front end rattle

[egraffy at earthlink.net (Carpenter/Graffy)]

The basics of finding out involve hanging the front end of the car on jack 
stands to let the wheels dangle, and checking for play by shaking or 
wiggling the wheels left/right and top/bottom. I'll bet that when shaking 
at least one of the front tires front/back (left/right), which means 
pulling from one side and pushing from the other, back and forth in rapid 
succession, you will find play in the ball joints and/or tie rods (note: 
both inner and outer tie rod sockets). Use an assistant if you can't wiggle 
the wheel and look/feel for play in all these places at the same time. 
Remember to leave the ignition unlocked so it can move freely. It is 
probably good to also lift on each of the dangling wheels to see if the 
upper strut bearings are sloppy or the strut caps are not tightened down 
far enough, etc.
Good hunting,
Cris

At 04:36 PM 5/17/2003, Julie Macfarlane wrote:
>Every time I hit a bump I can hear a rattle like loose metal up on the DS 
>wheel. Normally its quiet, but each bump results in a rattle.
>
>Any ideas guys?
>
>
>
>Julie Macfarlane
>Menlo Park Research & Development
>Internet Application Developer
>www.menloparkrandd.com
>www.montgomeryweb.org
>Amsterdam NY
>
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