I just bought my girlfriend a 2003 honda civic ex coupe, everytime i turn the wheel there is a loud thumping sound coming from the outside of the car somewhere behind the front wheel. The alignment is also off pretty bad and the tires are wearing uneven on the inside to the point where the metal is showing. Please help with any ideas it can be. Thanks so much!

 

ball joint maybe...
is it when driving or stoped or both

 

Do you know if it has stock suspension? is it lowered?

 

so if its the ball joints how do i check that and if it is a bad ball joint shows i the signs i mentioned? also yes it has stock suspension and is not lowered

 

The ball joint can be seen just below the rotor....if its bad, you'll definately be able to see. If it makes a loud clunking noise on a bump of any sort, you may also want to check your bushings....I just replaced mine.

 

Have you checked the compliance bushings? (They're located on the front of the lower control arms)

 

the sound only comes when i turn the wheel not when i go over any bumps i am going to check the ball joints and compliance bushing when i get home today and will let everyone know thanks for the help.

 

ive got the same problem; i suspect its the ball joint bc when i drive i can here a "thump thup thump" as the wheel is moving and can feel it as i brake slowly... im just hoping its not the entire LCA that needs replacing

 

stupid question, but have you jacked it up and tried to locate where exactly the noise is coming from? Is it only under pressure it makes the noise?

 

Heard a noise when I was turning,
Found out that my cv axle is going, theres grease all around the wheel
And found out that my upper ball joint is bad

But instead of replacing the ball joint only, get the whole upper control arm with the ball joint pressed in already its easyer and maybe cheaper

 

i finally got a chance to look underneath the car and see what the problem is, both axle boots are torn and all the grease leaked out. i was told that bad axles wont mess up alignment, so im still not sure why the alignment is off so bad? any ideas?

 

i changed the axles and the sound is still there. a loud thumping noise when i first start backing up and almost everytime i turn the wheel to the left. please help im stuck and cant keep spending money on the wrong stuff

 

Also check you swaybar end links.