Hi there — 98 Accord LX owner here. I've got a noise coming from the front right wheel area and I can't identify it. Here's the symptoms:

1) Irregular thumping noise when the wheels are rolling.
2) Creaking on turns.

Here's what I've eliminated and how:

1) Transmission. The noise occurs with the engine out of gear.
2) CV joints. It's not really that kind of sound, and anyway I've replaced both axles and joints in the last six months.
3) Engine mounts are sound, shock mounts look good.

Here's the curveball:

1) With the car stopped, I can reproduce the sound by pushing the body up and down, side to side.
2) With the car on jackstands, I examined all the suspension parts. Nothing looks worn or produces any sound when jerked around or banged on with a rubber mallet.
3) Once the car has been jacked up and then returned to the ground, the sound goes away for a few days.
4) With the steering knuckle resting on a jackstand, I can't reproduce the sound. I had hoped to be able to reproduce the scenario in #1 but without the wheel in the way. But this seems to be impossible because #3 pertains.

I'm out of ideas for how to diagnose this. I did find a youtube video of a mazda with worn sway bar bushings that sounds pretty similar to #1 above:

Worn Sway Bar Bushing sound - YouTube

But short of just randomly swapping parts, I don't know how to proceed.

 

sounds like the ball joints in the upper and/or lower control arms have lost their grease and are now wearing metal on metal. When you put it up and the wheels hang down I bet it flexes the joints enough to get a dab of grease on them and then doesn’t make noise until it wears out.


Try this, get a large syringe (ones used to wash wounds or inject sauces into turkeys ect) you can get them at any supermarket or medical supply store. Most come with a plastic tip that can unscrew. Anyway get one of those with a tip and get some axle grease, remove the tip and suck up axle grease into the syringe, then replace the tip.

Now back at your car with it on the jack stands find the rubber boots on the upper and lower control arms. If there is a tear (like one of mine) you can insert the tip right into that and squirt some of the grease in. If you have one with a tear stop there. Test drive it and see if the sound is fixed. If not you may have to grease the others.

This is not a permanent fix, more of just one that pinpoints your problem spot.

 

Thumbs up on Silver's suggestion, but I would like to add that you should use the silicone paste rather than axle grease where there are rubber components. Also you should add some silicone grease to the bushings on the sway bars and the sway bar links.
Several of my sway bar links went bad and I had them replaced at a local shop with the aftermarket parts for about $70 per wheel, parts and labor. But when they went, it was a distinct rattle sound of metal on metal.
A lot of banging and knocking from the back was fixed by lubing the sway bar bushings with silicone.

 

Oh, that sounds like a good candidate. I replaced the lower ball joints on both sides and it's a good bet that I ripped the rubber in the process. I'll check it out. Thanks for your expertise y'all.