hi everyone, I need some help trying to figure out a weird rattling/clicking noise that seems to be coming from the front half of the car. I think it has something to do with the suspension. It's not a very loud clicking, but since I'm crazy about wanting to know where every sound comes from I hear it well. I hear the noise when the car goes over bumps,but not big ones, sometimes just a little dip in the road will cause it. If it's a bigger bump the usual sounds of a car hitting the bump will cover it up. When I hear hear the click in my head i picture like 2 washers hitting each other, not a big noise but definetely metal on metal. I seem to remember reading a post about someone having something like a drain plug lose or something like that. I guess it could be that but I haven't checked yet. Another possibilty I thought of was the struts in the front maybe needing an extra washer since i know that for the rear struts the threads aren't long enough to let the nuts tighten all the way down. If anyone has any ideas or have had similar sounds i would appreciate and ideas or suggestions

 

Have you checked your swaybar links? The poly inserts stretch and wear out leading to a rattling noise any time you go over an uneven surface.

It apparently happens much more quickly in colder climates as the insert loses some of it's elasticity when really cold.

I've done both my front and rears and have to do the rears again.

I'm driving a '99 with 92000 kms on it.

-Greg

 

thanks for the reply. You know I always hear that noise when it's cooler out. on warmer days i almost never hear it

 

Jack your car up so the struts/springs stretches out, look at your springs if they disenganges themselves from the spring perch/hat. If they do, I would think that everytime you hit a bump, they do taht number and then clicks back to their position. THat's just one of many things that could happen. But if their doing that, you can drill tiny holes on the hat and safety wire your springs to the hat/perch.

Let me know what you find out.

 

Will it do this noise after let's say 2-3 miles of driving?

My P5 has a very faint noise (scraping type noise) coming from the right front strut area when it is cold (under 45 degrees) and only for the first 2-3 miles of driving the car in the morning. Same as yours, when going over bumps.
Dealer heard it and they called Mazda for a solution. The reply I got is that it is a known problem and they are working to find a solution. According to them it is because of some bushings in the front suspension. I do not know what to believe... My opinion is that is sounds like a bad shock noise. I left them alone this winter but this next winter when the noise is back I will make sure they will take care of it.

Florian

 

yeah itmakes the noise no matter how long i'm driving, but i don't think it's as noticeable when it's warm out. I don't know how it could be a buching cause I'm positive it's a metal on metal noise