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Attached is a video clip is from a 2014 E350 4M with 86K miles. There is a clunking type noise coming from the front passenger area and is is driving me crazy and makes me worried that is something will break. The problem is it only comes at low speeds up to 30mph and disappears after 30. The noise only comes when driving on the road. When car was put in a gear while lifted in the air, there was no noise while tires were moving. Additionally, the following things have checked / done:
1. Wheel bearings for side-side/top-down play
2. CV axles (driver side was changed maybe like 6 months ago for a torn boot) passenger side looks good
3. Propeller shaft for play
4. Changed the front strut bearings on the passenger side as it could not be really inspected, the old one was not too bad. The shock itself was ok and sway bar links were replaced at 70K and they are ok as well.
5. Looked at control arm and torsion bar bushings and they do not look too bad to be causing any noise.
6. Transmission mount was changed at 55K and motor mounts seem to be ok.
Any ideas what I should do next? Anyone else experienced this kind of noise?
Attached is a video clip is from a 2014 E350 4M with 86K miles. There is a clunking type noise coming from the front passenger area and is is driving me crazy and makes me worried that is something will break. The problem is it only comes at low speeds up to 30mph and disappears after 30. The noise only comes when driving on the road. When car was put in a gear while lifted in the air, there was no noise while tires were moving. Additionally, the following things have checked / done:
1. Wheel bearings for side-side/top-down play
2. CV axles (driver side was changed maybe like 6 months ago for a torn boot) passenger side looks good
3. Propeller shaft for play
4. Changed the front strut bearings on the passenger side as it could not be really inspected, the old one was not too bad. The shock itself was ok and sway bar links were replaced at 70K and they are ok as well.
5. Looked at control arm and torsion bar bushings and they do not look too bad to be causing any noise.
6. Transmission mount was changed at 55K and motor mounts seem to be ok.
Any ideas what I should do next? Anyone else experienced this kind of noise?
Loose freeplay at 30mph only, not below, not above... Sound clip is something's seriously loose!
Let's see what combination this is 🙈
You've come to realize the best way to troubleshoot real life issues is with real life test conditions. Everything can look A1 and perform the way you describe on the road...
-- Did your passenger strut bearing replacement include the strut bushing ??
-- What did you say about front struts... new or 86kMi ??
Your preliminary survey means okay 4M transmission.
Describe the chassis behavior while driving:
straight, turns, bumps...
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Oct 28, 2024 at 07:02 PM.
-- Did your passenger strut bearing replacement include the strut bushing ??
-- What did you say about front struts... new or 86kMi ??
-- Describe the chassis behavior while driving:
straight, turns, bumps...
No. The original factory bushing look good but I did change the bottom shim as it looked not so great. Also reused the bump stop and top hat. There was no difference in the noise after the bearing swap.
86K on the original struts
Straight driving at low speeds but strangely noise goes away at higher speed
Ok, placing order this morning on Corteco main suspension bushings (strut mount/top hat / A2123230020) from RMeuropean as they will ship it today and I should be able to install on the coming weekend. Will update the thread on the results. Thanks
Thank you @CaliBenzDriver. It had been raining here in Houston and finally got around today to swap out the old strut mount assembly with a new Corteco one and voila the noise is gone. Now, I need to get the alignment checked. Thanks again .
Thank you @CaliBenzDriver. It had been raining here in Houston and finally got around today to swap out the old strut mount assembly with a new Corteco one and voila the noise is gone. Now, I need to get the alignment checked. Thanks again .
Will you please report back on the alignment check results? I am needing to do the same thing and recently had my car aligned.
Another question did you test the disassembled struts stiffness? Curious how it was at 86K miles. Mine were completely shot at 150K.
Will you please report back on the alignment check results? I am needing to do the same thing and recently had my car aligned.
Another question did you test the disassembled struts stiffness? Curious how it was at 86K miles. Mine were completely shot at 150K.
The strut mount does not mess up the alignment, quite the opposite.
It will make your steering stable just like new condition. The result will make your smile!
The gas filled strut is likely built as a 100 to 115kMi item.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Nov 8, 2024 at 05:43 PM.
I did test the strut by compressing it down and it did not seem too bad. My main issue was to solve the noise problem and I did not want to keep throwing parts at it. Driving on city streets so far had been ok. Perhaps, in another year or two, if it gets worse, I will change the struts. Now that I have done this exercise twice, it is no longer a big deal.
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