i didn't read the entire thread, but i had this problem before. My hood latch needed an adjustment, and my front & passenger motor mounts were SHOT. i hope that helps

 

For the motor mounts to fail.... how many miles did you have? I have close to 120k miles and i am wondering if i should really focus on the motor mounts. Also, now when i pay more attention, i do notice that when i start the engine, just for 2 seconds or so, i feel a "vibration" in the car that i did not feel in the past. Obviously, this vibration cannot be suspension related since the car is not even moving.

This is why i am still holding on on replacing my relatively "new" MOOG sway bar links. They may be perfectly fine.

IF it turns out that this is an engine mount related problem... where do i start?

How many engine mounts are there?
How do i know which one is the bad one?
How easy is to replace them as DIY or i need a lift/shop?
How much do these things cost ...at minimum. I have a car with AT.


Thank you!

 

I have experienced the same clunking noise for a few months now. Since it was also heard sometimes when I started the engine, depending of how the car was parked, I figured it was related to either one of the four engine mounts or one of the supports for the exhaust pipe. Finally, after reading all of the posts, I went under the car for a close inspection. I found that the everything was nice and tight everywhere. Supports for the exhaust pipe were good, the rear engine mount point by the firewall was in perfect shape, etc. I then removed the plastic under cover on the driver side to take a closer look at the front engine mount. I inmediatelly noticed that one of the rubber disks that separate the mounting point on both sides from the engine bracket was missing. There was a quarter inch gap between the metal of the bracket and the metal of the mounting point. By holding the engine up with the lift I was able to remove the crossing bolt and to install a new rubber disk in that place. The clunky noise is now gone for good. I am not sure if the technitian at the Nissan dealer forgot to install that disk at one of the checkups or what happened. All of the other mounting points have two disks on either side of the mount, and it seems quite impossible for one of them to just fall off. I hope this thread helps some of you with similar problems.

 

well anyone has successfully dignosis what actually cause it? Or anyone that replace their engine mount solve the issue?

 

I have a good one. So I've been getting this strange grinding/metal scraping sound from the front end. upon inspection, i found that the bolt for the front motor mount is gone...completely missing!! And the insert is completely destroyed from the bolt moving all over the place as it worked it's way out. I went ahead and ordered new mmi's from ES. They're being shipped as we speak. However, since the bolt is missing, and the ES mounts probably dont come with any hardware, I'm wondering what size bolt and what grade it should be. I know I could get out the tape, measure it, and buy and grade 8 bolt, but I'm in my office now any can't really go out and mess with my car. Does anyone know how big that bolt is?

oh, btw. 2000.5 GLE cali spec.

Also, got a P0443 SES light. Looked it up in the FSM. Where the H*LL is the EVAP canister located??? Please tell me it's not in the rear quarter panel...

Thanks.

 

from standing behind the car....

bottom left with a black box.

 

i have the exact same noise.

my check list for tomorrow....

1. check strut hat bolts.
2. grease hood lock
3. rev engine to check the mounts
4. remove strut bar and test drive
5. open the hood with someone turning the steering wheel left and right
6. replace end links(bought last week)

someone adds to the list if im missing something

thanks

 

I'm having very similar problems as well.....clunks when going over speed bumps, seems to be coming from driver and passenger sides.

Any way to rule out wheelbearing?

 

if its not motor mounts, check strut mounts. i have a lose right strut mount that im going to fix today and it makes a clunk noise like described before

 

If you are getting clunking sounds going over bumps in the road, speed bumps, etc... Jack up the front of your car and take off the front wheels.
Grab the sway bar and try your best to move it, if you can hear it making any sounds, then it is most likely your end links are worn out. It also wouldn't hurt to inspect the bushings, but I haven't heard too many people say their sway bar bushings are worn out.

If your car is sitting still and it is vibrating/shaking and/or it makes a clunking sound when starting, it is probably one of your motor mounts. From what I have read on here from people that have had this problem, it's usually the rear motor mount that needs replaced. Obviously if your engine is moving around more freely than it's supposed to, it is going to bang off of stuff that it shouldn't, and make the car shake. Sometime open your hood, have someone get in your car and put the ebrake on, put it in drive/1st gear and hold the brake pedal down with their left foot, and rev the engine. You might be surprised how far the engine lifts up and moves around in the engine bay when it's in gear and engaging the transmission.

 

I havent read every post in this thread... however, I'll chime in my 0.02

I bought my maxima with 132K on her. Today she has 167K on her.

Upon buying her I had swapped to Illuminas and H&R.

I have been having the noise to talk about off and on. It was noticed mainly on really bad roads and those short speed bumps that really bounce the car.

Recently, it got worse and I decided to replace all the remaining.

Here is what i have replaced on the car:
New Strut Mounts and bump stops - KYB: My left mount has cracks in the rubber and the right has tears in the rubber.
New spring isolators, I had noticed my left isolator torn completely and causing a metal against metal noise.
New strut bearings: Old ones has jammed causing creaking sounds on turning steering.
New sway bar bushings: Old ones had visible play
New sway bar end links: Old ones had no stiffness like the new ones.

Note that all the above were parts I reused while doing my struts and springs. After 167K I'm sure they had to be gone!


I do have to say one of the above definately solved my problem. If I had to say what it really was, I would say sway bar bushing, end links, strut mounts and spring isolators. From a mechanical perspective the other items could not have really caused metal on metal noise as they are torqued down. Plus if you do all of them, they dont really cost that much.

I noticed you have new strut mounts so you can rule them out. Did you put in new isolators and also new top insulators? those pieces of treated paper....the orange thingie that goes on top of the completed strut.

Good Luck... it took me sometime... but now my maxima drives waaaaayyy better than my buddies 01 i30 which has about 70K on it compared to me with almost a 100K more than his car!

 

Turn up the Illuminas and see if the noise stops! I noticed my Illuminas were loosing up a bit so I turned it up from 2 to 3 on the fronts and they're feeling good and riding very well.

 

I had the same described clunking over bumps at idle or low speeds on the passenger side. I was told it was the struts, so a week ago I ordered Tokico Illuminas and new strut bearings. Turns out, as I was installing them today, I found my tie rod ends shot, which was actually causing the rattle. Buttoned it all back up and took it for an alignment and after they checked everything out, they came back and said, it was in perfect alignment, so they did not charge me a penny. WOW!

So far... new coil packs, tires, MAF and the above make it drive like new again.

 

Thanks for this posting. I just bought an '01 SE 5spd w/98K miles almost 3 weeks ago having the same clunking issues over small bumps and pulling into the driveway which is an incline. I've also noticed it is worse now that winter is setting in. When I bought the car, it was somewhat warm, now it's been around 25-30 for the highs, so the sound is much more pronounced. Any way to run the VIN # to find out if the recall has been performed?

 

Here is an update...

Yesterday, i decided to test if my 2 year old sway bar end links are bad. I disconnected them completelly from the sway bar on both sides and i drove the car over bumps, uneven streets, etc without the way bar being connected at all. Well.....the clunk is still there!! The end links made no difference - connected or not. The car still feels like it's bottoming down over dips/bumps and uneven streets. Same clunk ...feels like something is hitting on metal. I wish the problem was in the end links. It's never that easy.

So, what's next?

- Strut mounts are only a year old. I installed them with my new Illuminas. I checked for the TENTH time yesterday if all bolts/nuts on the strut mounts are tight. Can a brand new strut mount/bearing fail only in 6 month of use?

- Engine moves some but i do not see anything excessive, no vibration at idle, no weird noises when starting the car. Should i still suspect the engine mounts? What would be a sure, reliable test?

- Tie rod ends? Could a bad tie rod end be making this noise? If feels/sounds like the noise is comming from somewhere higher under the hood...not down where the wheels are. But Who knows if this is true,....i am inside the car and i have really hard time pin pointing where this clunk is comming from...all know that i can hear it clearly over dips/bumps.

- What else should i suspect? When the car is parked and i try to shake it/move it by using my own weight, i hear nothing. No noises from the front at all. I feel really stuck in troubleshooting this. I almost feel like paying a mechanic $100 to diagnose this, unfortunately, i don't know anyone good & realiable in the area. I've always worked on my car on my own.


Thanks for any help!




-

 

I'll be curious to here what others say dansmax....

I'm having the same issue.

The only thing I haven't replaced is the strutmounts and tierods at this point.

I HATE HATE HATE that my car is making this friggin' noise!!

gr

 

Here is one suggestion:
- check your spring isolators and upper spring seats. Yes you would have to get your struts out. Did you change them when you put in your new struts? They may look ok but they do wear out!

- check that little triangular piece of paper that sits all the way up top on the top-hat. When i re-did my suspension recently, I ordered all OEM parts for the isolators, spring seat and the treated piece of paper. They all like 7-8 bucks each from DaveB.

Good Luck.

 

Those little "triangular treated pieces of paper" seem to be a weak link....

Anybody ever tried to UPGRADE or IMPROVE these with aftermarket or something better????
Would like some better Rubber Isolation Boots too..!

gr

 

You know... I just saw the schematic again and noticed how this whole setup fits together.

Can you confirm you connected the Strut through the holes absolutely properly i.e. each of the 3 top hat stud coming up from the holes properly BEFORE they were connected to the knuckle at the bottom? I am fearing probable aligning issue that can create such a situation.

I would definately double check it!

 

After 4 trips to the dealer my "front end clunk" has finally been fixed (mind you after replacing the right front strut 3 times)-it so happens they replaced the "rod assembly" whatever that part is-they described it like a bushing on the sway arm-the strut was never a problem.

 

mine has a slight light clunk over small irregularities...I opening up the wheel well splash shield cause I think it's a design flaw....such as a wiring harness slapping the inner fender or splashsheild. I know there's nothing worn on the front end, but it's on the right front side. Tonite i'm gonna check the torque on my motor mounts, engine cradle, lower control arm hardware,etc and remove the RF wheel and splash sheild......

 

I'm repeating myself, but if you have a metal to metal tapping from the front end that occurs on an almost smooth road and with very little suspension travel, and you haven't already CLOSELY inspected the stab. bar end links, then I urge you to carefully inspect the end links (ball sockets). I didn't find a problem until I removed one end link from the stab. bar and then tried to "rotate" this free end of the stab. bar up and down. Lone and behold there was a "clunk" at the opposite end. Replaced both end links and the tapping was gone and hasn't reoccured. The original end links only had about 25,000 miles on them and had not been subjected to heavy use, or were they corroded. With the car on a hoist you may be able to find a duff end link by levering with a pry bar with the end links connected, but when I was lying on my back under the car I couldn't get enough leverage. Before throwing expensive parts at your car, definitely check out the end links. (When I was buying the new end links I asked the parts guy about the stab. bar bushings........he said that they hardly sell any.)

 

I have the same clunks in my front end and after watching all posts and seeing if any apply to my vehicle, I went and tightened the strut bolts including the center strut bolt. On the passenger side I cannot tighten the center bolt and the whole strut center member is turning both clockwise and anticlockwise. It seems to be tight but then I cannot tighten it further since the whole center colmn moves in both directions. Wonder what is wrong here...

 

That's not common in the 5 /5.5th gen strut mounts, but the 4th Gen upper strut mounts are notorious for this... they suck!!! They round out the "D" shaped hole due to the extremely loose tolerances and thin material. So either you're running Cattman 5th Gen Progress/AGX setup or or strut shaft was never fully engagd into the "D" bushing of the upper strut mount! Get a couple of shop rags and a visegrip and hold the shaft as high up as you can, this will allow you to loosen this nut!

 

Well I found my clunking noise 2day...On the passenger front...I decided to check the torque of all my components on the front suspension, engine mounts, x-member, front subframe bolts/nuts. Well what I found was a bad right mount, that visually looked good until I started lifting it with my large pry bar. The rubber must be bad on the bottom section and around the bolt bushing, any how I would look there If I were you guys and you can't find it anywhere else on the front suspension!

 

Actually the strut's D is intact. I am thinking the strut mount has rounded off. Sucks to bring the entire spring/strut assembly out.
BTW what would folks recommend as a resonable interval for the strut mounts to fail. Bay Area, CA has one of the worst highways, they wear out suspension components in no time.

 

That's the same thing I said....not the shaft but the strut mount(Female) "D" opening. Get your Vise grip and shop rags ready.

 

Could I get some tubing from HD/OSH and have the spring run thro the tubing at the top and bottom of the strut? The OEM insulator just covers half the spring, will there be any issues to get some tubing and have the spring fully covered. Would the spring slip if the spring is fully insulated with tubing?

Spring insulators is what I think may also be aggrevating the clunks.

 

I have oem insulators... no issues at all

What happens is the upper part of the spring rests against the upper spring seat. Over time the rubber seat will compress enough to start letting the spring make noises.

OEM insulators are not that expensive.. DaveB to the rescue

 

I have the exact same problem! It only happens when the wheel is fully or almost fully cranked to one side, and going onto a steep driveway. It's the most gut wrenching, squeaky, make your spine tingle and teeth shiver kind of noise... Any ideas? It has no other problems but this annoyance.. *knock on wood*

Thanks.

 

I have the exactly same problem with my 2000 Maxima SE. When it hits a dip (small) with a little bit fast speed, it sounds like there's even no struts and makes a clunking ("donging") sound! If the speed is low, then there's no such sound. I checked all the strut nuts and they seem to be tight. Any updates on this issue? Thanks!

Any thoughts for the below message (from google)?

Drive line clunk is caused by the male and female splines of the drive shaft transmission yoke "catching" on each other. The drive shaft has a yoke on the end into which is pressed one half of the universal joint. That yoke has a female splined member which slips over the male splined output shaft of the transmission. Normally these two splined members move with respect to each other when you go over a dip in the road or otherwise cause the rear end of the vehicle to go up or down. Since the transmission is mounted fast to the frame member of the car and the rear end floats up and down with respect to the frame, the drive shaft must become longer and shorter to compensate for this movement.
When the splines are new and well lubricated they move easily over each other, the female member moving in and out on the transmission spline. Eventually they dry out and the edges of the female spline become sharp and bite into the male splined output shaft. When this happens, and when the drive shaft is trying to re-enter the transmission, the splines lock together temporarily for an instant. Then the splines release their hold on each other and the "clunk" is felt throughout the chassis of the vehicle.
To eliminate the clunk you can file the sharp edges of the female splined member so that they no longer can catch on the male spline. You can also put a small amount of lubricant on the splines however it must be compatible with whatever type of transmission/fluid your vehicle uses. There are some silicone based greases that will do just fine.
Ford issued a seal kit a long time ago which was inserted into the female member and which prevented the lube from getting out of the region and co-mingling with the transmission fluid. I don't know if any other manufacturers have such a kit but it would be worth asking at the parts counter.

 

Which side is it coming from..the right?

 

Highly highly doubt it.

 

at a stop step on the gas fairly hard, if the engine jerks/clunks it's your motor mounts.

 

Hate to bump this thread, but I have a 4th gen and I've been having a very similar issue. My father and I have checked the underside and we can't see anything.

Sears did a front end check and said I needed to replace the passenger side control arm and ball joint. I did that and the sound got less noticeable for a few days.

Now, a few months later, it's worse.

When I drive with the windows down, I can hear my struts creaking on every bump. Is this normal after a while?

If we push on the fender, sometimes we can hear the clicking/banging and sometimes we can't.

The sound that I get when in the car driving is almost as if someone is tapping on the underbody of the car every time I go over a bump or a dip. Everything looks fine though, so it's not my exhaust, etc.

I did change my control arms, outer tie rods, bushings, etc. with parts from World Suspenion on EBay (it was part of a kit - I'm sure you guys have seen it).

Any ideas?

My power steering is leaking slowly (more and more - will be changing soon). Could it be my power steering?

 

Melloy Nissan, one of our Albuquerque dealers, diagnosed my problem as being the timing chain. They kept the car for 2 weeks. After paying the $3,200 invoice, I drove less than 30 ft. only to find the sound had NOT been eliminated.

It ended up being the motor mounts!

I have a 2000 GLE

 

Well I did the mount check by putting the car into gear, holding the brake, and giving it gas. Everything was quite. I don't think it's my mounts.

And I think it was a suspension component such as sway links, or ball joint, Sears would have mentioned it.

 

DON'T GO TO CRAZYYY ABOUT THE STRUSTS..
MY PROBLEM GOT VERY BAD EVERY TIME I WENT OVER BUMPS, AND COMING IN OR OUT MY DRIVEWAY..... THE FIX WAS ONLY IN A MATTER OF 20 MIN. TOTAL.. THE PROBLEM, MY SWAY BAR BUSHINGS...
AFTER THAT NO MORE CLUNKING OR ANOING NOISES.

 

DON'T GO TOO CRAZZYY ABOUT YOUR STRUTS....

I HAD THE SAME ISSUE.

I WENT TO MY NEAREST AUTOPART STORE AND BOUGHT A SET OF SWAY BAR BUSHINGS... REPLACED THEM IN LESS THAN 20 MINS... THE CLUNKING NOISE STOPPED.. NO MORE ANOYING NOSIES..

 

Sway Bar End Link Bushing or Sway Bar Bushing? If it's the Bar...what size did you buy?

Thanks.