Pontiac - Sunfire :: Front End Makes Horrible Rattling Sounds While Driving Over Bumps
Oct 15, 2013
While driving over bumps my front end makes horrible rattling sounds. The car also bounces somewhat wildly when i push down while it's parked. I figure its time to replace the suspension as it's got 125k miles on it. My question is exactly what parts do i need to buy? I am going to do both the front and back. I see names of parts thrown around all over. bushings, struts, springs, bearings etc... so what parts do i need to buy?
1997 pontiac sunfire 2.4L coupe
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When driving in any direction, my left front wheel makes a thumping noise. it's not the tires, i have brand new ones. i can feel the thumping in my gas pedal, and if i were to let go of the steering wheel, the car moves to the left really hard. i have had people tell me wheel bearings, and i have had people tell me warped rotor.
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I'm having horrible squeaking/creaking noises coming from the front drivers side area of my car. I can hear it inside the car with windows up or down. Not sure if you can hear it from the outside or not. It is only when going over bumps or uneven road surfaces at low speeds. If I'm even going like 40mph and there is uneven surface I don't hear anything. It's 85 degrees today, and I notice it has gotten worse with the hotter temps. I just purchased the car a few months ago when it was still winter, and only recall it gradually doing this as the weather has warmed up.
The weirdest thing is that my previous sunfire (also a 2002), made the same exact noise, but never did get it checked out because the head gasket blew and I got rid of it. I tried pushing on the front end while it's parked to see if it makes the noise, but I didn't hear the slightest chirp, unless I'm just not strong enough to give a good enough push. What could be wrong? I don't wanna throw a whole lot of money into it not being sure what it is, and I have read a lot of horror stories of mechanics trying to pinpoint noises and still not being able to find the culprit thousands of dollars later. 2002 Sunfire GT....
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So my car keeps just dying while i'm driving..my car was running just fine until i got gas one morning and then started to sputter while i was driving and didn't want to accelerate very well...read a multiple misfire code when my check engine light was on..changed the coil packs and now isn't reading anything but now it takes a lot of cranks to get the car to start and while i am going down the road it will just die...normal engine dying lights will come on the dash when it dies..have changed the fuel filter..checked the catalytic convertor...checked plugs and wires..once in a while i do get a funny gas smell on the outside of my car but it's not leaking anywhere..checked the battery and still does it with a new battery..changed the fuel pump about 3 years ago..
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I got this car off of a friend of mine who drove it drunk until the noise from the back wheel was too loud to handle. about 30 miles. he changed the "wheel" put on the spare and drove it for about another month.
during that time, the shifting began to get a little "iffy". he then brought it in to get the brakes done, and as soon as it came off of the lift . it wouldn't go into gear. instead it just makes a horrible noise from the area of the "output shaft" or where i would assume the prop shaft " flange" would be.
that being said. Every once in a while you can get it to go into gear. just by continually putting it from park to drive. and when it goes into gear the noise stops and it drives "fine" but only for about 30 seconds. and then it pops back "out of gear" and makes the noise again.
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My daughter drives a 1996 sunfire 2.2. car started stalling while driving about a year ago. No apparent pattern, would go weeks even months in between. Last summer it became more frequent and noticed it would only do it when engine was warm. After stalling it will restart after what seems to be a cooling down period. Now it does it at idle as well. (Replaced fuel pump and filter) would like a good guess before I start putting money into it.
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I own a pontiac sunfire '00, and it makes a crackling noise in the rear end whenever I drive slowly, what could it be?
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I bought a used 2010 GTI with 37k on it. I am loving the ride, more than I even anticipated. It has the DSG, and I enjoy the multitude of ways I can choose to drive this vehicle.
I do have one issue of concern that I would like some feed back on. Occasionally, when driving hard, the car makes a horrible shudder and doesn't accelerate. It's almost as if the vehicle misses a shift and is governing itself quickly and harshly. I haven't had enough concentration to check RPM's when it does it.
It feels horrible, scares me and makes me wonder what I'm doing, what I need to get checked, or if this is something others have experienced.
Pic for good measure.
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I have a 1997 Pontiac sunfire the other week I was driving and it stopped on me the engine would crank but quickly turn off but everything inside the car would still be on k was told I needed a new cat and got that and a new muffler put on. This morning I went to leave for work and the same thing happened again! I was told it could be the fuel pump or fuel filter but it doesn't act weird while driving it. What could this be?
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The other day I heard a massive snap as I pulled out of the driveway. I drove to work and everything handled fine but if I drove over a bump I noticed a horrible sound under my car. Smaller bumbs just caused a ting. My gfs dad looked at it and said everything was fine. I surely didn't believe that so I just jacked up my car and right away I noticed my spring snapped!
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I have a 1999 Pontiac sunfire. It had just over 85,200 miles. I took it in to have an oil change and the front passenger tire changed. I didn't notice it till the next day. My odometer stop displaying. What could have happened to it? How can I fix it?
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I have a 95 Pontiac grand am with a 98 motor. Everything is factory, no modifications. I just recently starting having an issue with the car attempting to stall out while driving over bumps and on some hard turns as well. Haven't replaced anything yet but would like to know what is causing this? I have shook wires, checked for broken ones and found nothing.
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Its been awhile since I've posted, but this is annoying me! Everytime I drive over a small imperfection on the road, I hear this "rattle" or "small thunk" that sounds like either plastic panels in the rear, or maybe the rear suspension.
I ensured the rear seats were locked in place, I even removed that flimsy rear deck, and even drove with my seats down, and I still hear the sound.
I park on some bumpy terrain at my house, and sometimes I'll go over speed bumps maybe a little too fast, but not really fast.
Its just a sound that's never been there before, and I can't hear it unless I have the music off. Its not overly loud, but that "rattle" or "thunk" just makes me this car feel not so "new and refined" anymore.
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Ive got an 07 Malibu ls. For quite some time now I have had this frt end noise. Its a tapping rattling noise on fine bumps. Here is the strange thing. It only happens in the winter and then only for a while when I start driving. It kinda goes away as I keep going. When its very cold it doesn't quite go away but gets lots less as the car is driven for a while. Ive checked everything in the front end including sway bar links. Ive made sure the brake calipers arent loose. Ive had it checked out at a reputable shop. Of course as soon as the car is inside a warm shop, it wouldnt make the noise anyways. They have not been able to pinpoint it either. What was the solution?
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When I'm driving over sharp bumps I hear what sounds like a small chain jingling around. I took off the hubcaps and jacked up the car to see if anything loose. I grabbed the exhaust pipe and shook it, but it didn't make any noise. I couldn't see anything that would cause it. The front right strut's rubber cover is off so could the strut make that noise?
I just read a few posts with similar problems, but one was a compression sound and another was a knock, and another was a metallic hick up. Mine is literally like a loose high pitch chain noise and change rattling in your pocket. No uniformity to the sound. But it also only happens over quick small bumps not large ones like speed bumps.
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I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is since when I hit the brakes it stops. When I took the left side tire off and right side I compared and there is a thin metal sheet that has room to move on the right, but is tight on the left. When the brakes were done before maybe it didn't seat correctly or something. Just wondering what that plate is called so I can order one and change it. Driven that way 2 years, but it bugs me when the window is down and people probably think my car is falling apart. Maybe I'll search for a brake diagram.
Edit: I think they might be called "anti squeal shims". I saw a picture of them, so maybe they didn't put enough high temp grease, but the left side is tight and the rights side you can move a couple milometers side to side so I'm sure that's the jingling noise.
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I have a 98 pontiac sunfire with 130 k it died out last week while I was driving got a p0342 code I replaced the camshaft sensor still nothing I'm getting spark and I can hear the fuel pump click on.
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i have a 1997 Pontiac sunfire 2.2..i was coming home from work i heard a clicking sound coming from the motor then the car just died and it wont start back up.
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Any way, my 2000 Pontiac Sunfire will randomly not accelerate while I am driving. I was initially rolling up to a red light so took my foot of the gas at about 20 mph, then the light turned green so I tried to hit the gas but nothing happened for about 5-7 seconds. So I was just coasting, but then I hit the gas and everything was fine. It did this a second time on the way home. Two days later I went to start my car and it wouldn't start. Nothing was happening--no noises, nothing. So I got my battery tested--Autozone tested it and said it was bad, but after replacing the battery nothing happened still.
Then a "mobile mechanic" came and stuck a screw driver into the starter to short circuit it so it made a sound like it was trying to start, but didn't. Then after a few minutes he looked and my radio was on and it started with the key. Since then it has not started only one time when I used a screw driver to start it myself, but when I was on a steep incline last night it kept not accelerating if I made it work too hard. I would be at ~65 mph and it would just quit so I'd pull off the side of the road and it would drop to ~40 mph for ~5-7 seconds, then I'd hit the gas again and it would go just fine. It did this about 3-4 times. One time all the lights on the dashboard flashed on when it wouldn't go. One time it just completely stalled on me when I was driving. I pulled off the side of the road and started it again and it was fine.
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My car is an automatic 1997 pontiac sunfire SE. 2.4L. I drove into a parking space and the car would not shift out of drive into park, or any other gear. I called a tow truck and the guy said that the "link" had popped out of place and it needed to slip back in. He also said the high heat (it was 109 today) can warp the plastic to where it will not stay in. He showed me this link and popped it into place. I was able to get the car to shift from low to park and then to neutral but it popped out again. So I know it's not the transmission. My question is what is this "link" called so I can get a replacement for it.
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I have a 1996 pontiac sunfire.one of my headlights is a lot dimmer. I put a new bulb in there and still the same thing.
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