gtmax

I made a thread about it long ago. It was regarding an annoying noise that was coming from under the car. I drive on Queens blvd every day and anyone from NYC will know that the road is...less than perfect. About at least a year ago, i started hearing what i can only describe as a rattle coming from somewhere in the car, or so i thought.

It sounded like if i was carrying a bag of potatoes in the trunk and the slightest imperfections of the road would rattle the car. I took it to my mechanic at the time and he said the control arm was bent. He replaced it but the noise was still there and no one would notice it except me. For a while i thought i was losing it.

Found a better mechanic that took care of other issues but when i pointed out the noise, they were unable to say anything was wrong.

After practically giving up on solving this issue, a good friend of mine recommended me his mechanic, 'i know a good guy.' First i let my friend drive my car - he noticed the noise within the first pothole. His mechanic then test drove it and he noticed it within the first block. I felt validated. Like if a crazy person that claims to see UFOs was visited by ET.

He put the car on on the lift and quickly identified two worn out bushings - if i'm not mistaken. They were round things with like a rubber covering. He will replace these two things (200 a piece) and then we're go from there. Maybe struts will be next if the noise is still present.

Either way, if this annoying rattle goes away, i'm going to feel as though i'm driving a brand new car. That noise was driving me up the wall already.

I should have the car sometime tomorrow so i will report on the findings!

GS300ToM

iTrader: (32)

thanks for sharing...

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0prime39

Nothing is worse than passing Roosevelt between Citi Field and College Point!

Thanks for the tip...

Rides Low

iTrader: (6)

yes there is..... living there lol

slickgt1

iTrader: (1)

What exactly is he replacing?

And yes there is worse. Belk Pkwy over the mill basin bridge and the rockaway bridge. I have lost tires there.

lamw001

Yeah, please keep us posted on what bushings or parts your newest mechanic has replaced. Glad that you will soon be noise free!

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

wow thats an expensive shot in the dark try. maybe if it was 50 bucks a bushing id give it a shot. only way id pay 400+ is if he was positive that it would fix the problem.

jt racing

Are you sure its not the spring clips that hold the brake pads in place? Correct me if i'm wrong but bushing problems are inticated more by a knock than a rattle. Mine rattles a fair wack on bad roads ( and lads, want bad roads, come to west ireland). And all it is is brake pad clips.

geeznuts

iTrader: (14)

sounds like strut mounts or dead struts. Mabe exhaust hangers see if your mfflers are loose and get a new mechanic.

gtmax

Got the car back on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the noise is still there, though probably not as bad as before. He replaced both control arms - showed them to me too, and brakes, which was unrelated to the noise.

He did say he wanted to take it one thing at a time until we figured out what was the cause of the problem. Next are the struts and after that something else, i forget the part.

While driving up to PA, i noticed vibration from the steering wheel at 60 - exactly at 60mph. The car is also pulling slightly to the right and i need to make small corrections when driving which makes me red in the face with anger [these issues were there before this new mechanic, to be fair to him]. I know it's not an alignment issue becaues i've had many done, even "3-D" alignment and it didn't work.

I plan to get the car back to how it used to drive when i first bought it, even if its one part at a time.

I will update again when i get more work done.

jt racing

Man, your gonna be throwing money at this before you get anywhere by the sound of it. Can you be a bit more discribtive whether its a rattle, knock or thump. Metallic noise or something hitting something.

2jzism

iTrader: (4)

That has the be the worst... driving around and hearing some type of weird noise coming from your car.

magnetik

iTrader: (1)

i get that clunking sound now too. It's only over small bumps. I plan on changing the control arms (upper / lower), tie rod ends, ball joints, and struts/springs all at the same time. (is there anything I'm missing?) I know my upper joints are shot by now at 156k. Same thing for the rest of my suspension. I would try the Daizen bushings but dont know what the labor would be to replace all of them. I can't stand the noises though but the car has really been pretty reliable and it has a decent amount of miles.

omegagavin

I just had my entire front suspension replaced and still have a juddering kind of rattle when I go over uneven surfaces. I would love to hear suggestions as to what it might be.

gtmax

Nothing worse than driving with a constant noise. I can only describe it as having loose components in the suspension. It really got to the point where i thought i was going crazy but i drove other cars and they didn't make that sound. At least i got two people that agree with me now.

Definitely not metallic or a thump. Throw a few potatoes in your trunk and drive over bumps. That's the noise it makes except it's not coming from the trunk.