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Popping/clunking noise

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Old 06-20-2016, 04:55 AM
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Popping/clunking noise

So my car has been making this noise since I first got it a few months ago but it's either getting worse or I'm just getting more annoyed with it. It's in the suspension or mounts but not sure where it's coming from. I've lifted it and pried on all
The ball joints and so on looking for some play but can't find any snd there is zero slop in the steering. I made sure the strut bolts were good and tight but ive even had dates ask me what's wrong with your car lol cause if your trying To go slow through a parking lot it wants to kind of jerk because of the stage 3 I believe it was that I just put in south bend clutch doesn't allow any slipping, so the car is great for what I usually wanna do with it but it doesn't like to go slow so when it's going from one extreme to the other and rocking back and fourth I'm sure and if I hit a big crack in the road I hear this noise all the time so I'm just curious if there is something that these cars are notorious for wearing out and then making all these noises? Does this sound familiar to any of you and if so what was your fix? Thank you very much in advance!!
Old 06-20-2016, 09:29 AM
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Control arm bushings, sway bar endlinks, intermediate steering shaft, and steering rack are the most common issues.
Old 06-20-2016, 08:19 PM
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Ok well the only think I haven't pried on and looked at in that list is the steering rack so I'll do that. The nose sounds like whatever it is is under a lot of pressure when it makes the noise but thanks for advice, I'll use it
Old 06-20-2016, 09:52 PM
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I would think that its most likely worn cabs. See if you can remove your control arm.
Old 06-20-2016, 10:40 PM
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Yeah see that what I thought it would be too but I stuck me long pry bar in there at different angles and couldn't see any play but that could still be the problem. I won't have time probably till the weekend or something to do all that but I'll have to if I can't find anything else I guess.
Old 06-20-2016, 10:41 PM
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Damn spell check got me sounding Irish or something lol my bad man.
Old 06-21-2016, 11:39 AM
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Mine did the same thing and I replaced front sway bar bushing and noise went away. These or the CAB's are the main culprits in clunking noise when going over uneven terrain. I also had a noise that happened during every shift. Chalked it up to lash in the drivetrain, turned out it was the driver side axle nut was really loose.
Old 06-21-2016, 04:07 PM
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Thanks man I really appreciate the feedback!!!!! I checked all of those things already and they showed no signs of being worn out but when I get a change to remove them as inspect closer maybe I'll find the issue. It pretty much just makes the noise anytime a front tire hits a crack in the road or a bad street with a lot of pot holes and such. It has been lowered also so the other thing that came to mind was something in the strut area... Sucks when you buy something and the guy can't tell you much about the upgrades plus he was hiding the fact the engine was shot and now looking back he was very nervous and in a hurry almost but so was I and I suppose that's why I didn't notice anything. It actually ran great on the test drive and only had one dtc and it was just a misfire so I figured "o some new plugs, a coil At the most" but nope I pulled the plugs and oil was dripping off them so now it's got a brand new off the assembly line at fm performance decision lq9 in it so I don't think I'll have to worry about it for a long time so I mean now if I just do a complete bushing upgrade kit I basically have a brand new car with every upgrade there is or at least all the really common stuff like dual pass and south bed clutch... Well I guess you can see all of that if us click on my profile. Thanks again guys
Old 06-22-2016, 01:14 PM
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Did you ever find the problem? i think i'm having a similar issue. My car will pop/clunk when taking off from a stop, and sometimes when i release my clutch after up shifting. I jacked it up and when i turned the wheels back and fourth to listen to the cv axles, the clunking sound was comming from inside the tranny... not sure what the means but it cant be good what has me confused it all my gears work perfectly fine and the car only has 71k maybe yours has the same issue?
Old 06-22-2016, 01:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Dougsterbob
Did you ever find the problem? i think i'm having a similar issue. My car will pop/clunk when taking off from a stop, and sometimes when i release my clutch after up shifting. I jacked it up and when i turned the wheels back and fourth to listen to the cv axles, the clunking sound was comming from inside the tranny... not sure what the means but it cant be good what has me confused it all my gears work perfectly fine and the car only has 71k maybe yours has the same issue?
Don't be so sure it's coming from the transmission. The way I found it was a loose axle nut was to take both front tires off, removed the brakes and brake rotors, grabbed the axle with a pair of channellocks and held them stationary while twisting the hub back and forth. Found the drivers side loose, hit it with an impact for a few seconds put everything back together and noise was gone. Just twisting the wheels while jacked up didn't pinpoint the problem. There will be a little lash in the transmission and axle splines that you will hear both while shifting and while jacked up turning the wheels, that is normal. But mine was much much louder than that. When I shifted from 1st to 2nd the clicking, clunking noise was loud enough to echo through my neighborhood.
Old 06-22-2016, 05:25 PM
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No I'm working to much during the week to get it in the air and mess with it. Mine doesn't do it during shifting or anything it's just when I pull out of my drive and turn into the road cause there's a dip there or if I hit a pot hole in the road so I really think my issue is in the suspension somewhere and I know I need new mounts cause it wheel hops bad if I'm peddling it to try and get through the first two gears otherwise it will just blow the tires off and that's without hitting the button. I suppose I could pull some power in the tune but I kinda wanna see how it does with the stiffer and angled mounts first. I hope you get yours figured out. If you do, please post it here and I'll do the same.
Old 06-22-2016, 05:30 PM
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Originally Posted by GfSwindle06
Don't be so sure it's coming from the transmission. The way I found it was a loose axle nut was to take both front tires off, removed the brakes and brake rotors, grabbed the axle with a pair of channellocks and held them stationary while twisting the hub back and forth. Found the drivers side loose, hit it with an impact for a few seconds put everything back together and noise was gone. Just twisting the wheels while jacked up didn't pinpoint the problem. There will be a little lash in the transmission and axle splines that you will hear both while shifting and while jacked up turning the wheels, that is normal. But mine was much much louder than that. When I shifted from 1st to 2nd the clicking, clunking noise was loud enough to echo through my neighborhood.
Wow man I don't think mines that loud but you said that before I was like.. Well I did just put a brand new motor in and I think we did remove the axle so maybe that is loose. I'm still gonna gonna hit that nut just to watch for any turning though, I mean why not right? Take 10 seconds to pull the wheel off lol. Thanks for feedback guys I think that's the best way to narrow things down sometimes.
Old 06-25-2016, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Studer
No I'm working to much during the week to get it in the air and mess with it. Mine doesn't do it during shifting or anything it's just when I pull out of my drive and turn into the road cause there's a dip there or if I hit a pot hole in the road so I really think my issue is in the suspension somewhere and I know I need new mounts cause it wheel hops bad if I'm peddling it to try and get through the first two gears otherwise it will just blow the tires off and that's without hitting the button. I suppose I could pull some power in the tune but I kinda wanna see how it does with the stiffer and angled mounts first. I hope you get yours figured out. If you do, please post it here and I'll do the same.
Well I found the problem! The bolt that goes through my rear control arm bushing is completely gone so all this time my control arm has been wobbling around. Does anyone know where I could find that bolt?
Old 06-25-2016, 02:01 PM
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Cradle Bolt 11589009







Note: The list below is for 08+LNF Cobalts, all other models may use different part numbers.


1. 11516076 Nut Frt Susp Strut Mt (M8X1.25)
2. Link Strut Front
3. 11514598 Nut Hex Flange
4. 11569856 Nut Frt Susp Strut (M14X2)
5. 22736927 Bracket RH
5. 22736930 Bracket LH
6. 11589082 Bolt Frt Susp Strut (M12X1.75X65)
7. 25923941 Knuckle RH (AP)
7. 25923942 Knuckle LH (AP)
8. 11588890 Bolt Frt Whl Brg
9. 11570091 Bolt Frt Brk Clpr Brkt (M12X1.75X43)
10. 11589341 Bolt Frt Lwr Cont Arm Ball Stud (M1010 X1.5X69.9)
11. 11517996 Nut Frt Lwr Cont Arm (M10X1.5)
12. 25794670 Spacer S/Knu Brg
13. 9595178 Stud Frt Whl (part of 14)(M12X1.5X40)
14. 15793213 Bearing Frt Whl (With Sensor)
15. 25994100 Rotor Frt Brk (5 Lug)(LNF)
16. 11561143 Nut Push-on (M12X1.75)
17. 10289657 Nut Frt Whl Drv Shf (M24X2.0X19.6)
18. Link to Calipers
19. 15232501 Bushing Frt Lwr Cont Arm (Part of 22)
20. Rivet, not serviced
21. Stud Kit, not serviced (Part of 22)
22. 25930725 Arm Frt Lwr Cont LH (LNF FE5)
22. 25930724 Arm Frt Lwr Cont RH (LNF FE5)
22. 15803766 Arm Frt Lwr Cont LH (LSJ FE5)
22. 15803767 Arm Frt Lwr Cont RH (LSJ FE5)
23. 11516356 Bolt Frt Lwr Cont Arm Frt (10Mx1.5X70)
24. 11589009 Bolt Frt Cradle (M14X2X131)
25. 22672863 Bracket Frt Lwr Cont Arm
26. 25837418 Bushing Frt Lwr Cont Arm (FE5) (Part of 22)
27. 15918782 Frame Drivetrain & Frt Suspension
28. 20778307 Shaft LH (LNF, MU3)
28. 20778308 Shaft RH (LNF, MU3)
29. 11562343 Bolt Frt Sab Shf Brkt (M10X1.5X27)
30. 25847759 Shaft Frt Stab (23mm) (FE5)
31. 20902785 Insulator Frt Stab Shf (24mm)(FE5)
32. 11562343 Bolt Frt Stab Shf Brkt (M10X1.5X27)
33. 10389617 Clamp Frt Sab Shf (100X50X55)(2Holes) (FE5)
34. 11517996 Nut (M10X1.5)
35. 20784688 Link Frt Stab Shf (250MM) (FE5)

Last edited by CrateEngineDepot; 06-25-2016 at 02:16 PM.
Old 06-25-2016, 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Dougsterbob
Well I found the problem! The bolt that goes through my rear control arm bushing is completely gone so all this time my control arm has been wobbling around. Does anyone know where I could find that bolt?
Wow, yeah if #24 is broken or missing it would be moving back and forth every time you hit the brakes or have it gas and dangerous. Glad you found it; if I were you I'd pull the one from the other side and go to the hardware store and just get two new grade 8 ones and replace them. Nice diagram to thanks for that!
Old 06-25-2016, 04:13 PM
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My dealer stocks those cradle bolts fyi. Worth a shot. If not they "next day air" it to themselves
Old 06-25-2016, 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Studer
Wow, yeah if #24 is broken or missing it would be moving back and forth every time you hit the brakes or have it gas and dangerous. Glad you found it; if I were you I'd pull the one from the other side and go to the hardware store and just get two new grade 8 ones and replace them. Nice diagram to thanks for that!
Yep it's defiantly #24 I pulled out the one on the other side and I'm gonna try and find one close from a hardware store. The threads are a lot longer on the bolt that I pulled out then the one in the engine depot picture? My car is an 05 does that make a difference? Thanks for all the help!
Old 06-25-2016, 04:24 PM
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Well if you wanna stay with factory stuff you could order them but I'd just go to my hardware store so I know they are good grade 8 bolts
Old 06-25-2016, 04:26 PM
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Bolt is the same for all models.
Always in stock, Make sure there is a nut for it to screw into yet.
Old 06-27-2016, 01:18 PM
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Glad you found the problem! That's definitely a scary thing to be missing that bolt.
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