Ok, when going over uneven road that makes the car sort of wobble side to side, I can hear a little knocking noise coming from what SEEMS to be the engine bay. I just recently had my bumpstops trimmed, and I think I'm going to put the full boot back on. While the ride may have gotten a little softer when going over bumps, it's also made the struts noisier it seems.

Anyways, what is this weird knocking noise I'm hearing?

 

sway links?

 

Any other suggestions? How can I check if the sway links are good or not? I think I'm going to drive down to MaximumTuning tomorrow and have Jeff take a look at the car.

 

Do you have a Berk or FC intake? Sometimes they bang against the strut towers.

 

Ooooooh...you may be right. I have Berk.

 

Not the intake. It's somewhat faint, but there. It happens on slow speeds, so it can't be the intake. I think it's something with the struts or I'll check out the sway links like bews said...

 

if you do find out what the noise is, can you please post what it is? i think i'm experiencing the same noise. and it drives me absolutely insane

 

Anybody else with ideas? It feels like something's loose. It happens ALL the time on uneven/bumpy roads at slow speeds. It's a faint knocking, but it's definitely there.

 

You know Arnold, it might just be the intake. If I remember correctly you didn't have a support for the intake and it might be hitting the battery. Look carefully at the filter by the battery and check for scrapes or burns.

 

No, it's definitely not the intake, Rav. The intake has a decent amount of resistance on it. I'd really have to press on it for it to reach the battery or anything else around it. This is noise will even happen over the tiniest of imperfections on roads.

 

blown strut will make a noise like that. when there is no pressure, it just knocks around.

 

its not the intake...I remember awhile back I had reinstalled my berk intake after doing my custom STS mod...and when I did, heard an annoying banging/knocking noise from the engine bay...this was during mild acceleration...turns out to be the intake becuz I sorta just threw it on there without tighten the clamps/bolts down very well...

 

I've thought about that too...but the ride doesn't seem to have been affected.

 

either using chassis ears, or since im betting you dont have a set...

sway links make the most noise over uneven road, usually small quick bumps. not so much in turns, larger bumps, or even bumps (like a speed bump).

you can disconnect the links, by unbolting them and removing them, and securing the bar so it doesnt drag, and then go for a road test.

 

Man...it sounds like it's coming from the driver's side strut tower. I think I'm going to put the OEM struts back in and put in a complete bumpstop. I think I gained some additional noises once I trimmed my bumpstop. Jeff warned me this may happen...I should've listened.

I'm gonna have to ask someone to do this for me. I can't spend my money on this.

 

NYPD Arnold, Do you happen to have illuminas. I have had illuminas on both my 98 I30t and now on my 02 GLE and I get the same dull clunking sound but mine is from the passenger front strut area.

I always notice it when I am leaving my neighborhood and the car hasn't been driven 12+ hours and has sat overnight. It seems once the strut "warms up" driving for about 5 min or 1-2 miles the internal fluid must heat up and I don't notice this sound anymore.

I would test this several times in my driveway with the hood up and I would push down on both sides of the car and there is some spring compression noise but this sound is very consistent on both driver and passenger sides. I have maxspeeds and thought that it was when the coils would compress enough to touch the next coil and that was the sound I am hearing but it isn't. What I can't quite figure out is why I mainly hear it from only the passenger side??

It drives me nuts because my car is otherwise silent. I went so far as to cut out dynamat extreme in the shape of the upper strut isolater, the thin orange thingy, and mounted it between the towers and the top mount.

This seems to be my findings at least, Good luck.

 

No, I have Blues. And it doesn't matter how long my car has been driven or not driven, it happens ALL the time now -- it doesn't go away after a certain period of time.

 

Well if you end up discovering the cure to this problem I would be interested in the fix. I have tightened and checked every possible bolt/nut and nothing seems to get rid of the clunking noise over uneven surfaces at slow speeds. I did have some coil binding and unwinding in the past so I siliconed the lower spring isolator to the spring and the lower strut resting area to eliminate any slippage during turning etc. and it cured that symptom.

Maybe I am wrong but mine sure seems to go away after I drive the car for a while. Possibly that once moving at higher speeds the road noise overcomes this low freq clunking.
Good Luck and let us know when you find the source/cure.

 

I drove the car today for a long time and then once I was returning to my neighborhood at slow speeds the stupid clunking was there. I thought it went away with time but I was wrong. This is definitely not a strut issue as different cars with different suspension setups are having this same issue.

I had this exact same sound on my last car, 98 I30t, and it was louder and it drove me to actually sell that car. I had replaced the sway bar end links on that car, as they were suggested as a possible cause, but that didn't make any difference and I also replaced all my lower control arm bushings with poly bushings but the noise was still there. I don't think that either of these could be our noise/clunking issue on the 5th gen.

I just wish I knew what is causing this? Anyone?

 

Well I'm getting this checked out tomorrow. Hopefully once raising the car, Jeff (at MaximumTuning) will be able to figure it out. I have a feeling something's loose underneath and is banging against something else when the car sways. It ONLY does it when the car sways left and right.

 

Well, im not completely sure but i have a feeling that i have the same exact problem. So you could add me to the list of people who are having this issue.

 

Problem diagnosed:

Stabilizer Bar Bushing
Left & Right Stabilizer Bar End Links

Parts cost a total of $70, and the labor isn't much. This should be a quick and cheap fix, especially since I'm hoping my warranty covers it. =)

 

LOL... problem diagnosed in the second post in the thread


good to see you got everything straightened out

 

When you get these installed please let us know if that cured the clunking.
I just don't think that is our issue. Also if you are going to replace these with stock nissan parts this will come back.

You may want to consider some type of heim joint to prevent any long term return of this issue. I know Matt Blehm has a great deal of know how and probably would be a great source to find out exactly what could be used in that area. Also I believe Cattman at one point sold the "energy suspension" brand of polyurethane front sway bar bushings.

Just some ideas.

 

Bews: Yep, that's the first thing I said to myself.

AllGo: My mechanic is pretty certain that's the problem. Hopefully it gets fixed and hopefully under warranty.

 

Hooray for Jeff and Maximum tuning!
Another job well diagnosed.

 

Yep! I knew Jeff would get it instantly.

 

Your 01 is still under warranty? I am guessing you have an extended warr.
I will be ordering these end links from courtesy first thing monday unless anyone knows the guy DaveB, who works at a Nissan dealership and has got many orgers great deals, phone #?

 

its one of those noises that once youve heard it, you regonize it immediately. its super easy to confirm, you just remove one or both links and go for a drive. not an elusive problem at all, if hes half as good as everyone says, then id trust the diagnosis.

 

Another common problem i see often is bad stut mounts. check it out, because i have fixed at least a dozen maxs w/ the same noises.

 

care to describe the noise involved with strut mount failure....

 

I have the exact same sound that seems to be coming from the driverside of the engine bay. I also have a berk but I've been hearing it from before I installed it. ITs probably the same thing.

 

My intake is tied down, it would take A LOT of pressure for it to make contact with the walls around it.

 

NYPD Arnold,
Did you get these sway links and bushings installed yet? Did it totally eliminate your noise?

I tried disconnecting one of my links, which basically renders the sway bar inoperable, as another orger had suggested. I feel like most of the sound is gone but it still feels like I hear a faint knocking/clunking. Maybe I'm too ****.

I have ordered a set of studded heim male/female joints that I am going to use instead of going back with the crappy stock links which cost almost $60 from my local dealer. Also SCO offers the polyurethane sway bar bushings, guess I should go ahead and get these also.

 

Bump, I am interested in finding the solution...

 

Guys, install will be done tomorrow at 3:30 at Maximum Tuning. Results will be posted immediately.

 

in addition to getting my inspection done, i also had the dealership look to see if they could figure out the bumping noise. their diagnosis was that i needed to have the rod assembly connectors replaced IN ADDITION to the front strut kits. which comes to a quote of ~ $950. so i have two questions:

1) should i get a second opinion from a non-dealership mechanic? just because i have a general mistrust towards dealerships' "EVERYTHING'S BROKEN - MUST FIX IMMEDIATELY!"

2) a.if i do have to replace the struts and i wanted to lower my front end a bit, would i have to replace the springs as well with the new struts?
b. any suggestions about buying the parts myself?

thanks for any help

btw - i have a 2000 SE 5sp 92K miles

 

holy sh... you actually posted your y/m/m and mileage.


wow.


if theyre talking about the sway links (when they say connectors), just do them first. theyre cheap, at about $57 for the pair and suggested CP labor time for both sides is 0.7 hours.

that should put the repair at a dealer right around $125ish. its PROBABLY the issue. andif it doesnt fix it, you can always get the struts later.

 

Alrighty, the repairs were done. Old parts were removed (I kept one sway link for the hell of it) and now the clunking is GONE! So remember, folks if you're having this problem you'll need the following:

Stabilizer Bar Bushing $10
Stabilizer Bar End Link Left $38
Stabilizer Bar End Link Right $20

Car drives quitely now. I'm happy. MAXIMUM TUNING FOR THE WIN! =D =D

 

Guys,

On my Max this "clunking" noise continued after changing out the link bars. It turned out to be the bearing at the top of the strut. I found this by keeping a finger on the nut at the top of the strut while pressing down on the fender and releasing it. To repair, you have to take the strut apart to replace that top bearing.