Yes! The left wheel. It's a sound similar to when the rack & pinion gives out, without the steering jitters. I replaced the rack & pinion about 5 years ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is that again. However, a mechanic told me that it is not the rack but that it is a loose front caliper or just a simple break pad replacement. what do you guys think?

The Knocking begins when I hard press the breaks and the it sporadically comes and goes... loud and soft. BTW - How many chances to do you give a mechanic before moving on to another one? This guy has been good with replacing my Control Arms, Motor Mounds, and the occasional oil change - though last time he only filled my oil with 4 quarts... I normally use 5... I prefer 20/50, but he claims that 10/40 is all I need. He made me change my distributor, caps, and rotors, while all I needed was a new MAFS... So again, should I trust him on this or go with my gut which tells me is a rack and pinion issue and not a caliper issue?

 

Does this happen when you turn only or all the time? I have now the same sound but everyone tells me its ok?? Thats why I like doing stuff myself everyone out there tries to rip you off.

 

No it doesn't happen when I turn, only when I apply the brakes. Every now and then the knocking would suddenly appear while just rolling... sometimes loud, sometimes not. So I dont know. As soon as this bad weather clears up - I'll take care of this. I'll go with the less expensive option, brakes and caliper.

 

That happened to me on my old car, turned out the caliper bolts were loose and the caliper was actually coming off the retainer. I had a knocking sound when I applied the brakes from the caliper moving back and forth. After a while, the bottom bolt came off (i didnt know what was wrong at the time) and the caliper was hitting the inside of the rim. Thought I'd share. Good luck.

 

Hey thanks man! that seems to make sense considering what the mechanic told me.