3 weeks ago heard dull knocking sound in front end. Had all bushings replaced and inner tie rod ($800.). Still heard noise. Had front struts replaced ($826.). Still heard same noise. Dull knocking in left front near firewall at low speeds. Repair shop replaced all bushings at no charge. Sound is still there. Repair shop now says that complete steering rack needs replacement because sound is from area where tie rod connects to rack on driver’s side. Other side is ok, and there are no leaks. Is this actually needed? And if so, what should it cost?
Can you describe under what conditions the knocking occurs (turning, straight, always?), whether its frequency follows the car’s speed, the engine’s speeds, and what if anything affects the sound?
All of these parts replacements, were they replaced based on some diagnosis work or simply your instructions to replace them…in hopes that it would solve the problem?
And, by the way, what year and model of vehicle are we discussing and how many miles does it have on it?
2000 Chrysler 300M. 97,200 miles…trouble free until now. Think the problem is solved. Went to the Chrysler dealer this morning. The sway bar links & bushings are bad. When the mechanic disabled them the noise stopped. When he put them back the noise started. He let me under the rack and showed me. He said everything else was in excellent shape and the work is scheduled for Wednesday morning. The other work was done by an independent shop on their diagnosis and they obviously missed this. Dealer said that work was fine but they don’t why it was missed before.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m happy to hear that the problem was something simple.
Happy motoring.
Thanks for replying. Got the car back this afternoon and there is no noise. Also it’s much more stable. Mechanic said he replaced the bushings, including the body mount bushings, with the poly type. Big difference, even though it wasn’t very bad before. Still cost $464.00. But, everyting is expensive today.