For three months I’ve been chasing this mysterious knocking/thumping sound emanating from somewhere in the right hand side of the car, and it’s been driving me batty. It would only happen when turning, too. Drive over potholes, speed bumps, and dips in the road and the car was silent. But this sound announced every change in direction. It sounded like a little gnome was tapping the floor of the car. Or like a boat hull flexing.
I’d practically torn the car apart looking for it, too. Over the course of the last few months, I’ve had both door panels off, the kick panels and b-pillar trim removed, the passenger seat out. I even removed the right front wheelhouse. Still, it was Knock/Knock at every turn. Who’s there? My wit’s end!!
Every time I had the car up on our lift, I leaned on the suspension parts with a giant pry bar, hosed down bushings with WD-40, and banged away on every square inch of the undercarriage with a dead-blow hammer trying to reproduce the sound, but to no avail.
Finally, this weekend I jacked up only the right side of the car attempting to duplicate the twisting forces exerted on the frame when turning. I had been suspecting a loose or bad body mount, and rejoiced when the first body mount bolt I touched wiggled slightly in my hand. Could it be so easy? I lowered the car, tightened the bolt, roared out of the shop, and did a series of Figure-8’s in the parking lot. The result: the sound of silence (apologies to Simon and Garfunkel). The noise was gone.
So why did this bother me so much? I don’t know. Why is it that we can put up with some things and not others? Why is it that some sounds and vibrations are fondly described as personality quirks, and others grate, irritate, and wear away at our senses? Probably the bigger question is why should I be bothered by any sound a 130,000 mile, $1,500 car makes? Maybe I’m too picky, but I’ve ridden in taxis with higher mileage that made less noise. And I want my car to be better than some clapped out taxi. It deserves better than that.