kind of clunking noise from my camry when driving

[mail2_jb]

2000 Camry 4cyl 83K miles.

Wife told she's been hearing a kind of clunking noise from the car. I took it to a drive and the noise is there, she is not dreaming
It is only when driving, on a stop sign, no noise. The noise level is constant, doesn't go up or down in relation to the speed. The noise is kind of like one part of the wheel is hitting the car, means the noise repeats as the wheel rotates.

From reading the posts here, this could be either the sway bar, bushing, cv or tire related. So here are some pictures of all these components on my car.
(Tire is bridgestone potenza with around 8k miles on it, rotated 2 times by me, balanced one time. Car was wheel aligned a year back when I bought the new tires, they said it was within spec).

Driver Side:

[mail2_jb]

Passenger Side:




I can twist the sway bars on both sides by hand may be 1/8th turn, both sides almost same amount of play.
I don't see much play near the bushing (4th pic in this post and 3rd pic on first post).

What could be the problem? Do you think the bushing or the sway bars or the end links are going bad. I don't see any tear in the cv boots, looks good to me.

Thanks for any inputs on this one.

John

[redgtxdi]

So when you say it doesn't go up or down do you mean doesn't get louder or doesn't get faster? (I'm assuming it gets faster?)

And can you tell if it's drivers side or passengers side?

[mail2_jb]

Originally Posted by redgtxdi

So when you say it doesn't go up or down do you mean doesn't get louder or doesn't get faster? (I'm assuming it gets faster?)

And can you tell if it's drivers side or passengers side?

I mean the noise level doesn't go up or down. Car runs without any issues other than just this noise.
I can't tell it is the driver side or the passenger side. I think it is coming from the front side. I tried to hear by lowering the glass, but the wind noise kind of cancelling out the noise.

One other thing I forgot to mention is a somewhat loud noise coming from the back when the car is going over sharp bumps, small bumps doesnot cause this noise. When the front wheel goes over the bump, no sound. When the back wheel is coming out of the bump (ie after passing the bump), I hear kind of a loud noise resembling like some big plastic items are falling (not like any metal banging, more kind of the plastic/vinyl inside the trunck is falling). Nothing is inside the trunk and the plastic is not loose. Not sure this matter though, because my other car makes even louder noise over bumps, again only when the back wheel is passing over it. I have two child seats on the car, going to remove them and see if this noise persists.

[Jimnist]

Hmm...strange how you say sound doesn't vary with wheel or engine speed. Does it get louder or worse when you go over a bump?

May sound a little silly, but are you sure it's not one of the belts constantly slipping? That can some times sound like the wheel scrubbing against something.

[mail2_jb]

Originally Posted by Jimnist

Hmm...strange how you say sound doesn't vary with wheel or engine speed. Does it get louder or worse when you go over a bump?

May sound a little silly, but are you sure it's not one of the belts constantly slipping? That can some times sound like the wheel scrubbing against something.

no,the noise level remains constant with car speed or bump. Noise is gone when the car is stopped moving. If it is a belt slip, should it give the same noise regardless the car is moving or not?. I checked the PS and Alt belt tensions, they look tight to me. I can tighten a bit more if needed.

TB and other belts were changed about 6 months back and I never noticed the noise at that time (certainly it was not there before the tb change)

So you guys don't think it is my sway bar/bushing/endlinks/cv is making this noise? Do they look ok to you all in the pic?

[mail2_jb]

Forgot to add one more thing. The car wanders to the left side a bit (some times and sometimes it is straight. Never wanders to the right side of the car). I triple checked the tire pressure, all 4 are 30psi. The passenger side tire has a tad more wear on the inner side than the driver side tire. It is noticeable if you look very very closely by putting both tires together.

[mail2_jb]

Anybody got any opinion on the condition of my bushing, sway bar, end links and cv from these pics?
I was expecting a worn out bushing or sway bar, but all seems ok. I am at a loss now, car is still on jack stands, have to get her out tonight.
Any suggestions, troubleshooting etc would be greatly appreciated.

I forgot to record the sound before working on the car. If that helps, I can record it tomorrow and share it. Please let me know asap.

Thanks
John

[JohnGD]

I'm a bit confused here, you said the noise is not related to speed but seems to happen with the rotation of the wheel at a certain spot?

The pictures look fine. But the pull may be brake related, or you may need to check LCA bushings and ball joints. Alignment needs to be checked based on uneven tire wear, but alignment isn't going to give you intermittent pulls.

If you can safely have someone follow the car while you slowly drive over bumps try to identify if it's from the upper strut assemblies or close to wheels might help.

[mail2_jb]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

I'm a bit confused here, you said the noise is not related to speed but seems to happen with the rotation of the wheel at a certain spot?

The pictures look fine. But the pull may be brake related, or you may need to check LCA bushings and ball joints. Alignment needs to be checked based on uneven tire wear, but alignment isn't going to give you intermittent pulls.

If you can safely have someone follow the car while you slowly drive over bumps try to identify if it's from the upper strut assemblies or close to wheels might help.

that is correct, it seems like something to do the rotation of wheel, but doesn't go up or down as the car speeds up or down and completely gone when the car is stopped. That rules out belt slippage, right?

Since the pics are good, I am going to rotate the tires and then see how it goes. Will record the sound tomorrow if it happens and post it here.

[mail2_jb]

While rotating the tires, I noticed this thermocol like stuff on the back suspension boots (inside the spring) falling down, both sides. I looked at the front and they are still attached to the top end of the suspension. Do I need to worry about them?. This thermocol stuff is completely gone from the inside of the rubber boots on both rear sides.

[JohnGD]

Looks like your rear struts are worn out. The picture shows a broken strut bumper, it's to prevent the strut from banging into the mount when the corner bottoms. Looks like they've been hammered by the struts for who knows how long.

Check out Gabriel ReadyMounts at Autozone or KYB Strut Plus assemblies.

As far as the wheel rotation related noise the clunking does become faster with speed then? It shouldn't be belt related. Belt slippage gives you a squeal, especially when cold. If it clicks/clunks with each rotation then look at the tire/wheel/hub/wheel bearing/drive axle/differential.

[CantKillaCam]

Check RockAuto for the quickstrut assy options, I just did my front struts and their prices were good. Consider replacing the end links and sway bar bushings with the struts, cheap insurance.

[rebuy]

I had the clunking noise too. It was a strut mount at the top of the strut. Take a 19mm socket and go to the top of the strut, under the hood, and check for tightness of the nut in the hole at the top of the strut. mine was not very tight, tightened it up and noise gone. In order to do this to rear struts, you have to remove the back seats and rear deck.

[fenixus]

regarding some occasional over-the-bump clunking in rear right corner. do not forget to check the exhaust/muffler metal hangers (kind of brackets) and rubber bushings for them, they could be bent or even rusted/missing allowing the exhaust to swing excessively hitting other stuff around or making strange metallic squeak sounds. had that problem on V6 (one of muffler hangers was twisted/bent).

man, after seeing that disintegrated rear strut bumper I am wondering how old those struts were ... it looks kinda rotten to me...