Urgent:Clunk when turning? not strut, not cv. - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

undrcroft · 08-03-2003, 10:37 PM

well I've got a clunk/thump sound 'bout 2-3 three times in hard turns, every turn. It was thumping after i upgraded my shocks, but i put a new spring insulator in and now the spring stays in place on the shock. But now the clunking is worse than before i fixed the new shocks with the insulator. My mechanic just checked my cv joints(or said he did) about two weeks ago. I figured if they were messed up he would have said to fix them because i suggested there might be a prob. but he said they were alright. Its making a very similiar sound to when the spring wasn't seated right on the shock, but now it makes the clunk even more. I did however put some pressure on the joints this time when i fixed the new shocks because the shock seemed to be down further and it was resting on and hitting the joints. It wasn't to much force on them, but could i have messed them up that way? Its the gen 3 '92
I'm thinking this is an urgent prob., so any help is much appreciated

Nick · 08-03-2003, 10:42 PM

sounds like something's loose, try tightening everything int he wheel well, knuckle bolts, lower control arm, and the top strut bolts

undrcroft · 08-03-2003, 11:00 PM

ok. the cv joint is more of a clicking right?

the bolt thing seems quite possible. half way through the insulator job i gashed my arm on the brake rotor edge. went inside rapped my arm up and finished the job(not a powerfully as normal). turned out i needed 6 stitches. First ones ever!!! woohoo!
just a lil' obvious advice. If a nut/ bolt isn't turning, don't put your arms or anything else in harms way to get more torque cause your too macho to let the nut win. watch where you are and look ahead to possible ricks. But hey with insurance the zipper job was only $15. $40 for both rings. even with the pain thats beats the crap out of the mechanic charging bout 250 for putting in two little rubber rings.

Nick · 08-03-2003, 11:14 PM

hmmm yes, always pull a wrench, whenyou can't, then push with open hand

undrcroft · 08-04-2003, 11:43 PM

well i tightened all the bolts and its still clunking. One thing i realized... when i put the new springs and struts in i used the old top strut mount. unfortunately though i had to turn the rubber seat so that the spring was seated in the rubber mount but the rubber mount wasn't in the same place on the metal mount. i had to turn the metal mount so that it would bolt into the strut tower and at the same time the steering knuckle would be pointed straight out. i figured the pressure of the spring would keep the rubber mount and metal mount together, but are they turning against each other as the wheel turns? anyone had this problem when putting new springs/shocks in that the top strut mount didn't line up with the steering knuckle at the bottom?

Nick · 08-05-2003, 12:00 AM

was your top mount broken? could be now

undrcroft · 08-05-2003, 10:57 AM

you mean the rubber mount right. it seemede fine. wasn't torn dry or cracking when i took it out saturday. I don't think it would have broken. it seems fine. the spring feels like its still seated in the divot that the end of the spring sits in(can't remember name). I think the top rubber mount is spining as i turn because it's not attached to the metal strut mount right. could this be possible with all the pressure from the spring? shouldn't it stay in place? i don't want to take them both out again without knowing whats wrong, especially after what happened last time.

SpectraBlueCam · 08-05-2003, 01:08 PM

There are arrows marked into the metal of the mounts and the rubber boots to help you align them. The arrow always points outward, i.e. to the left or the right.

undrcroft · 08-05-2003, 03:31 PM

yeah i know. thats what i'm saying. when the spring went into the divot on the rubber mount the rubber mount would not line up with the metal strut mount so that the arrows on the metal mount pointed at the steering knuckle. when i put the metal strut mount on the rubber mount and lined up the three spaces for the strut tower bolts in the rubber mount, the metal mount was turned away from the steering knuckle. i had to turn the strut mount around till it evened up with the steering knuckle, but that made the rubber mount not line up with the strut mount

bastion · 08-06-2003, 10:13 AM

I'm having the same problem after installing my new vogtland springs. It used to be where I could sit in park and turn the wheels hard left or right and you would hear that popping/clunking sound. Took it back in and the shop jacked it up, turned the wheels a few times till the springs were seated well in the rubber mounts, then tried it out again and it worked fine. Untill I backed out of my driveway the next day. Although it no longer does it while stationary or moving forward, it now does it only if I'm backing out of a driveway, parking space, etc. and make a hard turn. It will pop, then when I put it in drive and turn to go forward, it will pop again. Taking by the shop again tomorrow with the info from this thread to see if they can find the problem.

bastion · 08-09-2003, 06:47 PM

WEll, I figured out what was causing the sound on my 5th gen. Apparently the front struts are different than the back. When you turn the wheel hard, the struts not only turn, but apparently they pivot side to side a bit as well. They guy at the shop said that when the car was lowered, it did throw off the camber (which the dealership said was fine when I had them do the alignment) by about 2 degrees, and with the bit of extra stress applyed to the springs from lowering, when the wheels turn hard and the struts pivot, the springs flex a tad and create that popping sound in the mount. He said that it's not anything that is causing or will cause any damage, other than wearing the tires uneavenly due to the camber needing to be adjusted. Once the camber is fixed, it will probably go away.

Does anyone else know anything about the front suspension setup in the 5th gen and how they pivot like he described?