well after months of looking and troubleshooting a knocking noise in the front end. i finally found it. when i first bought the i knew there was a noise in the front end over minor road imperfections. i did let that stop me from buying the car. i thought i could leave with the noise, well i couldn't. i finally got tired of people asking me what the noise was and me trying to explain it.

the parts i replaced and result of replacing that part

replaced the springs with Maxspeeds got rid of the floatyness on the highway.

replaced the front sway bar bushing with ES bushings slightly better response from steering. probably just mind playing tricks on me

replaced Shocks/Struts with Illuminas got rid of have of the noise's in the front end. also makes the car much more fun to drive.

replaced all the front strut mounts and things that go with it. got rid of the creaking when turning the the steering wheel

and finally today replaced the front sway bar end links with oem end links . what i found that was weird, was that on both driver and passenger side where the end links bolt up to the lower control arm the holes are elongated holes. it looks like it came from the factory that way. also looked like the old end link bolt was just sliding up and down the hole, keep in mind the nuts where on there as hell. so i put a washer their on both sides to keep it from sliding up and down. put everything back together and WALA the noise is finally gone.

now i practically have a new riding car

 

Good info I got a knocking noise coming from my passenger side . Were the bushings and end links hard to replace with the ES ?

 

the bushings are only ES. the bushings come with instructions. the end links are OEM. easiest way of doing it raising the front of the car up at once to release the tension on the sway bar. basic hand tools will do the job. you might have to use some muscle on the end lnks.

 

This is good info!
I have the same issue, and I'm trying to decide what to do about it, just short of replacing EVERYTHING in the front suspension.

I'm trying to isolate a pass. side vibration right now -- and I'm suspecting an out-of-balance Brake Rotor....but more on that later.

Thanks for the post. I'll be ordering some new Sway-Bar Links with bushings next week from Dave B...
What'd you pay for those things??

gr

 

I had the same problem on my '01. I welded washers over the elongated holes.

 

nice work.. what did both endlinks and bushings cost you? and whered u buy from ?

 

it cost me not even a hundred dollars. i did not pay retail price for the endlinks as being an employee at the dealership

 

oh so that means you can help all of us out in the future right?

 

yes all but in term me

 

i just changed mine, its not that easy the guy had to cut the links off. They were rusted in really good. it took him a while to change them. both sides had to be cut.

 

Replacing my sway bar links cost me 150 CAD, parts and labor. I was hearing clunking noise on bumps, and also when I moved my steering wheel. After getting them replaced, my car actually felt more stable and not as bouncy (or it could've been all in my head).

 

Do you remember the size of washer? I'd like to do this but I don't want to have to jack it up just to find out what size washer i'd need.

 

cant wait to fix mine but i gotta deal with the EVAP crap first.
i always wanna know why, and now i do.

thanks for the post.

 

OEM endlinks were $33ea. and Bushings were less than $10ea. from Dave B.

I didn't notice much difference in the Bushings being replaced....I think mine were still fine. Enh - piece of mind.
I'll post-up when i get the links done, and my impressions!

gr

 

Questions...

springs (got that)

front sway bar bushing with ES bushings - is OEM good enough?

Shocks/Struts with Illuminas - getting these soon

front strut mounts and things that go with it - do they come as a set or they're sold separately?

front sway bar end links - i guess i need 2?

some people replaced their engine mounts, i'm thinking that requires hoisting up the engine?

 

Just changed my sway bar links....first impression: didn't change a damn thing!
The originals were in good shape, so I doubt they needed replacement. Ugh. i was REALLY hoping this was going to do it.
Couldn't isolate that damn vibration in the pass. side either.
i'm OVER IT!
It's going to stay how it is for a while.

gr

 

yea, mine is making the same noise. when the car was on a lift i grabbed my sway bar and shook it. there is a lot of play on the end links, so that has to be the problem with my noise.

 

Have any of you with this noise tried hitting the tire with a rubber mallet or your fist and holding and pulling and squeezing various parts of the suspension? Maybe get a buddy to help. I did and I found that I can squeeze a couple coils on the spring and get the noise to stop. Try it with the car on the ground and jacked up. You may get different results with weight on the suspension. Just dont miss the tire!

 

wanna hear a good one? i replaced both of mine around 79 K with oem parts and then 34K kms later left side was gone again. replaced again and it's been fine till now

 

I got a good used set I'll sell you for cheap.....

gr

 

the holes in the control arm are not wrong, they are suppose to be that way. if the end links are tight enough they wont move.

 

best thread on the forums to date.

I have a 2k infiniti I30 that has had the hollow knocking noise on both passenger and driver front for about 30k miles. Only does it when going over potholes or road divits in town but its annoying and passengers riding with me think the front end is going to fall off.

After reading this thread, I went to advance auto and purchased two TRW brand end links for my car. They were around 15-20 bucks apiece iirc. When I took the OEM ones off, i immediately noticed that the ball joints were about 2x bigger on the TRW brand end links. My oem ones didnt seem horribly bad, but they were a bit wobbly in the socket, but not overly loose.

Replaced both, torqued them down good and tight, and went out for a drive.
VOILA.... all front end noise is gone, going over potholes is now quiet again, and driving is much much nicer.

Thanks much OP for posting this!

 

Im going to try the same thing, and hopefully i will get the same results. I just purchased an 02 Maxima, and everytime i go over potholes/small bumps/etc... I hear and feel a knock coming from my front passenger side. Im actually quite embarrased to have anyone ride with me because of it. Everyone always asks "what the hell is that?" I thought it might have been due to Nissan's lower control arm recall, but i took it to a mechanic, and he said that everything seems pretty tight on my front end. What exactly do i have to ask for when i go to the parts store then? Just end links?

 

Front sway bar end links.

They are unique for driver and passenger side.

 

Ok, so i've had the car for 2 weeks now. In that time, i have replaced the strut/strut mount, stabilizer bar end links, lower control arm, and ball joints. I STILL have the damn knocking coming from the front passenger side. Any other tips?

 

I think it's those A/C fitting sitting next to the passenger strut tower! I placed large area washers under the rubber mounts and that little dull thud has disappeared! I think everytime we hit a bump on that side the a/c fitting (being so close already) and on little rubber mounts, slaps the strut mount hardware creating that thud! the large washers seem to lift up a/c fitting as well as stiffen up the mounts reducing that rolling effect!

 

I would've suspected a r/s engine mount, so many times I've had customers tell me about a noise and they assume to replace struts and mounts and links, and noise still exists, when they finally decided on diagnosis, turned out to be a cracked r/s mount.
Even had a customer have a noise diag'd at outside shop, and they replaced a rack.
Even worse was he had extended warranty through GIECO (MBI, Mechanical Breakdown Insurance) LoL.

Good diag, replace it all