knock sound in front pass wheel well, 01 pt cruiser

[sickened1]

i have an 01 pt cruiser with 58,000 miles on it. its run great in the 6 months ive owned it, no issues until recently. i noticed a knock sound comming from the front passenger wheel well. i mainly notice it as im turning the wheel navigating thru parking lots. i sometimes think i hear the knock in the wheel as i drive down the road but am unsure. it started out quiet but has gradually gotten louder over the last couple weeks. what could it be? ive heard bad things about the front ends on pt cruisers.

[Chromenut]

The list of possibilities is pretty long. Wheel bearings, but they likely won't knock, more of s scrape or screech. CV joint would be my guess. Do you feel any wobble in the steering wheel? When you get up to speed on the highway, then decelerate, as in foot off the gas, do you feel a heavy vibration?

So many things this could be but I'd get someone knowledgeable to look at it rather than keep on driving and it getting worse.

[sickened1]

theres no play in the steering and no vibration at any speed. i hear the thump/knock mainly when i start to accelerate from a complete stop, then here and there over slow turns and bumps. ive had a few people suggest it may be the 'half shaft' but i wouldnt have any idea

[Alex_Clarke]

I doubt this is the problem you are having but recently one of my lug nut caps on my tires was loose so it was rattling around and making noises. It wasn't thumping though just a noise like a wind chime. lol

[Chromenut]

Half shaft, strut is loose, or maybe front sway bar. You can get under the car and look at the bushings surrounding the sway bar to see if they are worn. You can jack the car up and grab hold of that tire and shake it to see if your strut assembly is loose, or jack the whole front up, with engine in neutral, turn the wheel in circles while pulling either left or right to see if you have play in the half shaft. All three you need a jack or jack stand or ramps.

If you need photos of what I'm talking about, let me know, I've got plenty....

[sickened1]

i had goodyear inspect it and they claim the lower control arm bushings are bad on both sides. they also say i need new tie rod ends on both sides. they quoted me around $750. $211 for parts and over $500 in labor. im tryin to find someone to fix it if i buy parts bc the parts are $50-$70 depending on whether i need horizontal or vertical control arm bushings. no one seems to know which one my 2001 pt cruiser has.

[bobdole369]

they claim the lower control arm bushings are bad on both sides.

Almost assuredly if they have never been changed. Some decent advice - don't go OEM, upgrade to polyurethane bushings on the entire front end (energy suspension comes to mind). You'll never have to do them again.

If a shop gets a car in and its a bad tie rod end, they'll do both, since the other side will probably go not too long after.

$700 ain't too shabby but I wouldn't have em do the bushings, just the TRE's.

[sickened1]

i dont know what brand or type the bushings are, theyre the only ones the autopart store offered. they come with a lifetime warranty so im hoping that means theyre good bc its not the parts thats expensive its the labor i get charged to replace them. i know my pt cruiser is getting old (its a 2001) but its been taken care of and only has 58,000 miles on it so i didnt think id have these troubles this soon.

[CREWZIN]

Only 58,000 miles but it was owned by someone else for 9 years before you and with no idea how it was treated or what kind of driving was done. If you read over the forum there's lots of owners have the same kind of wear and tear. Then there's an awful lot of us with 2001 models that have never replaced anything on the front end. Florida roads are pretty good so I'll say that has something to do with it.