I got into my car today and it just started to make a "clunk" sound from the front end when I go over bumps. Smooth roads present no problem. Any appreciable bump in the road (say over 1.5") will make a quick "clunk" sound. It appears to be more louder on the L front side, esp. if I go over a simple bump on the R end. Of course, going over a single bump on the L end seems to make the same sound.

Any ideas? I'm guessing stablizer bar related--either the link(s) itself or maybe a loosened stablizer bar. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

mine would clunk occassionaly over some bumps...but it was obnoxious as all @#$%#^. It was a bad strut mount. They just replaced it today HOpefully that is fixed now. Also, could be a loose stabalizer bar..take it to a mechanic

 

Have the same issue SeattleGS400 - it is in the dealer now for that and I'll let you know what they say. I also had a bad strut mount just like koreanpers and that required replacing the right front strut. That was almost a year ago. Seems my GS spends more time at the dealer than my garage - but hey at least my dealer has nice loners!

Doug

 

Doug/Koreanpers:

Thanks for the replies--looks like my car might be headed in that direction as well. The strut mounts were not on my initial list of possible diagnosis of the clunk--thanks for the info.

Doug--once you get more info after your check-up at the dealer, I'd be interested to know what they find out.

Thanks guys.

-Som

 

could be your brakes. i had kind of a simular thing happened to me. changed my brakes and no more problem I had the clunking noise while going up my drive way or parking the car

 

they replaced your whole strut just because of the bad strut mount? how much did that cost you? they just took the strut mount of my normal factory strut and put it on the L-tuned strut for me

I just got the car back 10 mins ago....its so nice and quiet now. no more clunking ! crossin my fingers

 

Cost nothing - car is brand new (ok, one year old) - so they did it under warranty. No clue why they changed the whole darn thing either. Just figured that was required. I was just thankful that it got fixed at the time - the first dealer "could not duplicate". Was driving me nuts. This new noise however is much louder and seems to come from both sides so I suspect it is something different and possibly the same thing SeattleGS is having.

 

more than likely sway bar bushing

 

Could be the beginnings of the notorious (for the GS, anyway) sway bar mounting bracket problem. The bolts start to back out (guess that particular robot on the line was a little glitchy), the brackets start to move, and eventually it sounds as if the whole front suspension is about to fall off. Not a safety issue and the pan under the front end would even keep the sway bar from dropping and dragging, but it's scary when you first hear it really moving around.

 

Just got my GS back from a service for the identical problem. There is a new service bulletin out regarding this problem. Today they replaced my front strut caps and cushioned the springs (under warranty). Problem solved. I had been living with this problem for a year, and had previously had warranty work performed based upon a different service bulletin. The earlier work didn't do the trick, but today's fix cured the problem!

 

Actually, I found out from a Toyota engineer that for 03, the bolts were changed to fix this issue. But it sure does sound like this is it (GS Doug, could be your issue as well but the sound seems to come from a lower area). My car is in for its notorious engine tick so it may be a while before I get it back. We shall see.

 

To everyone--thanks for the helpful replies. I'll get it in the dealer's shop in the next few days to see what it could be. I'll report back what I find.

Seattle streets are pretty bad--lots of waves on the soft asphalt, cracks all over the place, potholes, too many cars and not enough people to fix them, etc.--all to stress out the suspension. Something's bound to eventually fail. . .

 

So I had heard; call me a cynic (some might say "pessimist"; based on experience, I prefer "realist"). Otoh, mine have never loosened again since the second time my service dept had to tighten them (and they swear they didn't use Loctite!) which was around 2 years ago now.

 

I just got back from an inspection of my '99 GS400 for the clunking (or more rather accurately--a "knocking" sound) from my front end when going over relatively small bumps and also when making quick right-left or left-right turns. The possible diagnoses were the following:

1. Broken strut mounts.
2. Sway bar bushings/bolts that were loose or damaged.
3. Sway bar links that were loose or damaged.

For my particular issue, it ended up being #3--the driver's-side sway bar link was loose and damaged.

The sway bar link has 2 bolts holding it onto the sway bar and one to the lower front suspesion member--see diagram. Holding the sway bar link to the sway bar are 2 bolts: one bolt (aluminium?) is a permanent part of the sway bar link (secured with a nut) and the other bolt is independently screwed through the link and directly into the sway bar. What ended up happening was that the permanent sway bar bolt was broken off midway, so only about 1/2 of the shaft was left. The other bolt was holding the sway bar link to the sway bar, but it was starting to get loose as well, allowing the sway bar link and sway bar to knock each other during the small bumps or side-to-side steering changes--hence why an apparent "knocking" sound was occuring.

They put in a new driver's-side sway bar link ($85 part plus $75 labor), and my car is nice and quiet again. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

I get a a rattle noise similar to that in my rear pass side, kind of a rattle/clunking noise....can't be my strut cuz they are only 3 days old. Anyone have any suggestions....


Sorry didn't mean to rain on this thread.