Have any of you guys gripped your axles near the boots at the knuckle, and shook them hard....is there supposed to be a little play, like a jiggling sound...there is a U-Joint there right? I'm wondering if this could be the looseness sound I hear in the front engine bay, when going over bumps.

Once it warms up a bit i'm putting my new struts in all 4, so we'll see if the sound goes away from that. I don't think though that it's up high where the mounts or strut bearing is. I checked the control arms and the torque for those and the bracket over the control arm bushings...all tight. I don't really have a way of checking the engine mounts though. It really does sound low kind of - and I checked the wheel bearings and hubs for axial end play and there's none there either. I checked the tie rods too and they feel tight when shook. One thig I did do is shake the brake rotors (with the wheels off) a bit to see if theres play, and they did move a bit. Is that normal? When I shake the wheel to see if there is play, gripping the tire from top to bottom, there's no sound or movement that I can tell.

 

I would have to guess the CV joint is not the cause of a jiggling sound when going over bumps, unless the boot is cracked and grease is non existent. What's this sound you're describing? You could always bounce the front end up and down and see if you can replicate and track down the sound when the car is parked..

 

Good idea about the bouncing. Maybe one of those stethoscope things would help too. On the drivers side the boot (right by the knuckle) is broken open (the ring clamp is gone) and the grease has oozed out. In fact the grease is jet black but quite 'thin' i'm wondering if the spraying water in the winter has thined it out. Basically when I put my hand near the boot gripping the rod part, a huge glob of grease transferred to my hand.

 

i dont think its the axle, but from the sounds of it, you will need to replace that boot and repack the grease very soon, or you will be replacing the axle. which is what im doing once my truck is back from the shop. New control arms and new driver axle. Im most certain my front end clunk w/e noise will be fixed when I do this.

I bounce my car and I cant replicate the "front end" noise it does when I drive it. Good luck

 

I really think it could be the axle though...it felt kind of loose when I shook it, and it looks like all the grease has been 'thrown out' of the boot from the spinning action. Also, the sound feels like it's coming from the left side close to under the gas pedal. I'm just going to replace the axle, it's not that much....then see what happens.

 

okay.. continue arguing with us.. see if we give you any help.

replace the damn axle while you're changing the struts and check back when you still have rattling problems because you didn't listen.