audphile1

Need help in determining possible cause for suspension noise in the front, passenger side.

I hit a pretty good size pothole at night few weeks ago, with a right front wheel. Ever since then, there is a very dull sounding noise in the front(right side) whenever I drive over even minor bumps on the road. It is very tough to determine if it comes from the top of the strut or the ball joint area. Does anyone know what could possibly go wrong with a suspension to cause this?
The card drives normally otherwise. The strut appears to be functioning normally as well.
I am thinking it is a ball joint or a control arm. Could it be the stabilizer as well?
How do I pinpoint the location of the problem? I appreciate any advise.
The car has regular suspension, not air. I have the 18" '04 wheels on it.
Thank You for any suggestions.

350g

Does the sound present itself all the time at various speeds and directions? i.e. its only audible up to 35mph, but really loud at 5mph taking a right turn . . .

Personally, I'd check the ball joint area and even check the wheel bearing . . . A worn out bearing will get hot as hell during normal driving and be fairly audible at low speeds, especially when turning. In some instances, it will sound like your front brake pads are sporadically grazing the disc since its rolling awkwardly.

Worst case scenario, visit one of your local shops that offers a comprehensive, preventative maintenance inspection for less than $30. Sure they will be overly critical about each part, but they will surely note something that is obviously out of spec.

audphile1

Thanks, but it probably is not a bearing. Bearing will make a whining noise. This is a dull rattle noise noticable only over bumps, gaps in the pavement and when I enter and exit the driveway, since there is a sudden slope there. I am thinking it's either a strut mount, ball joints or bushings.
I'll have a car on the lift this weekend and will check the ball joint. If it is a ball joint, it only comes with the control arm and that's pretty expensinve. I am hoping it's a strut mount as I think this will be the cheapest part to replace. Any ideas how to diagnose any of those without having the car on lift? thanks

bigDlexus

If it sounds like a littel frog in your suspension, then you may want to check the sway bar bushings. The LS is known for having noisy bushings there. Very easy to have your dealer lube them, and if it goes away for a little while, you know that' s what it is.

Odd that they might do it all of a sudden after a large hit, but maybe it just pushed them over the edge, or maybe you are just being very attentive to any odd noises after the hit.

Good luck.

audphile1

I do have the squeeling noise of the swaybar bushings in the front driver side.
That doesn't bother me because it is almost not audible from inside the car.
The noise that's bothering me is the suspension rattle on the passenger side. I doubt it was there before the pot hole, although it could have been there, but to a much smaller extent.
But it is there now. And it's pretty nasty. I'll have my friend drive the car out of the driveway over this little canyon we have there in the pavement. May be I'll catch where it's coming from. Now it's going to be a question of whether it comes from the top(strut mount) or the bottom(control arms).

Jonathan o

Check your sawybar links. That may be your problem. I had the same problem on my sc. If you only notice it when you go over a bump then I say check the swaybar links.

audphile1

I will be replacing the sway bar bushings and stabilizer links this weekend. We looked at it again and the only thing that appears to be wrong is the swaybar bushings. I decided to do the links while we are at it. I am thinking after this is done the steering should even feel tighter as well. Thanks all for your help!!!!

350g

Update? Did the new bushings eliminate your problem?

LS4EVER85

I've read a lot of post about clunking/vibration noises on their LS430 and am very thankful for all the information posted by other members!! I own a 2004 Ls430 ML. I do not have air suspension because of all the issues with my previous 1996 ls400 in the past l. Around 78k my car starred making the classic clunking and rattle I've bumps and sharp turns. I was annoyed after 4 days of this and took it to my local mechanic. Thankfully I just needed two new tires and an alignment and front brake pads replaced and now all of those weird noises have vanished!! My mechanic explains how the weight of the engine on a bad alignment will cause weight shifts that can cause heavy tension on the whole suspension mechanism. I was sure it could have been my bushings or a weak control arm somewhere but none the less it was mostly because of a nasty pothole I ran through about 35 mph at night that caused the bad alignment. So to all people raging this, Check your alignment, brakes and tires before proceeding to further into the project!