Stratus clunk

[Hopalong]

Hey guys, my wifes 2001 Stratus started making a clunking sound recently. It's a 4 door with the 2.7 v6, automatic trans, about 56,000 miles. I was thinking suspension or steering but everything feels tight. There is a small amount of play in the steering, but nothing too major. The suspension looks good, nothing too worn or obvious anyways. It makes the noise when driving and hitting a bump or such thing, but not always. Someone told me it could be the catilitic converter came loose inside the case. But if I just rev the engine in park or stopped while in gear, there is no noise. I'm stumped and I don't want to take it to a shop yet as I am stubborn and want to fix it myself (and save some money). Any ideas?

[moparwolf]

Check the struts again. If that is not it I would look into the CV joints. :Thumb:

At least that is where I tend to find this type of noise on my daily drivers.

[Hopalong]

Wouldn't the struts or ccv joints be more constant though in making noise? It only seems to happen when the car hits a bump in the road and even then it doesn't always make the noise.

[moparwolf]

The struts on my wife's car make a clunk sound but only when the car hits a bump like you described. We are on the third set of struts with it. It goes away after we change them each time but then the noise comes back within a year. I need to change them again. It pays to get high quality struts as we keep buying the budget ones and doing it over and over.

CV joints will normally make a noise during a turn so I doubt that is the problem here.

[Hopalong]

I guess it could be the struts since they are the originals from the factory. It seems odd though that they don't make more noise more often. Is there a way to check or test them?

[moparwolf]

You can inspect them for signs of damage or leaking fluid. Another way to check them is the old bounce test. Place your weight on the front bumper of the car and then release it. If it oscillates up and down more than 1 time they may be bad.

If it were me I would just take the car to a trusted mechanic and get an opinion/estimate. If it is not the struts it may be something even more serious that is loose in the steering system.

[charger453]

I had a similar problem on my 98 Avenger, but it would also sometimes make the noise during jerky acceleration/braking. Everything suspension wise looked good and felt tight. The passenger wheel bearing had a little play, and while pulling on the tire w/the car in the air, it made the same clunking noise. I had always known wheel bearings to howl, not clunk but it is what it is.

[Hopalong]

I have done the old bounce test and it seemed ok. Wouldn't something loose in the steering be noticed at the steering wheel? Like a vibration or the wheel moving more or less as compared to the wheels on the ground. I also did the wheel shake when I first started looking into the noise and there did not seem to be any play in the bearings. I also checked all four wheels for play just because, and they all seemed good. I guess momma's getting her car sent to a real mechanic for chirstmas.

[moparwolf]

You'll have to let us know what it turns out to be. I am puzzled. :confused:

[Hopalong]

I was able to borrow a rack for a while and get the car in the air. Everything seems tight so now I am leaning towards the struts. I'll know a little more when I get it in to have some other work done.

[Hopalong]

No more clunk! Yea! I replaced the outer tie rod ends as suggested by some funny looking guy, and the noise is gone. I hope to get it aligned on monday, but it does seem to drive better. Now if I could just find some front rotors that don't warp after 3000 miles....