Originally posted by Mystic:
Originally posted by Christian:
Sounds like a bushing to me ... I think I had this with a control arm bushing once before.



Might be a bushing but then again the noise seems to change in time with the wheels' rotation. Another bit of info is that I can feel it in the steering wheel. I suppose a bad control arm bushing might transmit vibration through the steering wheel?

/Eric



Thanks guys. As usual, the advice was very useful. Turned out to be the sway bar was mostly disconnected/rotted on the driver's side. New sway bar and bushings, etc., and the problem has completely disappeared along with an associated knocking that I had assumed was a strut or strut bearing.

Here's the info I gave to the mechanic based on what I had learned in this board:
Quote:

Somethingâ??s knocking in the front right. I donâ??t know if itâ??s related to the occasional (and loud!) â??gronk gronkâ? thatâ??s coming from the front, but probably the strut or upper bearing plate loose or broken. Slight mushiness and float in front end. Could be a Mercury thing but I suspect somethings else.

The famous â??gronk gronkâ? sound. Hopefully youâ??ll hear this when you drive it in. Itâ??s hard to tell exactly where the sound is coming from, though a friend told me that it clearly was coming from the driversâ?? side. Weird, because it kind of sounds like from the passenger side when you are driving. Other symptoms: you can feel it in the steering wheel. Internet newsgroups suggest a sway bar bushing or control arm bushing. Sound is most evident while driving when turning to the right and disappears when turning to the left. I also think it is less obvious with passengers in the car which leads me to think suspensionâ?¦maybe front right strut since it seems to happen when that corner is unloaded.

I just had the driversâ?? side wheel bearing replaced since it was droning like a truck, so we know the problem isnâ??t a wheel bearing. The front right tie rod was replaced when I had new tires and an alignment done in the summer. The problem predates this though.




I also had a brake fluid leak. I read a posting in this forum of where someone warned of rotted brake lines near their gas tank. Guess where the leak was? You guessed it!

Here's what I told the mechanic:
Quote:

Some Internet newsgroups suggest brake lines rotting at or near the gas tank area. I seem to be topping off the fluid fairly regularly so hopefully it wonâ??t be too hard to find.

No braking issues though. The car brakes strong and straight. No shuddering. No sponginess. Front discs and pads just replaced. Rear drums turned, cylinders replaced and adjusted.




This forum rocks! I'm pretty sure I saved a few $$ by the mechanic not having to root around too much for these things himself. Of course, it helps that the mechanic is also a neighbour of mine.

(Off topic) check out my other ride at http://crx.unixlover.com

Thanks guys/gals!

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada '96 Mystique GS, ATX