kevaughan]

I had a similar noise! Turns out a wheel weight came off my RPF1 and was spinning inside of it. I had it removed and rebalanced at a different shop.

[Baldoak]

I've installed SPL front end outer tie rods this weekend. This solved part of the noise I was experiencing. Steering feel is improved slightly as well, so I'm glad I made the upgrade. I also discovered very aggressive tire wear on the inside shoulder of the front tires.



However, some knocking still persists. With the help of another person laying on the floor and holding various parts while I bounce the front end, we are getting close to locating the source of the noise I'm still hearing. He identified it as coming from near the opening for the oil pan in the aluminum under tray. We will take the tray off and try to hunt the sound down tonight.



I've verified that it's not my front lower ball joints, and doesn't seem to be coming from my endlinks, coilovers, or swaybar, but the sound does reverberate through these items.



Any bets on what I'll find?

[sato]

I had a nasty noise coming from calipers a while back, but some of it has returned. As somebody else said, it may but be related. The noise/vibration was so bad, I would have never guess d it was brake related (in my case).

At first, it was some worn out isolator for caliper bolts (I believe). The second time, it was the pad assembly knocking hard, fixed by replacing pads (they were about to go anyway). That, or try to expand those clips a bit more for a tighter fit. It's a no cost check, and the bolt isolators are cheap parts. If I remember correctly, my mechanic said they didn't appear on his mechanic software diagram (Mitchell or something).

[Baldoak]

Well, issue solved.



- Installed SPL outer tie rods
- Replaced front wheel hubs
- Replaced lower heim joint on passenger side endlink (it was tight when I got it so I figured maybe it was causing some noise


I'm not sure which of these items was the true culprit, but the car is driving amazingly well after an alignment. It tracks straight and true, with no unexpected knocks or taps.


I wish I could say what was the exact cause of the noise, but I think it may have been multiple causes. Just to reiterate, my car has 75,000mi on the clock so things are starting to go.

[norcalpb]

Originally Posted by Baldoak

Well, issue solved.



- Installed SPL outer tie rods
- Replaced front wheel hubs
- Replaced lower heim joint on passenger side endlink (it was tight when I got it so I figured maybe it was causing some noise


I'm not sure which of these items was the true culprit, but the car is driving amazingly well after an alignment. It tracks straight and true, with no unexpected knocks or taps.


I wish I could say what was the exact cause of the noise, but I think it may have been multiple causes. Just to reiterate, my car has 75,000mi on the clock so things are starting to go.

Did you do 48 ft/lbs for the wheel bearing bolts? I know that’s the what the book calls for but it just seems so low compared to the 89 ft/lbs of the lug nuts.

[soundman98]

every time i see this thread, it reminds me of a story i don't fully remember.. what can i say, humfrz is the story teller 'round these parts. what i don't remember, i'll make up.


when my mechanic brother was in school, one of the old shop teachers was telling stories when he first started in the business.

one of the teachers first days being a mechanic was at a chevy dealership, back sometime in the 70's. a nice young man came back after a week of owning a brand new chevy van, saying he loved the new van but there was a knocking sound in the right front whenever he turned left.

everything from the suspension to door hinges was checked, common wearing components were replaced, re-checked, always the same problem. they spent weeks trying to diagnose this knocking noise that was always there, but could never be found.

finally the front fender was removed when they were running out of things to check for this phantom knocking sound. inside the fender, they found a washer tied to a string, with a note from the assembly line "how long did this take you?"

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

Did you do 48 ft/lbs for the wheel bearing bolts? I know that’s the what the book calls for but it just seems so low compared to the 89 ft/lbs of the lug nuts.

I have changed 5 front hubs using the factory torque spec, the ones I replaced again where still tight.

[Baldoak]

First: Sorry for the necro.

Second: Any time travelers coming across this thread in hopes of ridding themselves of front-end suspension noise will want to seriously inspect their swaybar and endlink setup and doubt their ability to actually install these parts optimally.

As far as I can tell, after having addressed my front-end suspension far too many times to count, the most likely source of noise is going to be your swaybar bushings or your endlinks. This isn't exactly ground-breaking information, but I do want to provide information on my experiences, because so many other ft86 member's experiences have helped me.

Our cars are fairly light weight and have some fairly stiff chassis, so getting your suspension dialed in just right is a serious undertaking - the smallest details overlooked can manifest noise and binding.

Typically its these items causing your noises:

• Swaybar bushings are too tight (you put poly bushings on) and are preventing the swaybar from freely rotating - you might be able to shim the swaybar bracket with washers to help if its really minor binding, but the studs/bolts for securing the bushings are not long, so use caution. A better solution is to buy better bushings that fit properly. There should be no gaps anywhere on the bushings when dry-fit.
• Swaybar bushings are too loose or worn (mostly applies to oem rubber bushings, as poly doesn't really wear the same way rubber does), so your swaybar is flopping around.
• If your poly swaybar bushing grease has washed out you will likely have binding in the swaybar even if the bushing diameter is perfectly matched to bar size, as if the bushings were too tight.
• For poly swaybar bushings, once greased and installed in the brackets, you should be able to rotate the swaybar with just your pinky finger muscles when you stick your pinky finger in the swaybar endlink hole. A pound or two of resistance maximum indicates a near-perfect install.
• Why the above points matter: when the suspension compresses or relaxes while driving, the weight of the vehicle is enough to overcome a small amount of binding or stiction, but too much resistance will result in the swaybar not articulating during 95% of your driving, which in turn results in unpredictable and irregular noise from your suspension, along with a bevy of handling issues. You may even feel the chassis sitting unevenly when the bar is bound up. Your poly bushings will likely groan or create loud thumping/clunking noises as the bar tries to rotate in the bushings, and you can definitely feel this in the dead pedal while driving.
• Endlink joints are too tight (you put spherical bearing links on, or your oem-style endlinks have seized up - if the latter, new endlinks should be on order). If you are running spherical bearing links, they could probably use some teflon dry film lubrication. There are a lot of different brands of this stuff, but I found DuPont part number DNS040101 to be effective. You want something that dries out and leaves a PTFE film as the lubricant. You can liberally apply this stuff to the spherical bearing and work it into the liner by articulating the bearing to dramatically reduce stiction. Any amount of binding beyond a couple of pounds of resistance in these bearings will be felt through your dead pedal while driving. This isn't likely to produce noise unless it is fairly severe binding.
• Endlink joints are too loose (your oem-style links with rubber boots packed with grease may have lost their grease or have worn to the point of play in the joints). This can apply to spherical bearing endlinks as well, but this really depends on a lot of external factors. ANY amount of play in these endlink joints will be felt through your dead pedal while driving, and may also result in audible noise.
• You have clearance issues with your swaybar endlinks, likely hitting the lower control arm, or the bottom of your strut/coilover assembly. Painters tape can help you identify clearance issues fairly clearly. Apply it and then go for a drive and check for marks or tears. If this is the case, you'll likely be able to actually hear the components fouling each other while you drive.

One last point: there's a reason your car was sold to you with rubber bushings and grease-packed endlinks. If you are running poly bushings, bigger bars, or spherical bearing endlinks, SOME noise and binding is unavoidable, particularly when driving at low speeds like through a rough parking lot.

Hopefully these observations help someone else down the line.