Front end noise

[suprarunner8792]

I aqquired a new to me 1987 NA supra...

the guy before me is not smart when it comes to cars... he did not maintain it at all..

anyways, there is a front end clunking noise when ever i go over bumps and turn and brake... i have no idea, this happened with my 4runner, and it was the control arms that were loose. the bushings and control arms are tight though on the car. just wondering if anyone else has had this problem... let me know and yes i have searched and could not find anything related.

the PO who owned the car before me had NO sense of car maintenece. i had to replace the clutch and brake master cylinders, the rear differential and driveshafts, rear wheels and tires, and now i am replacing the WHOLE head because there are valves leaking oil into the piston chambers, and i am just getting a refurbished one for less than it would cost to send mine off the get machined...

so yea lots of work ahaed of me...

any help on the front end noises would be GREAT! thanks...

 

[toyzforme]

Sounds to me like you need to check the upper and lower ball joints and hell with a car that old you might as well just rebuild the whole front end and you will be much happier with it. That is what I did and now I have a tight suspension.

 

[suprarunner8792]

lol yea that would be nice except i dont have the money... i wanna keep this car mostly stock for the time being... it is mostly my daily driver... and i might sell it for a profit, so i just want to get it WORKING.

would it be wheel bearings? bushings?

 

[toyzforme]

No you would get more of a constant sound if it were wheel bearings. I would have to say it is either your upper or lower ball joint. Lowers are easy to get and change but the upper ones you have to buy the whole control arm as the ball joint is made into the control arm. I found my upper control arms for cheap but you have to do some searching on the net to find them.

 

[supraduper]

lower ctrl arm bushings are also a problem... i just had to replace both lower control arms b/c the factory bushings arent available aftermarket.

easy way to check when driving is to tap the brakes, rapidly on and off when rolling.. if you feel clunking then replace them... 150 a side... so be ready for a bill and lots of labor to remove them.. pain in the ass

also inspect your sway bar links for play, sway bar bushings and like mentioned before the ball joints... the balljoints are checked by jacking each wheel up by the control arm and using a prybar under the tire to check for movement...

could be anything man... start checkin stuff

strut mounts also??

 

[1jzdrftr]

ive had this problem...when this car was newer there is a steering stopper nub on the steering knuckle when you are at full lock it stops from steering any further..they used to have nylon caps or something of the sort i believe so if you notice it when you are turning then this may be the problem. either remove the steering stopper thing or put something on it to replace the nylon cap. it makes this noise because when at full lock and moving over a bump it slides metal on metal. and if you want to drift it gives you another degree or so of steering. not noticeable with how it looks but you can kinda tell when you are driving

 

[87nasupra]

Check all your bolts on the calipers, brackets, check the ball joints up and down, side to side and in and out for tie-rods. I had the clunk and it was a brake caliper bolt loose and after that it was lower ball joints. If it is a lower control arm bushing, you can get the bushings after market from driftmotion or another vendor on this site. They are a set to replace upper and lower bushings. I have done front and rear on my old car before, pain in the ass but worth every penny and cheaper in the long run.

 

[SrBigbutt]

ive had this problem...when this car was newer there is a steering stopper nub on the steering knuckle when you are at full lock it stops from steering any further..they used to have nylon caps or something of the sort i believe so if you notice it when you are turning then this may be the problem. either remove the steering stopper thing or put something on it to replace the nylon cap. it makes this noise because when at full lock and moving over a bump it slides metal on metal. and if you want to drift it gives you another degree or so of steering. not noticeable with how it looks but you can kinda tell when you are driving

This may explain the noise that i occassionaly get when i'm backing out my driveway and i'm at full lock. Its a nasty metal on metal noise. I'll have to check it out.

 

[SrBigbutt]

Sweet...that was it. Cheap $6 fix for both sides.

 

[cuel]

PM Grimsta(Zankoku Performance) for the Energy Suspension poly control arm bushings(those of you that need them). Complete kit(front and rear, upper and lower, iirc) runs around $150.

 

[hvyman]

shocks.