Clunking from the front end...
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,149
Likes: 11
From: Greater Detroit Metro MI, when I'm not travelling.
Clunking from the front end...
Allright, this one has me stumped, so I figured I'd ask for help here... Bear with me...
I'm noticing a clunking sound coming from what appears to be the drivers side front of my car. It happens every time I hit a bump, but also seems to happen some times if I take a turn quickly. It reminds me of what, say, a blown shock absorber sounds like.
I tried bouncing the car up and down to see if it was the struts, but nothing... Jacked it up, pulled the wheels off, and checked for play on the swaybar endlinks, swaybar mounts, tie rods... Nothing unusual there... I can't figure out what it could be...
Any suggestions of what else I should check? The car is an 06 Z-51 with all stock suspension and 40K miles.
I'm noticing a clunking sound coming from what appears to be the drivers side front of my car. It happens every time I hit a bump, but also seems to happen some times if I take a turn quickly. It reminds me of what, say, a blown shock absorber sounds like.
I tried bouncing the car up and down to see if it was the struts, but nothing... Jacked it up, pulled the wheels off, and checked for play on the swaybar endlinks, swaybar mounts, tie rods... Nothing unusual there... I can't figure out what it could be...
Any suggestions of what else I should check? The car is an 06 Z-51 with all stock suspension and 40K miles.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,597
Likes: 3
From: READING PA
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
Allright, this one has me stumped, so I figured I'd ask for help here... Bear with me...
I'm noticing a clunking sound coming from what appears to be the drivers side front of my car. It happens every time I hit a bump, but also seems to happen some times if I take a turn quickly. It reminds me of what, say, a blown shock absorber sounds like.
I tried bouncing the car up and down to see if it was the struts, but nothing... Jacked it up, pulled the wheels off, and checked for play on the swaybar endlinks, swaybar mounts, tie rods... Nothing unusual there... I can't figure out what it could be...
Any suggestions of what else I should check? The car is an 06 Z-51 with all stock suspension and 40K miles.
I'm noticing a clunking sound coming from what appears to be the drivers side front of my car. It happens every time I hit a bump, but also seems to happen some times if I take a turn quickly. It reminds me of what, say, a blown shock absorber sounds like.
I tried bouncing the car up and down to see if it was the struts, but nothing... Jacked it up, pulled the wheels off, and checked for play on the swaybar endlinks, swaybar mounts, tie rods... Nothing unusual there... I can't figure out what it could be...
Any suggestions of what else I should check? The car is an 06 Z-51 with all stock suspension and 40K miles.
would get a clunk from the front end area. It drove me nuts. After looking under the hood I noticed the screws & buttons holding the Vararam shroud had come out and the shroud was sliding back and forth
when making those turns. Dont know how they all came loose & off
but I know I can credit myself for the install. After replacing all the screws all was ok. You are pretty meticulous with installs etc so
the possibilities are rather remote for you on this one but it only takes a second to check. Good luck in finding it. Leon
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,149
Likes: 11
From: Greater Detroit Metro MI, when I'm not travelling.
Yeah, that was my first thought... There is one intercooler crossover pipe that is made of metal and rides 1/2" from the swaybar; I thought it might be the culprit... I tied it down though, so I am looking for other possibilities now...
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,891
Likes: 1
From: NJ..."the way I saw it, everyone takes a beating sometimes."
On a previous turbo'd car of mine I had a similar issue. I had thought it was the piping as well but I could hardly move the damn thing by hand so I figured no way. After a few more days of the annoyance I decided to wrap the pipe in an old t-shirt around where I thought it might be hitting. I went out for a test drive trying to duplicate the sound but I couldn't. I figured out it was infact the piping but it only made contact when driving under certain conditions. ie; turning, bumps, etc. The t-shirt muffled the sound. I made the necessary adjustments to avoid contact. A trick you may want to try.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 136,140
Likes: 2,432
From: I live my life by 2 rules. 1) Never share everything you know. 2)
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13, '16-'17-'18
I'd check shock mounting and sway bar end links are tightened properly. I had a loose end link on my sway bar that did the same thing but it was on my C5
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Intermediate
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
From: California
Just food for thought, I had a similar problem, noise coming from the rear end.......happened at low speed turns and sometimes at start up. There is a TSB on clucking and/or chatter noises coming fro the rear end. Solution: Have the fluid replace with the new syn fluid. Just had mines serviced a week ago, no more problems
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,891
Likes: 1
From: NJ..."the way I saw it, everyone takes a beating sometimes."
The TSB about the clutch packs in the rear is a seperate issue. I have heard it and it doesn't sound much like a clunking described by the op. Plus he also states the sound is coming from the front. I believe his issue is either related to the S/C piping or the front suspension.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,989
Likes: 5
From: DFW This user does not support or recommend the product or service displayed in the ad to the right
I have been noticing the same issue on my 2005 with 53K, it is a H&C car no SC.
What headers do you have? Tunnel plate?
Have your lower control arms ever been seperated from the knuckle for install of the SC or any other work?
What headers do you have? Tunnel plate?
Have your lower control arms ever been seperated from the knuckle for install of the SC or any other work?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 815
Likes: 75
From: Lincoln CA
St. Jude Donor '16-'17,'19
There have been a number of reports of clunking swaybar endlinks that have eluded initial diagnosis (my car included). Just completely remove one endlink and try to duplicate the noise. Obviously, if the noise is gone, the culprit is one of the two links on that bar.
