Passenger side suspension clunk

[Ecefour]

Model : Yaris HB

Year: 2007

Mileage: 140k

There is a suspension clunk on the passenger side. The problem typically only occurs when the car is been warmed up for about 5 miles. The problem usually occurs on large bumps below 45mph, but it can also happen around sharp, low speed turns. There’s no vibration in the steering at any speed and the steering still feels very tight. So far the entire strut/spring assemblies been replaced, along with the outer tie rods and sway bar end links. I have inspected the lower control arm bushings plus the ball joint and they look okay (pictures of them). Additionally, the CV axle boots are in good condition and are not torn. Here is a video demonstrating the sound.

Other things to note: Tires are at 1 year old and have 40k miles on them. They are at the wear indicators and will be replaced soon.

I’m kind of at a loss at this point. Any help will be appreciated

[bronsin]

Is there much rust on your car? There is a recall for rusted bolts holding the suspension together on the front end. Have you heard about that? That might be the problem

But having looked at your pictures I don’t see much rust I guess There wouldn’t be in Maryland. I confess I’m stumped!

But at least safety wise you check everything that might be a problem. So you should be able to safely ride around while you think of what might be wrong.

Good luck and tell us what happens!

[sh0rtlife]

yes do tell as i have the same issue but on the drivers side....ZERO rust a lil over 100k miles on it same year even

atleast you seem to be able to "replicate" it on demand...i cant

[Ecefour]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Is there much rust on your car? There is a recall for rusted bolts holding the suspension together on the front end. Have you heard about that? That might be the problem

Thanks for the suggestion but, my LCA bolts are in mint condition; there's not a spec on rust on them. I do spray my car with fluid film every year, so rust isn't a concern.

I think my next course of action will be to replace the front sway bar bushings. I feel zero vibration and my steering feels very responsive at all speeds. This causes me to turn my attention away from the control arm bushings and axels. My current theory is since the sway bar bushings are near the engine; the heat causes the bushings to constrict slightly, which theoretically causes my intermittent clunk. Remember, this car only clunks while warm.

[sh0rtlife]

thats not a bad theory..my current running theory on mine is an upper strut mount for pretty much all the same reasons..especialy due to it being a very "focused" sound point

[Ecefour]

I actually did replace the upper strut mounts, bearings and bushings already.

I tried disconnecting the sway bar to verify it was not the problem. Welp, the car STILL makes the noise! So, at this point I'm down to three major components: lower control arm, ball joint and CV axle.

My money is on the CV axle.

I'll likely have a mechanic look at it from here. None of my boots are torn or dry rotted and the bushings all appear to be in good condition. Need a second opinion before throw a few hundred dollars at it lol

[sh0rtlife]

depending on how long your up to waiting....ive got new CV's i just havnt had time to put em in and ive got someones honda in my shop waiting for a gasket to get shipped to me....so i might be able to tell you if it helped mine

[sh0rtlife]

i managed to get it to do the same clunk with a hard stop in reverse..straight line no bumps totaly off power too....

[Ecefour]

Hmmmm, interesting. Are you still, going to replace the axles?

I bought a used axle with 60k on it for $75. Hopefully gonna try it out this weekend.

[sh0rtlife]

the last FWD i had and DD'd taught me something..if you suspect a CV replace em in pairs and get something with a lifetime warrenty LOL..i was VERY hard on that turbo minivan but if 1 cv was acting up the other would litteraly be less than 5k miles behind it, but wouldnt show itself till the "known" failing unit was replaced..the diff just transfers to the weakest link

once i put a LSD in the need to do pairs was helped but still proved to hold true

yeah still planing on doing mine

[Neinris]

My guess is the ball joint. I have had a clunking sound on the front driver side for a while now. I've replaced the bushings for the LCA, but not the ball joint, because it looked intact, and there didn't seem like there's any slack when I was testing it on the bench. I too was suspecting the sway bar bushings, but when I removed the end links, the noise was still there. Actually the noise is worst now when everything else was replaced, because everything else are new and stiffer.
I'm saving up for an extended ball joint, to fix the angle of the LCA since my car is lowered.

https://www.yarisworld.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=63196

[Compeer]

Its your front, rear control arm bushings as seen here in this video. Does not look like fun and you would honestly want to do both sides so the car handles correctly again.

https://youtu.be/0jKcJMLEEPk?t=344

[JustFPV]

I just had my front lower control arms replaced after experiencing really bad clunking noises on both sides and some weird handling when going on ramps for the highway. The alignment was a lil wonky (did alignment twice to try and sort out wandering and weird feeling in turns) and after pulling off the old control arms I see why now. The bushings were shot and the arms themselves were rotting away, the bolts were scary bad. I have a 2006 yaris hatchback with the 1.5l engine and manual trans. I took it to 2 shops after buying it to get the front end solid that replaced the front struts, wheel bearings and new rotors/pads and the suspension still felt terrrible. I brought it to my friend who runs a mercedes repair shop and within 2min he saw how bad the control arms were. He had to cut the front and rear bolts off to get the arms off and man were they bad. I don't know how the arms held on with how rusted and worn away the middle of the bolts were. The head mechanic said they were a terrible design by toyota and that they were going to use mercedes bolts for a clk230 to replace them (heads up for anyone who wants proper bolts that'll last a lifetime). I picked up the car last night and immediately could feel the improvement in tracking and handling bumps/potholes. I'm finally happy with how my yaris drives after having it for almost 2 years now. I know its an old car but its drives well now and with gas prices and inflation, I will keep this car for as long as I can to do my daily driving. I bought it with 160k (km's) and now have 218k but I plan to make it last to 500k lol.

[sh0rtlife]

sorry to tell you this but that MB bolt is going to be the same bolt...unless they welded in a new nut into the frame and use a non toyota spec bushing and or milled it out for a different bolt