Possible bent strut? 1994 GT

BamaZ28

New Member
Sep 15, 2003
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Scott AFB, IL
We have a crunching/clunking sound coming from the front end in the 94GT. I thought it was a rotor, but we had all the brakes replaced, and it is still happening. The brake shop did an alignment and said they "think" it's a bent strut. You can visually look at the tire alignment from the side of the car and tell that the top of the tire is a good 1/2" angled in toward the engine, as compared to the bottom of the tire.

It currently has KYB adjustable struts, is changing the front strut an easy job?


FrontDriver1.jpg
 
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It's kinda easy for most of us, though we've done it several times. Noise like that can be almost anything in the front end. Did you ever notice the wheel at that angle before? How's the other side? I had a clunking in my front left for quite a while, it turned out to be my UPR aluminum caster/camber plates, there wasn't enough clearance for the strut so it would tap part of the plate every time I went over a bump. :(

You could also have worn bushings in the control arm, a worn ball joint, or even just have loose bolts on the strut. Had that once - didn't tighten them down to spec and the wheel moved around making a nice clunking noise.
 
if you still have the original springs, it could have rusted and broken at a certian point.

i had the original suspenion in my cobra for almost 12 years, when i when to pick it up from the shop he had something to show me. i don't remember if it was 1 or 2 coils from the bottom of the passenger side spring were borken off. it had rusted and just broke off, but was held in place under the pressure of the spring. he had ask if i ever noticed anything or had problem. and about 2 years before that i had a clunking noise that drove me crazy. and the shop that i was taking it to couldn't figure it out, or i couldn't make it do the noise that it would do to show them. so after me driving them crazy they just put it on the lift and basiclly tighten all the bolts from the front suspension, and K member. lol i didn't hear it any more after that.
 
It could be a number of things, really. I'd probably be looking at balljoints or control arm bushings first. It would take quite a bit of force to bend a strut and you'd know if you took that much of an impact because the control arm would have to overtravel after bottoming out. I'm gonna toss this one in tech, too. :)
 
Agreed with the other gents. You'll just have to get in there and see what you can find.

Give everything a once-over with a helper (someone to help jaunce the suspension while you look and listen).

The clunking could even be something as stupid as a loose end link. The top strut mount, ball joint, sway bar and several other things we haven't mentioned can all clunk. The top strut mount, stock CC plate, and BJ being loose can cause negative camber.

Our suspensions are very simple. If not familiar with them, perhaps you can find a local stanger to give ya a hand. Shops tend to replace everything because most all of it is worn and it lessens the chance of a come-back.

Good luck.
 
I jacked it up and got under there yesterday to look for visual indicators, but didn't see any. The hubs don't flex when I do the push/pull test in the 12/6 o'clock positions. However, in the 3/9 o'clock positions the rack and pinion does shift (both tires at once) about a 1/4". The shop that did the alignment said that they COULDN'T get the alignment complete for an unknown reason (they didn't have time to diagnosis). The car was in the shop for another reason, so they didn't focus on this. The tire continues to lean in, on the top. Both of the front tires spin freely while jacked up, without ANY resistance or sounds. This is the last issue with the car before I am finally satisfied with it, I am very picky when it comes to sounds/vibrations that aren't supposed to be there.