2009 Tahoe..Mystery noise

[pcwizard2600]

Hello all,
I have an '09 Tahoe LTZ with 196K on it, but it is in very good condition both mechanically and rust wise. I have an intermittent heavy clunk or thump noise coming from the front of the vehicle. It is intermittent, it may go for days without occurring, then once in a while I'll get a day where it does it a lot. When it occurs, it is a single clunk, not specifically associated with a particular action. It may happen turning into the driveway, or it may occur driving down the road. I've had it looked at by two different shops (one of them twice) and nothing can be found. Of course, when I take it in, they can't duplicate it. They've gone over the steering, suspension, drivetrain, frame, various mounts and find nothing wrong. When it occurs it is heavy and loud sounding, definitely different from the usual road/bump noises. Anybody ever experience anything like this ??

Thanks,
Pat

 

[wjburken]

Hello all,
I have an '09 Tahoe LTZ with 196K on it, but it is in very good condition both mechanically and rust wise. I have an intermittent heavy clunk or thump noise coming from the front of the vehicle. It is intermittent, it may go for days without occurring, then once in a while I'll get a day where it does it a lot. When it occurs, it is a single clunk, not specifically associated with a particular action. It may happen turning into the driveway, or it may occur driving down the road. I've had it looked at by two different shops (one of them twice) and nothing can be found. Of course, when I take it in, they can't duplicate it. They've gone over the steering, suspension, drivetrain, frame, various mounts and find nothing wrong. When it occurs it is heavy and loud sounding, definitely different from the usual road/bump noises. Anybody ever experience anything like this ??

Thanks,
Pat

A couple questions.

1). How old are your front struts? I’ve had front struts make that clunking sound when they are about to give up the ghost completely.

2). Have you checked the mounts for your front differential? They can crack or bolts may be loose.

3). Have you inspected your engine mounts?

 

[pcwizard2600]

I'm not sure of the age of the struts, no signs of leakage and it drives well, but certainly a possibility. That was one thought that I had, maybe one was coming apart inside. Sounds like a good place to examine further. I know they looked over the differential mounts, don't think they went so far as the engine mounts though.

 

[avalonandl]

Sway bar bushings too.

 

[pcwizard2600]

Update: Well it appears the issue was a sway bar link. My left one broke, and so far there has been no noise. Makes sense, as when it is up on the lift, the suspension drops so it tightens up things like that. Nothing was obviously visible. Anyhow, no noise since replacement

Thanks for the previous replies everyone

 

[wjburken]

Update: Well it appears the issue was a sway bar link. My left one broke, and so far there has been no noise. Makes sense, as when it is up on the lift, the suspension drops so it tightens up things like that. Nothing was obviously visible. Anyhow, no noise since replacement

Thanks for the previous replies everyone

Thank you for coming back and sharing what resolved your issue.

Glad it was an easy and low dollar fix.

 

[Doubeleive]

Update: Well it appears the issue was a sway bar link. My left one broke, and so far there has been no noise. Makes sense, as when it is up on the lift, the suspension drops so it tightens up things like that. Nothing was obviously visible. Anyhow, no noise since replacement

Thanks for the previous replies everyone

when the front wheels are lifted off of the ground it releases the stress on the front sway bar (doesn't tighten it) it could have however made the problem not visible, somehow.
I am just stating this so that in the future someone reads this and thinks the sway bar will loosen with the front wheels of the ground, it wont, it will apply stress and make replacing any parts of it much harder than if the wheels were off the ground. The rear sway is the opposite with the wheels on the ground it releases stress.

 

[John177]

I am having the same issue. Bought a 2014 Tahoe PPV about three weeks ago. It has been driving great (minus some electrical issues with the police strobe lighting) up until today. I was pulling out of my work parking lot (slow right turn) and heard a loud bang from the front end followed by a few more loud bangs as I pulled over to inspect the undercarriage. Sway bar mounts & links, struts, tie rods, control arms all looked good (looks like the struts and tie rods are new). Turned back out to a few more bangs and drove for a few miles listening before I got on the highway, drove home 25 miles down the interstate with no sounds.

I searched and found this post, checked the sway bar links with the wheels on the ground and they seem to be fine. I haven't checked with the wheels off of the ground yet, but I'm not sure what the last post from doubeleive meant. If the front wheels are off of the ground it releases the pressure on the sway bar, correct? Does anyone have any other ideas? Thanks for the help!

 

[GreyStone]

I am having the same issue. Bought a 2014 Tahoe PPV about three weeks ago. It has been driving great (minus some electrical issues with the police strobe lighting) up until today. I was pulling out of my work parking lot (slow right turn) and heard a loud bang from the front end followed by a few more loud bangs as I pulled over to inspect the undercarriage. Sway bar mounts & links, struts, tie rods, control arms all looked good (looks like the struts and tie rods are new). Turned back out to a few more bangs and drove for a few miles listening before I got on the highway, drove home 25 miles down the interstate with no sounds.

I searched and found this post, checked the sway bar links with the wheels on the ground and they seem to be fine. I haven't checked with the wheels off of the ground yet, but I'm not sure what the last post from doubeleive meant. If the front wheels are off of the ground it releases the pressure on the sway bar, correct? Does anyone have any other ideas? Thanks for the help!

Just to be safe take a peek at this

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2017/MC-10139092-9999.pdf

 

[John177]

Thanks GreyStone. I checked and they look good. No cracks or anything.