Clunk feel in steering wheel when going over bumps

[Most_Wanted]

Hey guys.

I need some help diagnosing a suspension issue. There is a "clunk feel" through the steering wheel when going over bumps. It is more apparent at low speeds. No noise was heard during this clunk.

Other than the clunk the steering seems fine. The car turns and handles normal.

Describing the feel i get from the steering wheel over a bump is like a quick jolt to the steering wheel.

[rexcramer]

Get both front wheels off the ground and then pull on the wheels. Have somebody gently steer while you hold. Loose or damaged connections might present themselves. 2nd, pull the wheels off and start looking at all of the connections. Good luck.

[speedyspaghetti]

How many miles are on the car?

[Racer Boy]

Most likely culprits are tie rod ends, or lower control arms.

[speedyspaghetti]

I would also suggest the front track arms - they are relatively cheap (you can use the 911 part) and I was able to get some vibration out of my steering with replacing them. It's not 100% gone, so I'm going to do LCAs later this week. I did tie rods too, but they didn't really change the "clunk" for me.

[Most_Wanted]

103200 miles. I have been reading up on similar issues related to mine being correlated to the tie rod bushings tho. Thanks for the tip on lifting the front and checking for wheel looseness.

spaghetti thanks for the tip. I'm not getting any vibration from the steering wheel though. Just a jolt /clunk over bumps. More noticeable at slow speeds.

[Cunningr]

No vibrations maybe its a worn front shock strut.

[Racer Boy]

With over 100K, chances are good that everything is worn out. If you are going to take it apart to replace one part, you may as well replace everything while you are at it. Yes, it's expensive, but save yourself the trouble and just get it all over with! Your reward will be a car that is quiet and drives great.

[Oggie]

I've just gone through this process trying to track down a similar noise, replacing part after part and in my case it was the sway bar drop links