Vibration in steering only on Warm Days

[jcb986]

Originally Posted by m208334

Picked up the car this afternoon. The heat shields did not fix the problem. I still feel the knocking in the driver side front at low speed.

Another member suggested the inner tie rod might be the problem. I called the mechanic before I picked up the car and asked about the inner tie rods. He said he would look. Later, he offered to change the tie rods if I wanted, but was indicating it was my decision. He still thought the heat shield fixed the problem. That is why I decided to pick up the car and give it a try. Apparently he is not hearing/feeling the knock. The tie rod job is $1100 if I decide to go that route. I would gladly pay $1100 if the problem would really be fixed. Probably time for another opinion. Not sure where to go, but I am not ready to admit defeat.

Here is a video clip of the actual sound. When the knock occurs, it can be slightly felt in the steering wheel. The knock frequency does not change with speed, but it is not felt as much at highway speeds. This video was taken after the car was driven for about 10 minutes. On another portion of the video, the car makes a horrible metal sound while turning around very slowly. The knocking noise: The Annoying Front Suspension Noise

Ok, my experience with tie rods is when they go bad your steering will feel at little lose and you will get a shimmy as though the tire is out of balance. I have heard that the bushings in the control arms get worn can create a noise similar to yours. Let us know when you find it. Did you know the wiper fluid bottle is on that side behind the fender well. Also, have heard of people getting a knocking noise and found the thing was lose and with wiper fluid in it sloshing around created the knock.

[m208334]

Originally the mechanic told me that the wheel bearing was bad, but then suggested we could replace the driver side front inner tie rod and lower track control arm. With the new tie rod and control arm, the car rides much smoother, but I need a really hot day to know if the car is fixed. I did hear a high pitch squeal when applying the brakes on the way home from work this evening, but I am hoping this just the brakes.

[Glass]

Well my noise is exactly the same as your sound clip. I have the exact problem persisting. I replaced both lower control arms, and just did wheel bearings to no avail. I am going crazy with this and hate driving it now because I can hear and feel the clunk. Did the tie rod fix it??

[ijwalsh]

Did you ever get to the bottom of the problem? I have the exact same knocking through the steering wheel slow speeds after driving a while to get everything warmed up...

[JDBOXSTER]

I went thru the process of elimination and replaced the shocks.strut bearings drop links and outer track rods. No change in knocking, still only after the front end gets warm.
Changed the inner track rods and "Bingo" problem solved.
Hope you have the same situation.

JD BOXSTER