I've flicked around some of the forums and googled my *** off and haven't found what I'm looking for.

When I bought my '02 I noticed a slight knock/rattle in the front end. Over the past 5 months said knock has gotten louder.

This knock/rattle occurs when I go over bumps and streetcar tracks at lower speeds. I can also jerk the wheel from side to side and make the noise.

While rotating my tires, I checked all the connections. Everything 'seems' tight. (granted I am not a mechanic and have never done any suspension work.)

Any thoughts before I pay through the nose with a mechanic.

Thanks

Scott

 

Will the car make the noise if you push down, or side to side,on the front of the car while the car is at rest and not running?

 

I tried rocking and bouncing, but no knock. Only when driving and it's pretty loud. not to mention frustrating to listen to knowing something is wrong and potentially expensive..

Any other thoughts.

Thanks

 

You tighten up all the bolts and such? I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a bolt from the airbox.

 

you need to get under the car and inspect the suspension components ,, could be worn bushings, broken links, loose bolts/nuts .
have a shop inspect it for you should be no charge or very minimal charge ,, to let you know what is going on

 

Thanks, I'm taking it in to the dealer to have a few things checked out before the warranty runs out. I'll let you know what they say.

Just out of curiosity. If there is something wrong that isn't covered by warranty and I don't want to pay to have them do it, is suspension work very difficult?

Thanks again

 

I would bet money that it is the front sway bar end links. There most common symptom is noise over bumps. They are fairly cheap if you buy aftermarket. A Honda dealer wanted $70 [&o]for them and that was a friendly price. I got MOOG brand parts for $15 installed them in less than a half hour and all was well.

 

So, I just got a call from Honda.

Problems:

Front-end - Front right hub bearing, sway bar bushings, ball joints. $100 deductible + $80 alignment.

Catylitic Converter- Upper and lower heat sheilds $122.

Coolant- $90

They want toreplace the timing belt and water pump: $600- $800.

All in CAD.

Please, could someone tell me what is manditory and what I can do on my own. I'm self-employed and need my car for work. But, I'm not made of money like the good people at honda seem to think I am.

Thanks guys for all you input.

Scott

 

Thought I should mention that the timing belt has never been changed and the car has 160k on it (mostly highway miles)

 

The timing belt should be done fairly soon. We've got a great big writeup on how to do it yourself in our DIY section.... Are the upper/lower heat sheilds just loose or something? I don't see why they'd want to replace those..... and the coolant is just a drain/fill thing that you could do yourself as well....

I'd have them do the front end work since it appears to be covered then do the rest of it yourself....