I have a '91 Sentra SE-R, has about 147k miles on it. Recently (or at least, noticed recently) it has developed a strange clunking sound from the front end, seems to be centered on the drivers side, either in the tire/suspension area, or further in under the hood. It's a very rubber-on-metal sounding dull thunk, not a metal on metal sound. It doesn't seem to be particular to any given circumstance, i.e.: only when turning or whatever... well if I had to say it happened most commonly when ________ I would say it happens most when but not only when slowing down... some times it seems to occur with the suspension travel... other times it doesn't. At any rate it is only noticeable at low speeds, up to maybe 15mph.
Anyways... I figure there's probably 20 things this COULD be, but I wanted to ask you guys if there is a common or well known cause for this kind of thing on this year/model... anything in particular I should look for first?
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'72 240Z, stock '81 ZXT motor, EFI, trans & diff, 1G DSM BOV, DIY MBC, Trust I/C, MSD 6A & fuel pump, BEGI FMU set to 70psi @ WOT, 2.5" exhaust, short shifter, Eibach's/Tokico's, 233rwhp/303ftlbs @ 14-11psi (boost drops as rev's increase to 6k, haven't figured out why yet), also a '91 Sentra SE-R, stock and SLOW! but fun to drive.
maybe a stupid question here, am i just checking them visually or trying to move parts around to see if they are loose or what?
If bushings or the mounts are bad, is that just something that is going to get worse slowly over time, or rapidly or what? Is it something I should really be worried about as far as needing to replace them ASAP? I ask because some of the bushings on my other car ('72 240z) have been shot for a LONG time, but don't seem to get any worse... other than a slightly shakier ride it doesn't seem to have any detriment at all.
Is it typical for such a 'newer' car as the '91 to have shot bushings or mounts after 'only' 13 years?
I'm a broke azz mofo and have other important areas on both cars that already need attention... can only do so much so fast, so hoping I don't have to put this real high on my to-do list
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'72 240Z, stock '81 ZXT motor, EFI, trans & diff, 1G DSM BOV, DIY MBC, Trust I/C, MSD 6A & fuel pump, BEGI FMU set to 70psi @ WOT, 2.5" exhaust, short shifter, Eibach's/Tokico's, 233rwhp/303ftlbs @ 14-11psi (boost drops as rev's increase to 6k, haven't figured out why yet), also a '91 Sentra SE-R, stock and SLOW! but fun to drive.
clunk may be caused by a bad inner cv joint. anyway, check bushings for damage, some cracks are okay, but if the bushing looks heavily damaged it would need replacement. try driving the car in reverse while turning to see if you can imitate the clunk noise, if that's the case, than it is the inner cv joint most likely.
depending on which bushing goes bad it could be no big deal or disasterous, my sway bar bushing is shot , no big deal, dont go affroading anyway jsut cruise, but when my rear parrallel link bushing went recently it got really bad really quick and i ent up with 3 wheel stearing soo its up to u, though if its a bushing related to steering i'd change it
It's very hard to get this sound to happen purposely... it doesn't seem to be most specific when turning, accelerating or decelerating.
I also tried bouncing the hell out of the front suspension on the car by hand, just pushing down on it and bouncing it, and didn't get the noise. I'll get it checked out soon I guess...
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'72 240Z, stock '81 ZXT motor, EFI, trans & diff, 1G DSM BOV, DIY MBC, Trust I/C, MSD 6A & fuel pump, BEGI FMU set to 70psi @ WOT, 2.5" exhaust, short shifter, Eibach's/Tokico's, 233rwhp/303ftlbs @ 14-11psi (boost drops as rev's increase to 6k, haven't figured out why yet), also a '91 Sentra SE-R, stock and SLOW! but fun to drive.
i solate the noise. mine has the same problem. i disconected the sway bar end links and the noise stoped. so now i drive with no front end sway bar. it will get worse. if you can, isolate the noise.
just guessing but your suspension isnt going to make that "clunk" unless your catching air not enough travel so i believe that you need to check the two bolts that connect your crossmember from the front of the car (under the radiator support) just a suggestion
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Completley gutted, Falken Azenis tires on black jax light wheels with 96 Ga16de block with 93 head loaded with 96 cams exhausting through stock pipe into Bassani muffler,and Exedy stage 1 clutch an pressure plate.
It seems like I'm fighting the same noise. I know it is not the tranny crossmember bolts, just checked those last week. I believe it may have something to do with the sway bar. The bushings look alright, but there may be something going on where they attach to the control arms. This weekend I hope to remove the sway bar and diagnose the problem. If that clears it up, I'll just get new bushings for the bar and the mounting points at the control arms.
I'm starting to feel like I have a project car. All the work none of that speed or horsepower crap.
Also, I have a friend with a 94 altima who is reporting the exact same thing. That must mean its related to the Nissan Badge!
So I took the front sway bar out entirely and there's no real difference. The end link bushings looked pretty bad, though. Does anyone know where I can get new ones. And am I correct in assuming that urethane bushings would transmit more noise since they're harder?
On the bright side, I did learn the importance of a sway bar. Swerving is way more dicey without the bar.
So I'm sill pretty new at this. I thought if the struts were bad that the car would bounce over bumps since the springs aren't dampened. I don't seem to have any of that. Although I suspect these are the original (190K miles) struts. You said in your post you can get new OEM springs for about $50 each? How much are OEM struts? I can't find em anywhere on AutoZone or Adcance Auto Parts websites.
I got this same problem.I took the car in and had a test ride with a mechanic and they said it's the tire balance issue.They checked everything in the front end and had no problems.Cost me $140 to change the tires to fix it.
I used to have bad CV joints for both passenger and driver sides.Change them into new one and the clunking noise was gone when I was turning the car.
My guess is wheel bearings. I just replaced mine along with the hubs, cost me just shy of $300 in parts. Could be a bad CV joint but it'd likely only do it upon stopping or starting movement, could also be a bad tie rod end (should only happen when you start to turn), possibly a bad LCA bushing or ball joint. Jack the car up and try to wiggle the wheel, there shouldn't be any play.
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Rob '93 SE-R
PM or e-mail me for Progress swaybars $190 shipped, B13 Progress coilovers $1300 shipped and B13 Progress LCA brace $160 shipped.
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