i thought i had seen something on this a while back but i have searched and found nothing. my problem is when i come to a stop sign or begin to accelerate from a stop i hear a thud in the front end. this happens intermittently which is why i am stumped. the car is an 01 base with 30k on it. any help would be appreciated.

 

it would help if you told us what part of the car it sounds like it is coming from and how loud it is etc.

a thud can be anything

 

it says FRONT OF CAR if i knew where it was coming from i wouldn't be asking

 

i asked this question a while ago, is it kinda like a clicking thud noise?

 

yes that's exactly right. did you ever figure it out?

 

I had a problem kinda like this on my old 3rd gen. Turned out it was a loose engine mount.

Do you feel something moving at the front of the car?

 

I had this problem a while back with my 'Lude. Turns out that somehow one of my front strut braces had dropped its mounting bolts. I'd say get it up on a lift and look for loose pieces in the front suspension...and try to avoid driving as much as possible. The problem started when I was driving cross- country from San Diego to Pensacola, and I still had 450 miles in my trip before I got there- compounded the problem by the time I got her to the shop, and ended up costing a lot more.

 

Just have a shop check it, or if you have a friend, or a friend who is a machanic, just ask them. There are tons of possiblitys of what it can be. Just have it checked out.

 

Take the keg out of the trunk! Oh, the front you say.... check motor mounts, radius rods, and look for other loose bits.

 

Is your car an automatic or manual?

 

I vote motor mount

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by satsilprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes that's exactly right. did you ever figure it out?</TD></TR></TABLE>
actually no i didnt, it only does it sometimes under medium or hard acceleration. some also mentioned that it could be an axle. i havent gotten around to checking it out yet, sorry dude.

 

id say prob a axel or c.v joint

 

I am gonna second the vote for a mount as it is prolly the most common possibility. Check the front and rear closely. Or just grab your motor and shake it. It shouldn't move much.

 

RPM or MPH dependent?

 

thanks for all of the ideas guys, i will get to checking things out today. to answer a few questions, no it is not rpm or mph dependant and the car is an automatic. i will post when i find something out, until then any other suggestions are welcome. also the thud can be felt in the steering wheel and the brake pedal.

 

Does the entire car jolt forward? Does it only happen when you don't come to a 100% complete stop at a stop sign and then pull away? I know the autos will give you a kick in the pants and a jolt if you don't come to a complete stop before applying the gas to pull away when moving like 1-5mph

 

mines a 5spd SH and we seem to have the same problem.

 

i also vote motor/tranny mount. just get under there and have a look-see ASAP. this is not normal behavior.

 

i vote for some sort of mount

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spirctsae &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does the entire car jolt forward? Does it only happen when you don't come to a 100% complete stop at a stop sign and then pull away? I know the autos will give you a kick in the pants and a jolt if you don't come to a complete stop before applying the gas to pull away when moving like 1-5mph</TD></TR></TABLE>

no, that is a pain but that isn't it. i just went over everything and i cant find anything broken, loose, or worn. i got the idea to check the brakes just in case and when i jacked the car up i heard the noise. also if the car is on the ground and you pull up on the fender it makes a creacking sound as if metal was rubbing together. so now i am thinking it could be a strut. any input is appreciated.

 

did you check all the shock/strut/spring mounting bolts? i've actually heard of people driving around with loose shock tower bolts (YIKES!!)

 

yes i checked that first thing. the real pain is that it dosen't do it all the time so taking it to a mechanic may make me look like an idiot.