Knock, Knock, What's there?
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Knock, Knock, What's there?
Hello all, got an '02 that has a "knock", as though something's loose in the front-end. It occurs when you turn left to right or right to left. Turns have to have a little G-Load in them. In other words, 10-15 mph while turning the steering wheel back and forth. The local dealership thought they narrowed it down to and replaced the rack/pinion but the knock is still there. They've ruled out the sway bar (and attachments), ball joints, engine mounts and wheel bearings. They're enlisting help from GM engineers, but they don't know exactly how long that'll take. Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
Racer
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 471
Likes: 0
From: Boston MA
I would check out or replace the susp. bushings. While they may not be broken, they can become eccentric (or out of round). This can look okay during visual inspection, but will produce the problem you described.
Just my $0.02. Good luck
Just my $0.02. Good luck
Racer
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 431
Likes: 5
From: Chico CA
This is probably not your problem, but my car had a clunking on the right side front. Checked things out and finally found that the bolt for the horn bracket was loose, and the horn was swinging from side to side on turns. Clunk. Clunk.
Good news is that the bolt is easy to get to. It has its own little cut-out in the closeout panel on the passenger side, outside the frame "skid bars." I just stuck a gear wrench on it, held the horn assembly in a proper placement, and tightened it back down.
Like I said, probably not the case, but if it happens once it can happen again. You reach the horns through the space in front of the forward radiator shroud, to the right of the air box. They are on the outside of the frame rail, below the headlight assembly.
Good news is that the bolt is easy to get to. It has its own little cut-out in the closeout panel on the passenger side, outside the frame "skid bars." I just stuck a gear wrench on it, held the horn assembly in a proper placement, and tightened it back down.
Like I said, probably not the case, but if it happens once it can happen again. You reach the horns through the space in front of the forward radiator shroud, to the right of the air box. They are on the outside of the frame rail, below the headlight assembly.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
From: Overland Park KS
I had a "pingy" knock coming from my front end...they dealer and mechanics could not figure it out.....turned out to be a loose tire pressure monitor rolling around inside the wheel. Just another option to keep in mind.
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Thanks for your help!
Got the car back from the local dealership. Turns out it was the battery! Apparently, the one it had was not correct (too small) and it would slide around and slam into the sides as the car turned back and forth.
Wow! Wish they could have found that before they replaced the rack/pinion.
Thanks again for the help!
Wow! Wish they could have found that before they replaced the rack/pinion.
Thanks again for the help!
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 30,897
Likes: 45
From: Picking on the weakest kid in the yard.
Got the car back from the local dealership. Turns out it was the battery! Apparently, the one it had was not correct (too small) and it would slide around and slam into the sides as the car turned back and forth.
Wow! Wish they could have found that before they replaced the rack/pinion.
Thanks again for the help!
Wow! Wish they could have found that before they replaced the rack/pinion.
Thanks again for the help!
You take it to a place like that to get a professional diagnosis and repair and all they do is spend your money taking expensive stabs at the problem. I bet if the battery was simply loose, not wrong, they would have told you the new rack fixed the problem. But they had to tell you it was the battery so they could bill you for the new battery. There was just another thread where a professional tranny shop decided the car's sticky clutch pedal meant they had to do a very expensive clutch replacement. 
