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Post by Justy4x4 on Feb 28, 2009 16:23:59 GMT -5
Well I've put over 2,000 miles on my '90 Fun Justy and so far the ECVT rebuild has worked out well. But now I'm trying to figure out what the rattling noise is in the front end when going over certain bumpy roads. The car only has 68,000 miles on it and the struts all seem to dampen really well. The car also handles great and feels "tight" other then the rattling over bumps. I'm guessing maybe the upper strut mounts are worn or possibly the ball joints are the cause of this noise. Anyone have any thoughts on this one? My '91 has had the same sound coming from the left strut for over 5 years now but is far less noticeable.
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Post by =Justyless= on Mar 11, 2009 21:31:12 GMT -5
maybe check the cv joints. my guess is that it probably is the ball joints though. does the rubber have any cracks?
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Post by monkey on Mar 12, 2009 11:18:27 GMT -5
2 things you should check: 1.) wheel bearing- if the bearings have seized and the hub is thrashed, there may be some play in the hub itself causing the rattle. 2.) bushings- suspension bushings will cause thumping noises when they age and become stiff or cracked. do you have any loose nuts or bolts? how an alignment will also help troubleshoot the noise as they tighten everything up in the process.
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Post by Justy4x4 on Mar 12, 2009 21:28:02 GMT -5
2 things you should check: 1.) wheel bearing- if the bearings have seized and the hub is thrashed, there may be some play in the hub itself causing the rattle. 2.) bushings- suspension bushings will cause thumping noises when they age and become stiff or cracked. do you have any loose nuts or bolts? how an alignment will also help troubleshoot the noise as they tighten everything up in the process. I had my '91 aligned awhile back and the shop didn't find anything obviously wrong with it. That's part of the reason why I'm leaning towards the upper strut mounts as being the culprit. The alignment shop I use seems to always find the worn parts like ball joints and tie rod ends.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2009 1:06:13 GMT -5
The alignment shop I use seems to always find the worn parts like ball joints and tie rod ends. That's partially because they want to sell you parts and labor. Sometimes the culprit in their diagnosis is actually backlash in the steering rack and they mistake it for worn parts. It will mimic play in the tie rods and ball joint as well as worn bearings. I just had an alignment done on my '81 hatch. They said they couldn't do the alignment until the inner tie rod ends were changed and wanted to charge me $400 parts and labor. I did it myself for $90, and discovered the existing tie rod ends were in great shape. The new ones I had were beefy top quality ones so I swapped them anyway, but the backlash in my steering rack was significant. I couldn't feel it from the steering wheel, but it was evident with the steering rack off the car. The Justy has a smaller version of the same rack. It's a super easy adjustment, and you can do it with the rack in the car. I pulled the adjuster screw mechanism all the way out and squished some fresh synth grease in there before tightening. This latest alignment is so much better than any alignment in the past I would check the backlash. It can allow the whole steering linkage to shift back and forth and you won't feel it, or one tire can start to pull occasionally but not always. Even if it's not the problem, it really improves driveability, control, and responsiveness, and may help you pin-point the problem if it doesn't solve it outright.
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SeattleJusty
No, a boxer will not fit in a Justy.
Posts: 1,587
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Post by SeattleJusty on Mar 13, 2009 1:08:33 GMT -5
The alignment shop I use seems to always find the worn parts like ball joints and tie rod ends. That's partially because they want to sell you parts and labor. Sometimes the culprit in their diagnosis is actually backlash in the steering rack. I just had an alignment done on my '81 hatch. They said they couldn't do the alignment until the inner tie rod ends were changed and wanted to charge me $400 parts and labor. I did it myself for $90, and discovered the existing tie rod ends were in great shape. The new ones I had were beefy top quality ones so I swapped them anyway, but the backlash in my steering rack was significant. I couldn't feel it from the steering wheel, but it was evident with the steering rack off the car. The Justy has a smaller version of the same rack. It's a super easy adjustment, and you can do it with the rack in the car. I pulled the adjuster screw mechanism all the way out and squished some fresh synth grease in there before tightening. I would check the backlash. Even if it's not the problem, it really improves driveability, control, and responsiveness, and may help you pin-point the problem if it doesn't solve it outright. This is the best tip of info I have heard in months. Thank you.
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Post by Justy4x4 on Mar 13, 2009 6:31:21 GMT -5
That's great advice about the rack backlash. I'll look into that.
Since I always do all my own repairs, the alignment shop has never tried scamming me into replacing stuff I don't need. Anything they said needed replacing I always found to be bad upon removal. But I do agree that some shops out there either misdiagnose problems or are just looking to make a quick buck.
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Post by dbgear on Jan 21, 2014 22:55:41 GMT -5
I know this is a really old thread, but I did some front end work recently and think I can add to the info. My front struts were completely worn out and I found some at the junkyard that looked really clean and had good looking top mounts. I took the whole assembly, spring and all out of the junkyard car and put them in my car. It made a world of difference and I was really excited. About 150 miles later the front suspension started rattling again, so I checked the suspension and found the top strut mounts were torn again. I know there a number of reasons for rattling suspension, but those top mounts are a likely culprit and even if the car only has 68k miles, those mounts are rubber and 20+ years old and will likely need to be replaced even if the struts are good.
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Post by nipper on Jan 23, 2014 23:35:52 GMT -5
My 89 developed a loud front end knock over some bumps, not all, and was hard to reproduce on demand. What it was one of the radius rods (thats what I call them anyway) lost its rubber bushing where it clamped to the sway bar. Good news is stick your head under the car and make sure all the rubber parts are there. They will be easy to spot, as if your missing one, there will be an exact copy on the other side.
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