33 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHFront left suspension noise
Leading reported evidence
Check right side, no noise
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
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Read evidence and context
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Leading evidence: 'Check right side, no noise' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check right side, no noise' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
The triangle support bracket is just a flat plate that is used by the sway bar bracket for support.
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Suggestion
One to induce movement and one to inspect each end link.
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Suggestion
Highly recommended, though he doesn't like to work on M96 cars much and he is very busy.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
33 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
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Generation: 20261027T165639Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
I noticed a noise before, a knocking type noise. Anyhow I jacked up and did the 12 and 6 test and 9 and 3. 9 and 3 definitely has a clunk. I checked right side, no noise. 12 and 6 are okay. What does this narrow my issues down to?
The car is a 02 c4s.
If it was steering, would I feel it through the steering wheel? Steering is fine, no vibration when cluck occurs.
Can I check these individually? Not sure what I�m looking for, Bentley seems to have different names.
It could be anything. By pulling the tire u can see the different link ends. U need to move the upright around and liik for the link end that is moving and causing the clunk.
Just jackbup the one side and uay need a second person. One to induce movement and one to inspect each end link.
Still can be a steering tierod, control arm ball joint or concentric bolt thats loose, upper shock mount or the fork. It litterly could be anything including the sway bar link. U need to check it all. Small prybars can help just dont tear the boots.
You need to have both wheels up to do any checking. Lifting only one side causes the other side load the sway bar and force the lifted wheel to load up, hence make moving it up and down almost impossible.
to check up an down movement:
1. Put both frt wheels on jack stands
2. Remove tires
3. Use a 3-4 ft pipe ( or 2 X 4) as lever between floor and bottom of the rotor (or lowest accessible suspension part) and move the assembly up and down. Any wear and tear in the up-down movement will become visible.
Looking at my Bentley manual, the whole front suspension looks pretty simple. I should have bite the bullet and bought a lift years ago.
Am I correct regarding parts involved (less struts and springs)?
sway bar, brackets and links
Diagonal control arm connects to transverse control by bolt.
tranverse control arm connects to wheel carrier by ball joint.
Both control arms connect to cross member.
When connecting tranverse control arm to cross member, make sure carrier is raised so the two markings at connection point line up?
I guess there is a corner plate too which I am not sure what it does.
Is that sort of it?
I think when i looked at Saturday, my nose being an inch from the suspension while on my back made it seem more daunting.
U basically got it. The wheel carrier only needs to be in that loaded position if u loosen the front bolt.
The triangle support bracket is just a flat plate that is used by the sway bar bracket for support.
I am terrified getting under a car on stands. It�s totally irrational I know. It�s The fear of the car falling on me or just off the stands.
I should probably sell my Jack point Jack stands and just get a lift. Something to think about.
i dropped off this morning to have a pro look at it (and test coolant for leaks). Of course, car was perfect driving in. Ugh.. I�ll keep you posted what they find out.
So I said I would report back. Worse news than I expected. It�s the front differential. They mentioned the control arms are looking fatigued and a couple coolant hoses. 8k.
Im sad but not defeated. Realistically I could fix and likely still get my money back and a couple grand. Decisions, decisions. The account ant in me says to sell. The 52 year old says I�m not going to live forever so fix and enjoy.
That seems a bit steep price wise. I know you are in Massachusetts, where are you taking the car? Perhaps we could suggest a different shop.
Regardless I would suggest a used differential which should cost a couple hundred + a couple hours labor to install.
It's probably worthwhile bringing the car to an indie further north/west if they are really charging that much. I am blanking on his name, but there is a really good indie in Framingham that got me out of a jamb a few years ago, but I don't know that he'd do this type of job he mostly did large jobs for racers and mostly aircooled. He was damn good at what he did though and his rates weren't bad. I can see if I can dig up his name if you'd like. Shop rates have gone up in the last couple years too. It's hard to find a quality indie in the Seattle area for less than $200/hr these days and I am sure Boston is the same way now too. I'd agree with the prf though, a used diff would likely save you a lot of money.
You're thinking of Bill Pfister at Eurotech Automotive. Highly recommended, though he doesn't like to work on M96 cars much and he is very busy.
European Engineering on Rt9 in Framingham has a good reputation, I have never used them.
Autosport Engineering in Stow also has a good reputation, I have never used them.
http://autosportengineering.com/
370 Hudson Road, Stow Massachusetts 01775 [phone removed]
Is replacing the front differential a 13 hour job. Looking at my Bentle manual, I don�t get where those hours are coming from. Does the transmission need to be lowered? My instructions say remove center driveshaft.
I cant imagine it would actually take 13hr, but book time usually does not reflect actual. I have not done it but i can drop the motor and trans in 4hr, so i think 4hr would be a more acurate time frame for a r and r, but im betting i could do it in 2hr my first time.
I cant imagine it would actually take 13hr, but book time usually does not reflect actual. I have not done it but i can drop the motor and trans in 4hr, so i think 4hr would be a more acurate time frame for a r and r, but im betting i could do it in 2hr my first time.
Yeah, I�m going to tell them to hold off. My friend suggested buying refurbished and having our local mechanic replace (he lowered my 996). I told them to do it but said don�t do anything until after the coolant system is checked. I was told they are doing coolant tomorrow.
Anyhow, thanks all for the help.
Front diff. is a pretty simple job - I did mine. 13 hrs. Is just silly. I did mine in 3-4 hrs. From the time I drove into the garage to the time I drove out.
