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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Maxima / November 2006

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AAARGH!!...98 maxima STILL clunking on the front right

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jremignanti@hotmail.com - 01 Nov 2006 17:12 GMT
My maxima makes a CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK sound when turning right and going
over small bumps.  I can hear it occasionally while driving slowly over
semi-rough road.  It's very loud when I'm going ~15mph, turning right
and going over minor bumps.
The car has 194k miles on and I've recently done PLENTY of work on the
front end.  Here is my list of things that have been recently replaced
and no, I did not do all of this work chasing down one noise...

-sway bar bushings (this morning, I was almost positive this was the
problem... nope.)
-control arm bushings (done last week)
-struts (including bushings, mounts, and bearings)
-ball joint (on the right side only)
-sway bar end links and bushings
-axles

What else is there?  What am I missing?  This is making me crazy.
Yes, I do have a very slight leak in the power steering which is why I
thought it was the control arm bushings.   The car also pulls slightly
to the right.

any ideas?
wiikinki - 01 Nov 2006 19:25 GMT
"What else is there?"
- wheel bearing(s).
- RH axle has extra support bearing, I guess that also was replaced?

Tst swap front tires to rear.
jremignanti@hotmail.com - 01 Nov 2006 20:02 GMT
> "What else is there?"
> - wheel bearing(s).
> - RH axle has extra support bearing, I guess that also was replaced?
>
> Tst swap front tires to rear.

Is that kind of sound (clunking) consistent with a bad wheel bearing?
I would think that since the bearings are kind of sealed up that the
noise from a bad wheel bearing would be duller sounding.  This sounds
like metal on metal.  kinda like water pipes in an old house.  Also it
sounds like it's more under the car than coming from the wheel.

where is that extra support bearing on the RH axle?
wiikinki - 02 Nov 2006 14:20 GMT
- Cannot hear the noise so its guessing game... If there is free play in
wheel bearing, you can feel it by grasping the wheel and/or raisin wheel
up and jacking up/down with a crowbar

- typical q&a is:
q. "What u havent changed yet?"
a. "xxx"
solution: "change xxx"

- chassis is a flexible box. It 'lives' all the time, wheel position
changes many millimeters durin axxel/brakin/curves. The elements where
support structures are attached, are welded, and these points may be
giving out (here car history counts) and givin out noise. 'Hammer/welding'
is solution for this.

- njmodi is right about the axles, hard to get exact one. There are at
least five different types which are lookalike but will cause problems now
or later. In this case the noise should have changed after replacement.

..that 'extra' support; item [3.]
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/4/web/748000-748999/748507_521.jpg
paul.flansburg@hotmail.com - 01 Nov 2006 22:03 GMT
> My maxima makes a CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK sound when turning right and going
> over small bumps.  I can hear it occasionally while driving slowly over
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> any ideas?

I have the same sound in my 97 Max.  When you had the struts replaced
did you re-build the whole strut assembly.  I talked with a mechanic
about the same noise and he told me that the struts need to be
completely rebuilt.

-paul
jremignanti@hotmail.com - 01 Nov 2006 22:32 GMT
> I have the same sound in my 97 Max.  When you had the struts replaced
> did you re-build the whole strut assembly.  I talked with a mechanic
> about the same noise and he told me that the struts need to be
> completely rebuilt.
>
> -paul

Yeah.  I have new struts, strut mounts, strut bearings and all of the
bushings.
njmodi - 02 Nov 2006 00:07 GMT
> > I have the same sound in my 97 Max.  When you had the struts replaced
> > did you re-build the whole strut assembly.  I talked with a mechanic
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Yeah.  I have new struts, strut mounts, strut bearings and all of the
> bushings.

Where did you get your axles? reman axles are hit or miss...
jremignanti@hotmail.com - 02 Nov 2006 19:49 GMT
> Where did you get your axles? reman axles are hit or miss...

The passenger's side axle (noisy side) is new, not remanufactured.  I
don't remember the brand.  I had my mechanic do that job.

I really don't think it's the wheel bearing since I only get the noise
when bumps are involved.  If it was the wheel bearing, I would probably
hear it on every turn, right?
Monte - 02 Nov 2006 06:28 GMT
>Yeah.  I have new struts, strut mounts, strut bearings and all of the
>bushings.

Make sure the strut mounts on the bottom are tight.  The top mounts are only
about 40 ft-lbs but the bottom torque spec is about 200 ft-lbs.
Chris H - 13 Nov 2006 03:49 GMT
Don't forget to check those motor mounts!

Chris
94 GXE 06 SE
> My maxima makes a CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK sound when turning right and going
> over small bumps.  I can hear it occasionally while driving slowly over
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> any ideas?
 
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