I need diagnostic help…..

My ’06 GT started making a loud thump. I feel it coming through my driver’s side foot well any time I drive over a bump. It feels kinda like there is a loose part attached to a rope and every time I hit a bump it swings and bangs into my feet.

I knew that my inner / outer tie rods were worn. I had recently received the replacement parts from Summit Racing so we slapped them in place hoping that would fix the problem. Nope.

Now what ???

Now I’m thinking motor mounts, transmission mounts, sway bar bushings, exhaust hanger, ???????????

Has anyone else ever felt anything like this ???

If so, what was it ???

I live in south Texas so going to a dealership is a bad idea. I can’t trust them. My last 3 trips to the dealership have gone REALLY bad. They misdiagnose problems. They create new problems. They over charge and under deliver. And they like to go out joy riding in my car (no joke – dropped it off to have the hood painted, picked it up with an extra 40 miles on it and the worst paint job ever – Boggus Ford, McAllen, TX – worst dealership in America ).

 

Make sure all the sway bar links and mounts are ok. If one if broke and you hit a bump, the sway bar could be banging into the car.

 

I looked at the front sway bar end links and they checked out OK but I didn't check the bushings. The more I drive it, the more I think that may be the culprit. The problem seems most severe when there is unevenness in the road.

 

Did you check all nuts/bolts on the suspension and control arms to make sure is all tightened down?

 

It's going on the rack today. We'll see

 

So what was it?

 

Check the motor mounts.

 

And the winner is,,,,,

Loose end link.

The top nut that connects the end link to the strut (driver side) was loose. When the guy checked it the 1st time he just grabbed the sway bar and tugged on it a little. Visually it looked fine. Second time on the rack I told the guy to yank on the thing like he was a raped ape and viola'.

It was a scary sound and feeling having that part loose because my mind was thinking "motor mount". However, I tightened the nut and all is right in the world again. I celebrated by smoking my buddy's brand new SRT8 Chumplenger.