Thump thump thump on right turn????

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MoparBrit

HillingdonDart
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Thought I'd ask before I get under the car again to see what is the problem. Car drives great, we drive it around for a bit and then we start hearing a thump, thump, thump sound from the front end whenever the car is turned even just a little bit to the right. Sounds like it is from the driver side.

If I had to describe the sound it is almost like a drive axle on a FWD that has gone out on the inner CV. Not the click, click, click sound of the outer joint, but the thump sound you can get from the inner. Will make the sound on smooth road or not.

I redid the front suspension with new upper and lower control arm bushings, new ball joints upper and lower, new tie rod ends with new sleeves, new inner tie rod ends, new strut rod bushings. Now not saying much and when I heard the sound I thought oh great something is loose or I did it wrong. Well, jacked the car up on the drivers side (side where the noise seems to be from) and tried the old wheel and bearing play. Grabbed the top and bottom of the tyre and tried to get any movement/wobble ... nothing. New wheel bearings and races by the way. Got under the car and tightened the tie rod sleeves a bit, removed the heat sheild thing that was bolted to the frame up front as it looked slightly close to the inner tie rod, greased everything until I ran out of grease. Got the whole front end with the exception of the DS inner tie rod and upper ball joint. Thought perhaps it could have been something to do with the strut rod so I tightened the large nut on each a bit. Checked the passenger side wheel as well. It seemed to have a little play so I re adjusted the wheel bearings that side. All lug nuts tight. New BF Goodrich tyres on the front, new alloy wheels.

So what could it be? Any ideas? Don't want my wife driving it until I find out for sure all is okay. I did not get to check the upper ball joint to see if it was stripped out, but then I would think that it would make noise on bumps etc. etc. with that and I'd have a real problem with alignment etc. Going to have a look though this weekend just in case.

Thanks for any help.

Cheers
 
To shake a wheel or just tighten the preload on timken bearings is not the best route. A wheel bearing noise usually comes from the side catching the weight. So turn left and get a roar or thump comes from the right side.
I would have a real look upon the wheel bearings to prevent loosing a spindle.
If I find one bad bearing I replace them all and wash out the contaminated grease in those hub cavities between the bearings. Good luck
 
I had a simolar noise was a broken drivers motor mount and steering was touching the exhaust where linkage went thru headers
 
Thanks for the posts. Going to double check the tyres, but everything in brand new with less than probably 50 miles or so on them. Been thinking about a bubble, but then seems strange it is only on a turn. Perhaps a bit of tyre roll if it does have one. Would think I'd hear it on the road going straight or get a vibration. Going to look though.

Wheel bearing wise all is new. I pulled the side that seemed to have a little play in and redid the tension on it. Just double checking my work as it were and trying to take things out of the equastion (is that spelled right, sure does not look it). Right or wrong we've always checked for play by the old top and bottom wheel shake method to see if there is anything obvious. Will keep an eye on it though.

Wheels are American racing wheels. When converted all to lbp was the cheapest wheel choice I could find at the time. Good thought though.

Not looked at motor mounts, will have a look at those too.

Thanks all for the posts and ideas. Just thinking about it might have the wife drive it in the neighbour hood and see if it makes the noise and then stand in front and see if I can see anything. Wheel wobble or something.

Anyway, thanks again. A great board and members as always.

Cheers
 
I'd check the u-joints while you are at it,they can make some strange noise's and vibrations that you think are coming from elsewhere
 
Check for the backspacing on the wheel and see if it is hitting the a-arm when you turn or go over a bump. Had the same probe=lem on my 65 bel. Like to never found it.
 
Jack it up in the front and spin the wheel in question as fast as you can then have someone turn the wheel while rotating. Just where i would start.
 
29th of May now and as so often, those who invested effort to try and help usually don't get a response to see what was the problem after all. Thought I'd post so those who thankfully took the time to post would know what the issue was and also so someone with a similar issue might find it useful and perhaps solve their problem.

So, been doing a lot of different jobs on the car as well, but kept after this clicking/thumping sound (sorry, hard to describe). I greased the entire front end very well with high grade grease. Retightened and checked everything as I had rebuilt the front suspension when I changed to the lbp disc brake set up off of a '73 Dart. A mate had emailed about issues with strut rods and wear. I checked that and tightened them. Redid the bearings etc. etc. Removed a dust shield that was cracked thinking it might be making the noise. Sound still there.

Well, yesterday I welded the dust shield up and reinstalled it. Got everything put back together. Put in a better brand of bearings and races I'd found just in case. Basically did all the things I could, that I had found through my research to make sure everything was spot on.

We drove the car and the noise, once we got a little down the road, was pretty loud in the car. Thunk, thunk, thunk. Louder in the car than it ever had been. Going straight, turning a corner now did not matter.

Put a bit of brake pressure on it and the noise went away. Let off the slight braking and the noise was back. First thoughts, something to do with the pads or the wheel bearings are too loose or something.

To cut to the chase, after doing a bit of looking, the next day I checked the bearings. They were fine. I grabbed hold of the outer brake pad and tried to move it around. Sure enough you could rock it back and forth and move it around and the mounting tabs would knock on the calliper. The sliding callipers are a pair of remans as they were dirt cheap to buy and the pads are top of the line (supposedly) pads from the local auto store. So, pulled the calliper and took the pad out and bent the top two tabs down so that they fit the calliper correctly. Put all back together and we tested it last night on a pretty long drive. Noise is gone!

Did not even think of the pads being the issue. Changed brakes on cars for years and it is just something automatic. I guess as the pads wore the noise got louder due to more movement. Lucky for me as that is what finally had me looking at them.

So, the moral to the story is, check that pad fit to make sure it is snug to the calliper on the outside pad and fits correctly. I learned later that the rubber bands supplied with the pads were used to help limit this noise, but making the tabs fit right seems like it would last longer.

Hope that helps someone. Sorry to be so wordy as always.
Cheers
 
Excellent info Moparbrit! Thank you for letting us all know what the resolution was.
 
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