I have a 5th gen and when i go slow, about 5mph, i would hear this thump noise coming from the passenger wheel well. i checked to make sure all the bolts on the suspension (knuckle, control arm, etc.) were torqued down. it still made noise. then i pushed down on that side and heard it again...any ideas of what it can be?
thanks

 

Is the mount tight? Is the strut tight up in the mount?

 

I have a 4th gen and was hearing a similar noise. It ended up that my lug nuts were coming loose and the noise was my rim scraping up against the brake caliper. Why, I don't really know, but I had to replace them because they kept on coming loose.

 

I'm pretty sure the lug nuts are tight...but I'll double check again.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4bidden &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is the mount tight? Is the strut tight up in the mount?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes, the mounts and struts are tight.

 

How loud is it? Reason I ask is because sometimes these things are harmonic with the engine and the noise will still exist at a higher speed in a different gear but you may not hear it because of background noise. Did you try running in neutral at 5mph?

I had a similar thing coming from the same area in my 4th gen. It ended up being my amp wire vibrating. Although it was more of a rattle than a thumb.

Also is it straight line or cornering?

 

it is loud enough to hear going 5mph in neutral...i cant hear it and i dont think it happens at higher speeds. It's definitely not a rattle...more of a thummpppp*
I dont have a sound system so there are no wires going to an amp. It happens when i go in a straight line, but some times happens in a corner.

About a few days before, i was driving around and i heard a similar noise...it turned out to be the lug nuts on the wheel...it wasnt torqued down. So i torqued everything down and there was less sound, but it still makes noise. I then tried replacing the lug nuts, because when you run on a loose wheel, there is a possibilty of reshaping those lug nuts. I replaced 4 out of the 5 lugs and it turns out there was less noise than before, but every once in a while, ill hear it...i'm gonna try to replace the last lug nut tomorrow and see how that goes...I hope that'll solve the problem. If not, then i dunno what to do.

 

ya..the noise is back regardless of the new lug nuts...

 

Sorry to hear that. I am glad my problem was so simple. Good luck tryin to fix it.

 

Could rod probably. Mine does the same thing. The bolts would be tight - but the tie rod can be shot. When you have the car jacked up with the wheel on the car still - see if you can grab the wheel and have "play" in it. If there is play - side to side and front to back, then the tie rod is shot. My guess.

 

found the problem! damn sway bar! the end of it was loose...so i tightened it and no more sound...yay!
thanks for all your help guys!