kinda wierd issue that started happening, and its not all the time

but there will be like a thumpin vibration like a little kid is kicking the floor board under the driver side ...feels like something in the suspension.

whats wierd is that when it does happen i can be immoble and rock back in forth in the car and you will feel this wierd vibration.

it'll normally do it on left turns but not all the time.

I did jack the car up and tried moving the wheel and there is no play...so idk if its shocks or something silly...

 

Does it sounds like a rubber-on-rubber "rattle". I've been having this problem as well. When driving low speeds going straight I can feel it in the floor board and hear it, sounds like it's coming from the top of the front left shock. When I'm in a parking lot and turn left it REALLY goes nuts. Can't feel it in the steering wheel at all, but can feel it a bit in my feet.

I took my car to the Mitsu dealership and they used their listening device on the front end to try and track down the noise. The tech said he listened tothe areas around the front sway bar, the left ball joint, and the shock tower and that it sounded like it was coming from the top of the shock. They also checked every bolt and fitting they could find and ssaid everythign is tight up there. I assume they checked the tie rods and ball joint for looseness, but just in case they didn't I lifted the front left wheel off the ground and did the tie rod and ball joint test (shaking the tire side to side for tie rods and grabbing at the top and bottom and trying to shake it in that plane to check for ball joint looseness).

What's up there that could get loose like that and cause not a metal-sounding rattle, but like a bushing or something went bad?

 

yes, exactly

i have no clue what it is....but its definately audible and you feel it...even when it does it slow you feel the thumping....

i haven't went to the dealer yet.

 

Hopefully a suspension guru will step in and give us some tips hehe. Since everythign seemed "fine, just noisy" to Mitsu they said I'd have to havethe regional rep come look at the car and that he only comes once a month on average so I'm in a waiting pattern on that.

 

sounds exactly like the problem i was having when i had a blown shock. check to see if any fluid is leaking from the driver shock (youll probably have to take the wheel off again, if it is blown there will be oil on the shaft).

 

Check the stock, but also the tie-rods. I had something like that, turned out to be the driver side tie-rod bouncing up and down at the adjustment point...

 

thanks for help, will try to take a look at it this weekend....its been snowing and freezin out here so i've been drivin the civic

 

How do we check that? Just grab the rod the tie rod and shake it?

 

Pretty much. There should be no play.

 

blown strut.