Thumping sound over small bumps

Sammy Z · 11-02-2009, 08:27 AM

I have an 03 with 100kmiles, when I drive over small bumps I hear/feel some thumping on the front left side. I removed the tire and checked the tie-rod, shock and the stabilizer bar. Every seems to be tight and normal.

I thought it may be the engine mounts but I don't feel it when I accellerate on smooth roads. Any Ideas?

*MidN1te* · 11-02-2009, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammy Z

I have an 03 with 100kmiles, when I drive over small bumps I hear/feel some thumping on the front left side. I removed the tire and checked the tie-rod, shock and the stabilizer bar. Every seems to be tight and normal.

I thought it may be the engine mounts but I don't feel it when I accellerate on smooth roads. Any Ideas?

i had this problem... it may not be the same but symptoms sound familiar..

when was the last time you replaced your strut mounts? because i had this problem and let it go and next thing i know... it was just getting louder and worse... So embarrassing!

i looked at the bolt to the shock in the stut mount on the strut tower... i noticed some rubber all around it that i didnt notice before... i assumed it was the mount... i took it out to replaced both them...SUUURE ENOUGH.. that thing was SOOO disinigrated that the rubber was not longer touching the metal porton that holds everything together... i could literally push down on the car and you can see the bolt to the strut poking up out of the hole..

replaced them both and BAM.. good as new.. OH and mine came witht he bearings... so you might as well just replaced them both.

Sammy Z · 11-02-2009, 09:07 AM

Is that the upper part of the strut that you are talking about? I'll try to open the hood and push down on the car to see if mine move. Do you get access to it from the wheel well or the engine compartment? Any pics would be appeciated. Thanks for the tip. I'll also check the hood latch, and radiator support, on some of the other threads, some guys mentioned those as possible problems.

*MidN1te* · 11-02-2009, 09:11 AM

well if its your hood.. it wouldnt sound like its on one side if you can listen well.. since the latch is in the middle... when you pop the hood, there are 2 rubber bumpers that are about an inch wide.. you can rotate them so they come up.. that fixes the hood issue.. radiator support? dont think so... your claiming its on one side...

just pop the hood... go stand by the fender next to the strut mount.. push down on the car and if its making noise while you do it and and you can see the middle bolt going up and down that sounds like your issue... look for rubber debri and stuff...

its really easy to swap out the mounts... but remember.. MAKE A MARK FROM THE TOP, ALL THE WAY DOWN ON EACH SPRING TO THE STRUT!... make sure you put it back the saaaaame way.. your gonna gonna have bigger problems later.

Sammy Z · 11-02-2009, 06:40 PM

I opened the hood and pushed down on the car while watching the shock tower, it's solid and quiet. I put some tape on the hood latch and adjusted the rubber stops a little higher, put a few zip ties through the hole on the upper radiator supports. The car is better on the small bumps, but there is still a thump in there on the larger bumps. I'll keep researching, thanks for the tips.

*MidN1te* · 11-02-2009, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammy Z

I opened the hood and pushed down on the car while watching the shock tower, it's solid and quiet. I put some tape on the hood latch and adjusted the rubber stops a little higher, put a few zip ties through the hole on the upper radiator supports. The car is better on the small bumps, but there is still a thump in there on the larger bumps. I'll keep researching, thanks for the tips.

maybe it is ur motor mounts lol..

i ordered poly mounts cuz i'm having issues now too.

Nexus67 · 11-02-2009, 08:00 PM

-*Hood latch (may be quiet...but may be rusty)
-**Ball joints (try MOOG)
-wheel bearing
-strut mounts

When I had the noise it was actually the hood latch. Sprayed with WD40. Some of the metal was chipped down so I actually wrapped it with electrical tape. (someone on here did it and I thought it was a pretty good idea. Worked too, hood stopped 'jumping')

Switched ball joints from stock to MOOG. Sound stayed gone.

*MidN1te* · 11-03-2009, 06:12 AM

i'm curious... how can ball joints get to the point that its so bad that it starts being so loose, that it makes thumping noises.. i ask this because i'm not trying to rule out any possibility for anything...

sometimes i feel that same feeling but mine seems to be the exhaust slapping around cuz my motor mounts are shot.. which.. im waiting on at the moment...but if thats fixed and i'm still getting this play, then i'm gonna look deeper...

i do have a slight humming but it sounds more like tires... even though the bearings almost sound like tire noise...i'm putting on new rims and tires next week so i'm gonna wait and see..

wheel bearings is another possibility but again, that much play to be thumping around like that? anything can happen..

just trying to make mechanical logical sense.

Sammy Z · 11-03-2009, 07:50 AM

Midn1te, how hard is it to change motor mounts? I see the one on the right and it doesn't seem so bad, but what about the others? Mine have 100k on them and I'm sure they are worn but I don't know if they are causing the thump sound because on smooth road when I go WOT, I don't hear the thump. It's only on bumps.

*MidN1te* · 11-03-2009, 08:07 AM

i haven't changed the motor mounts yet, but when i read up about them, its usually the front and rear *which are technically the sides*...

you have a couple ways... first you need to get to the motor mount bolt that slides in between the motor mounts... you can access it by going under the car.. or take of the wheel shroud and you can just use loooong extensions to get to that same bolt and take the front one and rear one out...

then go underneath the car and the 4 bolts that hold the crossmember, which the mounts are attached too, can just be unbolted and comes right down.

if you have an auto , you gotta disconnect the wires to them...anyways.. then unbolt the motor mounts attached to the crossmember, bolt on the new ones... push the cross member back up, put the bolts back in, and your done...

Nexus67 · 11-03-2009, 10:52 AM

MidN1te,

the ball joints can be ripped (especially the stockers). And too much play on the control arm that gets amplified when going over harsh bumps. The oem Nissan ones are good to fail. (I otherwise don't know why they would fail IMHO)

And I forget to mention sway bar bushings.

This thread also has some pretty good info from folks that have/had similar front-end noises:

Front end clunk when going over bumps/dips....gets worse :(

Oolatec · 11-03-2009, 10:58 AM

My guess is the upper strut mount. Happened to me on my '04. It's a cheap part too, so it's not that bad of a repair.