I have a 2001 nissan maxima with 155k miles on it. I am getting this weird noise when i hit bumps it makes this clunk noise. I think it is the strut mounts but i know it isnt my struts cause they are in good shape. How can you tell if you have bad strut mounts? Also looking to tune up the max, did the spark plugs September of 09 and that was about it. What else should i do so i can have the best performance. If there is a mechanic around the CT area please let me know. Thanks.

 

I had a clunking sound everytime I hit a speed bump or pothole coming from the front passenger side. It turned out to be the passenger side engine mount. Replaced it with an aftermarket one in pretty good condition that I found at a junk yard. The noise is gone, the car drives much better and has a more solid feel without a slight pull I was getting when switching gears. Even some of the annoying whining noise I was hearing inside the cabin is gone.

 

wow i cant believe it was an engine mount. I have the same noise but its coming from the back right of the car. when i have the back seats down sometimes I can hear it well. I went over a few speed bumps 10 times to make sure that is where it was coming from. Not sure what is going on there though. Id say strut mount.

 

I was thinking it might also be something in my spare tire compartment like the tire not being clamped down tightly enough or the tire iron in the back right side compartment rattling around against the fender.

 

Loks like someone's got his 15 posts in just about 3 hours.
Did you post the items you wanted to put for sale already?...

 

check your exhaust, i had the same clunking clanging noise. this was right after i changed my strut and shock without changing the mounts. for the longest i tought it was that.

It turned out to be my exhaust, right where the axleback connect that clamp was rust and loose. This cause the exhaust to sag and was hitting agianst the rear beam.

 

countery24,
i have heard this same sound but not yet tackled the problem,, mine is not exh nor eng mount,, its sounds like a strut or stabilizer bar bushing ,(even thought the bushing look ok)
occurs on small bumps, like parking lots.

 

It rained today and come to find out it was really making the squeaking noise from the front passenger side. But i do still get a clanking noise when i go over bumps and it sounds like it is right under the hood from both front driver and passenger side

 

If you're on the original struts, it's a bad strut. They're only really good for about 75-100k miles at most. A blown strut may look fine from the outside and not necessarily show any leakage. Doesn't mean it isn't blown.

Front right stock struts are notorious for blowing early, and many of us had them replaced long ago under warranty.

Could also be bad endlinks. If they're original, they're probably binding over bumps and making noise.

Swaybar bushing shouldn't make noise, as it is a rubber piece and does not significantly wear down.

 

Iam getting the same noise had
oem replacment struts installed but
I dint change out the mount bushing's
could the be reason for my problem?...

 

I have both front strut mounts for 50 bucks... and thats for 2. They are nissan mounts
3478136533 hit me up if your interested. The are for the 00 to 03 and i dont have the bearings...

 

Have spent some time looking at other car issues with strut noise problems and was surprised to learn that many cars have these issues too. The cause is a stuck jounce bumper or a rotted out one. I bought the one piece one from Nissan and lubed the top and bottom with lithium grease. All the creaking noises and clunks went away. Had a two piece boot and bumper and the jounce bumper would get stuck and creak when turning. Lubed the bumper and it all went away.
Just Google 'lube jounce bumper' and there you will see what is common for many different vehicle. They wear out. Hopefully this will help some of you guys. I lubed the little plastic strut bearing too. Sometimes they are metal which I prefer. Try it out!

Scott

 

^^ we call that a bumpstop. And it shouldn't need lubrication, ever.

Strut bearings in our car also do not require lube. Check out the link in my thread for a lot more suspension info.

 

I'm getting the same clunking sound from the front passenger wheel area.

Small bumps, under 15-20mph. Just had the Struts replaced, front passenger tie rod, and everything checked out. They said they lubed and tightened everything. Got a "perfect" alignment too.

Still, clunking over small bumps at low speeds. Especially consecutive uneven road bumps.

Not sure if anyone checked the motor mount though. I guess I can try greasing it up to see if it makes a difference. This is driving me insane.

 

No, don't grease it - motor mounts don't require greasing.
Replace it; I am pretty certain your passenger side engine mount needs to be replaced just like mine did (same clunking over small bumps at low speed).

 

Thanks.

Any idea how much of a job this is? Just want to know for when I go for a quote.

 

My mechanic charged me $70 for labor. I bought the mount myself, from rockauto.com (http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php ); they offer several different parts (WESTAR Part # EM9251, DEA Part # A7304, ANCHOR Part # 9031, DEA Part # A7321, BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1041627, ....). I bought the anchor part and so far I am happy with it.

 

BTW grease/oil/lude on rubber will cause failure of any rubber component prematurely...That clunking definitely is your passenger side motor mount...

 

First time I hear about this passenger side mount, but I believe you guys may have just found my problem also. I been having this small weird clunk over smaller bumps and cracks in the road forever now.

I've been trying to track down the sound for a year now...last thing I found was my coolant reserve tank and tried to make that tighter attached to the body...but this all makes sense its always passenger side front where the sound comes from.

The mount visually looks perfectly fine, is that what all you guys experienced with that mount too? Looks perfect but rattles?

Sorry to hijack thread...dont mean to do that

 

Yes.
Moreover, my mechanic conducted a test of how much the engine moves (when accelerating/braking) , and declared the mount OK. He was wrong .... .

According to my local dealer the passenger side engine mount is the one they replace most frequently.

 

i hear a clunking noise in my front passenger area, but to say over small bumps would be an understatement, i hear it on big bumps, small bumps, Brakeing and acceleration. strut mounts are worn, this i know, destroyed motor mount as well?

 

Funny you say that, cuz my mechanic did the same and said mounts were all good. Reason I had him check was cuz I felt like the engine was moving too much...

I guess Im gonna need to look into that soon, 100k tuneup coming up so maybe I can do mounts then.

 

PS clunking
Motor mount
Strut mount
End links

A search in the Great Suspension thread will tell you this!

 

wild guess but my rattling which I still haven't fixed is caused by rear break line hitting exhaust under the car. It was driving me nuts over year until I finally pulled the handbrake and noticed the rattle was gone. It came back after I released the lever. Try to see if the rattle correlates with handbrake and if it does you find your problem. 2 mechanics were looking into it in my case and couldn't find the reason. One of them was claiming it's my precats which are quite expensive to replace.

 

Hm, thats interesting. So you put the handbrake on and then drove the car?

 

Test it by placing a large prybar under the passenger mount and lift it....You'll hear your clunking sound!

 

Are you referring to the strut our motor mount? I assume your talking about the motor mount

 

Passenger Motor Mount....