Serge944

Im having some front suspension/steering issues. In a parking lot, where i have to turn the wheel a lot, i hear a lot of repeated clunking noise as the wheel is turned. Sounds like a metal to metal binding sound. At rest, you can turn the wheel and you get loud grinding metal to metal sound as well. I repacked my wheel bearings recently and the problem didnt go away (they were in excellent shape btw). Then i inspected the control arms and the balljoints are still quite stiff. All the bolts are tightened. By the way, the noise only comes from the passenger side (which by the way has been through a new caster block, new ball joint, erratic strut, etc). I wish that side of the car would die!

Im thinking it could be:
1. bad tie rods
2. bad steering rack (oh please, god, no!)

Any suggestions/comments/advice? How would you inspect the above to be certain?

Thanks!

hosrom_951

I have that same noise exactly how you describe it. But the previous owner installed a new steering rack and tie rods along with control arms and bushings. I did the front strut inserts/springs/seals/mounts and all that.

Is your car lowered? mine is and the WHOLE front end of the car is literally new (3-5 months old now)

Travis - sflraver

Slide under the car and lift up the ball joint boot. Inspect the top of the ball joint pocket around the base of the pin. If the pocket itself was worn significantly prior to the rebuild it might have worn out the new bushings.
Also, check the inner tie rod connections where they meet the rack. Pull back the rack boots and with the car off the ground check for play at the connection. There is a joint there that is known to go bad.

Edit: what Hosrom is refering to above is a binding issue on lowered cars. If your car is lowered and is having these symptoms it could be a serious problem. We have kits to correct the ball joint binding issue on lowered cars.

Serge944

My car is stock ride height. The sound and the "binding" feel is driving me nuts though.

Laust Pedersen

My guess would be one or two collapsed rubber bushings where the steering rack mounts to the cross-member. This would make metal to metal (rack to cross-member) contact under steering loads, transmitting noise.

DHC8FO

For what it's worth I just had to replace my struts they had more than an acceptable amount of play laterally, even though compression was good. I had some unusual sounds in the parking lot. easy to check, just jack up, and check.

Good luck

Serge944

Wish it was that easy. I jacked the car up and couldnt find a thing wrong. Without the load of the car, it operates relatively noise-free.

hosrom_951

I also let my specialist check, found nothing.......so im suspecting the steering rack-to-corssmember bushings as Laust mentioned.

Granite 944

Last monday I had an appointment with Bear Alignment shop nearby. It was an inspection only appointment, they told me it would cost no more than $25.00, and they would take that price off any alignment or work I might have them do later. They were great. They looked entire suspension front and rear over, then showed me what they found, made recomendations, and didn't charge me a dime. On mine, they found the inner tie rod ends loose on both sides, indicated by turning the steering wheel back and forth with the wheels on the ground, and me holding the rack end of rod, you can feel it knock. (They had elevated ramps, so you can get under car while suspension is loaded). Maybe you might be able to find a shop willing to look at your car for ya like this also. Good luck!

Serge944

How is the inner tie rod assembly held together? I pulled the boot a few days back and didnt really see much of anything. Maybe i just didnt look well enough.

Is there any maintenance on the inner tie rod ends, ordo they need replacement once the noises start (like ball joints...).

Granite 944

AFAIK, the inner tie rods have a intregal socket/ ball setup (like ball joints) that is not serviceable, and would just require replacement if found loose. The cheapest I've found each side for so far is for $95.00 new for entire tie rod (inner/outer), but these are for my manual steering also.

Luis de Prat

I was going to suggest complete tie rod assemblies. How good are the roads that you usually drive on? Rough roads will eventually kill the inner part of the tie rod assembly, which is basically a ball joint and hidden by the steering rack boots. Another thing that will kill them is moisture rusting out the ball inside the lug. It's important to keep grease inside the protective boots to prevent this.

Raise the front of the car, grab a wheel and see if there's any play. Lateral play with a clunking sound coming from the steering rack would indicate a bad tie rod assembly.

I put a brand new set of tie rod assemblies on my 83 and the rough Caribbean roads killed the driver side in less than 6 months.

Serge944

Thats exactly what i have! Good thing tie rods arent too expensive..looks like im in the market for a pair.

johne

Inner tie rods suck to change though. The only way I could get both of them off was to take the PS rack off and put the rack in a vice to hold it while using a wrench to get the inner tie rod off.
Be careful not to score the rack. Cause it will then tear the seals in you Rack housing. I use two 1x4's to protect the rack from the vise.

good luck,
John

Elephant Chuck

Check the 2 "U" joints in the steering column. These can get dry and cause noise.

Usually when this happens you can feel it in the wheel, it shows as a sticky point. Feels kinda crunchy. I note you didn't indicate feel through the wheel. But problems with these joints often get mis-diagnosed, blamed on the rack etc.

Relubricate or replace. Even if this is not your cure, it is good preventive maintenance.