Topic: Rattling/slapping From Front Wheels Need Help! 2002 Lancer

[campbmic]

Hi guys I have a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ I bought about a year and half ago with 103k miles. A few days after buying it I lost control and hit a curb at about 40 or 50 miles approximately. The car was angled when it hit the curb and hit the front right wheel for sure, I'm not for sure about the left. The control arm on the front right wheel was bent to heck and the tire pushed back a few inches.

I took it to a local shop and he replaced the control arm, that was it. I drove it and it had a noticeable rattle coming from the front right wheel. It seemed really noticeable whenever I would hit bumps etc. It sounded to me like the sway arm linkage was vibrating up and down or something but I checked it out and that wasnt it. Also, the alignment was out. It wasn't too bad so I drove it until about 120,000 miles.

At that time the front right axle failed and I had to replace it. I'm not for sure if its called the CV joint or something along those lines, but the bearings in the rubber boot area of the axle could be moved around by hand.

So I continued to drive the car after replacing the axle and the rattle continued from the front right wheel. I noticed a slapping/rattling beginning from the front left wheel, during a 4,000 mile trip to NYC and back. The car now has 135,000 miles and the slapping/rattling coming from the front left wheel is very loud and it sound s like my wheel is about to fall off. I can't really tell when it does it, at slow speeds it isnt very evident, but on the highway it really starts to rattle. Its most noticeable at high speeds at the highway and is pretty constant. I have the car jacked up and I'm trying to wiggle everything around to see where its coming from and I can't figure it out. The only thing that has ANY play on it at all is the axle and that just moved back and forth barely.

I did, however, notice a "clunking" noise when I spin the rotor with the wheel off the tire. It sounds like its coming from the bottom end of the engine
I tried to take a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtudARI37Go

Do you guys think this is normal or is this the problem? I tried to take a video in the car as well getting on the highway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI7p53f6-qs

Thanks for any help guys!
-Michael

[hotpocket]

My best advice to you would be to join a Lancer forum and ask this question there.  they would know the specifics of the car better than most here would.

[campbmic]

I actually have posted this on some lancer forums as well! Just thought some guys here might want to add their .02

[Steve F]

To me it would be the CV joint(s) are toast.  Did you ever have a tear in the CV boot where the grease would get lost?  That would make things go bad really fast.
I had a S-10 Blazer 4x4 that had the same problem.  I sold it without ever replacing the boot though.

[campbmic]

Alright I just took it to four different mechanics today and here are the answers I got;

Most Common Answer: Wheel Bearings
2nd Most Common: Struts
3rd Most Common: Tie Rod Ends

These mechanics were kind of ghetto. I'm thinking towards wheel bearings but I really have no idea. How can I check my wheel bearings to see if they are bad?

Thanks guys!

[Really?]

We have a 2005 Pacifica.  It had what sounded like a rattle on the passenger side.  When we turned the wheel, it would kind of click.

Well, we were moving to a new house, had a trailer loaded up, got about 10 feet and the car stopped going forward.  Got out and found big ball bearings on the ground. 

Replaced the CV joint, no more noises.

[gmonkey]

I'm thinking towards wheel bearings but I really have no idea. How can I check my wheel bearings to see if they are bad?

Jack the wheel up by the suspension arm to keep everything but the wheel steady.  Don't know how your suspension is arranged so you'll have to figure that out yourself.  If you want to be careful, jack it up by the body and put a second jack under the arm to keep it steady without having all the weight on it.  Then grab the top and bottom of the wheel and try to tilt the wheel back and forth, ie push on top + pull on bottom the vice versa.  If it's loose you'll hear a clunk-clunk.  For some cars that's within spec but probably not for a newer lancer like that.  You can also do this to some extent just by pushing and pulling on the top of the wheel while it's on the ground without jacking up.  Then try to spin the wheel and see if it makes any odd noises.  Keep in mind that your brake pads might be rubbing on the rotor and that will make a sound so use your judgment.

From what I've heard, bad bearings start to make a whine like when you're going over a metal grating bridge.  Yours sounds like something is actually loose.  Does the steering feel any different?

The play in the shaft could be normal.  Did you try to jack up the other side and see how much play is there?

Does the sound go away if you apply a bit of brake pressure?  Maybe your caliper is stuck and one of the pads is rattling around.  Take a look at those and see if they're worn really unevenly.  Easy enough to check.

[DH]

Do the links on the sway bar ends have a "ball and socket" type design? Sort of like the sockets of a tie rod? these can develop
looseness from wear, (just like tie rods) and can cause rattles
any time the sway bar end moves. Even small irregularities in the road can cause annoying rattles. Also, related are the sway bar
mount bushings that mount the bar to the frame. They will elongate
and become egg shaped where they wrap around the bar, allowing the bar to move/flop around, causing an annoying thump.
Not sure if you have that type suspension, but if so, worth checking into. Try disconnect both links, wire the bar out of harms way, and go for a short and gentle test drive. If the noise goes away,
you're zeroing in. Loose brake pads can cause racket too, but will generally go away when brakes are applied.

[campbmic]

I'm on another forum for local rides called www.rocketfreaks.com and one of the guys I ride with is a exotic car tuner, like Ferraris, Lamborghini's, etc. I took it to him and it took him about a minute under the car tightening bolts to fix the issue!

All for free too

[gmonkey]

So what, the sway bar bushings then?

[campbmic]

The nut on the very top of the strut mount was lose. He popped the hood and tightened it down and viola!