LiL JoN

just picked up a 98 ex crv 5 speed and every time i go over a bump or crack on the road makes a sound like something is loose...like it wobbles around but on flat road no noise could it be the shocks?? or ???? help any suggestions?? thanks

LiL JoN

thats what i was thinking bout .......any one else??

gullvingen

Front stabilizer bar links are notorious on this model. Cheap aftermarket links available.

Targa250R

Shocks themselves don't make noise.

A clunking, banging, or rattling noise over bumps in a '97-01 CR-V is most often caused by bad sway bar end links and/or sway bar bushings, bad ball joints, or less commonly, bad upper shock mount bushings.

Get underneath the car and check all of the ball joints and the sway bar links and bushings for play.

INVN01

I had a similar problem with my 98 V. It turned out to be sway bar end links. It was a VERY cheap fix. LOL!

JDMDrifter05

My left front stab link is broken and that clunks when i hit potholes, curbs and bumps. I'm also getting a little noise from my right front balljoint having a little play in it.

LiL JoN

thanks to you all gonna check it out tommorow

hondabinge

any updates on this???
i have a 00 CRV with the same front end noise. i just replaced the front struts last week and replaced the swaybar end links like a year ago, still noise. balljoints seem tight, bushings look good, cant get extra play from the bushings that i can tell. i have yet to see upper strut bushings go bad in a honda, if so what all would i look for to see if theyre bad??
thanks for your time.

hondabinge

MY UPDATE:

checked swaybar end links and they were still tight and good. removed swaybar bushings hoping they might be the problem. instead of buying anything i just wrapped black electrical tape around swaybar where bushings go (to make the bushings tighter to swaybar), installed bushings, and took it for a test run; no more front end noise!! so i will now purchase new swaybar bushings and problem is solved! cheap easy fix thank goodness.

red civic standard

Definitely the front swaybar bushings that cause the mild clunk. $6 at Napa.

Careful removing the bolts that hold the u bracket that holds up the swaybar as these can easily brake off.

92integraVTECgsr

I shall try the sway bar bushings this weekend. I have 2 CR-V's and they both do this. On the 97 I changed the lower ball joins and tie rod ends and still making the noise. My friend who is a tech at Acura said it was the end links. So I just bought a 99 and the noise was worse. So I changed the end links on it tonight and it barely changed it.

I will try the sway bar bushings this weekend. I want to pin point the solution one part at a time that way I know for sure.

I will post again once I've changed them.

crexer

you guys are going to kill me because I brought this back from the dead, I have the same problem with my 99 crv. I have changed shock/spring, SB end links, upper control arms,and still hearing a clunking noise going over bumps from the front passenger side. anyone ever pin point the problem?

FasterScooter

Crexer, I have run across this issue several times before. If after you replace all the worn suspension and steering parts you still have the noise, the problem is in your upper A arms. Jack up the car and support the front wheel. Remove the 2 A arm bolts at the shock tower. inspect the inside of the wheel well/shock tower for body sealer in the A arm mounting areas, remove the sealer with a scraper, careful not to scrape the paint.If you do scrape the paint make sure you touch it up as that is a prime area for rust to form. Lastly use NEW FLANGE BOLTS and reinstall the A arms, do not tighten the flange bolts. let the car down, bounce the front end a few times and then torque the flange bolts to 73N-m. The flange bolts are 10x68mm, part #90172-s04-003 and you will need 4 of them if you do both sides. Hope this helps. As much as I run into this maybe it should be a stickie.

sliverSE.V

bump it up for some help...

okay so been busy (school) to really do much on the 01 CRV other than it's duty DAILY

Anyways recently I've been getting some suspension/noise from my front end...mainly from the driver side but passenger side as well slightly perhaps? It almost sounds sort of like my brakes are sticky or low, almost like a quick grind/clunk noise when I let off the brake paddle. It only happens when I am at a stop and come off it, again only when I let off the brake paddle to transition myself to accelerate. It's really weird and I'm can't figure what it could be. I looked at my front end links and they look good.

-Read some of the post already maybe could be the end links in my rear? or front end is loose?(but looks good) But then could it be the control arm in the front as well as some had say? Seems fine to me. IDK like I said I just hear it clunk/grind when I let go off the brake paddle (again my best way to describe this is like a sticky brake feel/clunk noise when I let off the brake paddle)

I checked my front brakes and I still have a good chunk of pad left on the brakes(both side) so checks out there and nothing loose...guessing it only happened after someone swiped me in the rear quarter panel?

any help LMK

Sticker Bomb

Make sure your front brakes have enough brake lube on the sliders and on the side of the pads where they go into the caliper bracket. That will make them to make noise when braking as well.

also check your torque mounts for the transmission and engine (mounts that are on the front of the engine and transmission that go into the frame) They always wear out over the years with this design and that will cause a clunking noise when you let off the brakes as the engine torques up again and moves more then it should.

Also check your upper and lower ball joints, sway bar bushings, control arm bushing (making sure they are not cracked really badly). All these will cause noises when driving and braking, so give them a good check.

sliverSE.V

^thanks everything seems fine like i said but I'll have to recheck everything really good once again when I'm done with school-got finals this week...will update if I find anything

CRXB5

iTrader: (6)

Any updates on this I still have my issue after replacing all the sway bar endlinks and bushings, It sounds like its primarily coming from passenger side beneathe the floor/dash.. Are the bolts in this picture what fasterscooter was talking about? #11?
http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/p...hassis/knuckle

nathan8210

Mine was clunking loudly, 250k and lack of maintance. Just bought few weeks now and I immediately got rid of the noises. Replaced outer tie rods (boots were torn and joint had to much play). SwayBarEnd links notorious for making noise and replaced the bushings as well. Added coilovers which has nothing to do with the noise lol. So I would check your outer tie rods for those whom replaced swaybar portion.

FasterScooter

Number 11 in the drawing.

GMad

My drop links/stabilizer bar/sway bar links (separated by a common language) were worn on my 2000 V when I got it. I put some new ones on and still had a very faint noise when going over severe bumps, so I replaced the anti roll bar bushes and its been silent ever since..

mtfred99

I had the same front end rattle every time I hit a small bump. I tried changing the sway bar link twice and shocks with only a slight improvement. One day I grabbed the front axle and shook it trying to locate the rattle and realized the inner CV joint was rattling. I didn't think the source of the rattle could be coming from them but when I replaced them anyways and the rattle went away.
Probably not to many of these cars around anymore but I wanted to let anyone else out there with this rattle know what it was because this noise drove me crazy for years and I was so surprised and excited to finally track it down

Heks01

Lift up the Front of the car and check if the tires have play from left to right. Mine were the inner tie rods. I replaced them and my CRV is cured.

shannon bates

hey was wondering what is a upper A arm that needs the flange bolts??! I'm having the same problem with my 01 CRV and I've change most of the suspension except the upper control arms, tie rod and shocks/mounts. Please explain the A arms, Thanks for your help.

Hamster65

One thing nobody has mentioned is, the upper strut mount bushings. There are 4 (3 different part numbers) at the top of each strut. Any one of these being worn out can cause the noise you're describing. The easiest way to check these is to jack up the front end until the tires are off the ground, grab the strut body and try to shake it. Watch the top of the shaft while doing this to see if it moves. There should be no more than 1mm movement in any direction.

likrem

I want to add my experience with the crv suspension noise issues to this thread. I bought a 2000 as a first kid car for my daughter to learn to drive in earlier this year. I was warned by owner it had some suspension noise. I am an ASE certified mechanic and worked in a shop for a few years before changing careers for something that paid a lot better. I didnt think much of it since it was a "good deal" and I thought I knew my stuff. Boy I didnt know what I was in for! I have changed out all the sway bar links front/back, sway bar bushings, struts (buy the quick struts! front springs are a nightmare with a manual compressor), upper control arms, rear trailing arms. Guess what? It still had clunks! My first advice is. Only change one thing at a time. I changed a whole bunch of stuff at once and then of course assumed that the thing I replaced must be good now and it be something else. Bad assumption on my part. After you change something, test drive and listen. Also, buy the parts that are closest to factory. I bought a bunch of "heavy duty" moog stuff, I ended up swapping out for cheaper closer to factory stuff because the moog stuff doesnt fit as well and millimeters matter. In the end what I discovered with my clunk was the brand new sway bar bushings were causing it. 100s in parts and some 20 dollar bushing were the issue. Basically the metal sway bar is surrounded by the rubber bushing. The rubber dries out and catches on the bar as it rotates inside the bushing. This causes a clunking sound that can be felt near the front floor boards. The simple test here if this sounds similar to your problem is before buying anything, take off the old bushings and grease them with a non petroleum grease, put them back on, and test drive. If clunk is gone or diminished, buy new ones and make sure to grease when you put them back on. My clunks are gone for the time being. This really is a poor design on Honda's part, but overall I still really like the crv so far. Certainly has taught an old dog some new tricks when it comes to suspension work.