Does this make sense? (dealer diag)

stevesmith7 · **Posted:** Mon May 17, 2010 8:13 pm

So my 05 CRD has been making a clucking sound at low speed hitting small bumps. I took it to the dealer today and they said the steering rack was going bad and making noise. Quoted $1800 to fix. I declined. DIY?

geordi · **Posted:** Mon May 17, 2010 9:30 pm

It could be your exhaust line hitting the frame. Mine does this every once in a while, then I have to get under and adjust it. (beat on it a bit)

It could also be a suspension issue, like a shock hitting the frame or the tie rod is loose / broken and the sway bar isn't where it is supposed to be. You really just need to get under it with the front up on ramps (so they are fully supported like normal - OR just get under while it is on the ground) and grab things / shake things until you see something loose.

Wheel bearings are also a possibility, or the CV joints in the front... And on and on. Everything moves and flexes. Something is obviously moving where it shouldn't.

You are hearing hoofbeats. What do you picture? Your dealer is picturing Zebras, b/c that makes them more money and sounds bigger and scarier to the suc...Customers.

stevesmith7 · **Posted:** Mon May 17, 2010 10:36 pm

Yea, I'm not convinced the rack could even make a clunk like this, and I don't feel it through the steering wheel. More investigation. They do like to find expensive fixes.

kccrd · **Joined:** Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:35 pm **Posts:** 267

When mine used to make a clucking at slow speed or when coming to a stop it was the passenger side motor mount, it was loose and 3 to 5 turns of the nut and it has not done it since. That has been 3 years ago. Just a thought.

dgeist · **Posted:** Tue May 18, 2010 10:01 am

Mine made a clunking noise going over bumps when my passenger-side engine mount was going out, too. less than 50 bucks in parts, a couple new 3/8" ratchet extensions and sockets, and an afternoon in the driveway took care of it.

The dealer might not be wrong, but that's a lot of cabbage to drop on a whim. Did you ask them to explain why they thing it's the steering rack and show you? Any reputable mechanic (dealer or otherwise) should be willing to explain (or at least try to explain) what brought them to their diagnosis, even if that consists of "It's what the computer code says to do". Anything less is speculative and they're just throwing money at the problem; your money.

Dan

geordi · **Posted:** Tue May 18, 2010 10:58 am

dgeist wrote:

The dealer might not be wrong, but that's a lot of cabbage to drop on a whim. Did you ask them to explain why they thing it's the steering rack and show you? Any reputable mechanic (dealer or otherwise) should be willing to explain (or at least try to explain) what brought them to their diagnosis, even if that consists of "It's what the computer code says to do". Anything less is speculative and they're just throwing money at the problem; your money.

Dan

Listen well to this man - He is a genius.

dgeist · **Posted:** Tue May 18, 2010 5:10 pm

geordi wrote:

Listen well to this man - He is a genius.

What was your paypal ID for the deposit, again? :wink:

stevesmith7 · **Posted:** Tue May 18, 2010 5:16 pm

I've got the skids off poking around. No slop in the steering rack that I can detect. How do you know if motor mounts are failing?

The only thing I can find loose and rattling is the metal sleeve between the boot and transaxle on the driver side half shaft. Normal?

GreenDieselEngineering · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1111

If you still have good assist from the power steering rack and no leaking, then there is no reason to replace this. If the engine mounts are not observably loose (check for good torque), then they most likely failed internally as this is the most common failure mode for the engine mounts. The only good way to tell is to remove it and shake the mount, if metal parts are clanking around inside it then it is failed.

dgeist · **Posted:** Wed May 19, 2010 9:04 pm

GreenDieselEngineering wrote:

If you still have good assist from the power steering rack and no leaking, then there is no reason to replace this. If the engine mounts are not observably loose (check for good torque), then they most likely failed internally as this is the most common failure mode for the engine mounts. The only good way to tell is to remove it and shake the mount, if metal parts are clanking around inside it then it is failed.

Yep, I couldn't tell mine was bad from observation while on the vehicle, but the minute that I got it off and shook it next to the new one...well, the original sounded like a rattle can and the new one sounded like a big solid object being shaken in mid-air (i.e. nothing). Some have been able to put a pry-bar between the crossmember and oil pan and lever it carefully while listening for a clunk, but honestly, after about 40k miles, it seems like just about everyone has a bad motor mount. You may as well replace it anyway considering how cheap it is.

Dan

stevesmith7 · **Posted:** Wed May 19, 2010 11:41 pm

Well this saga has a surprise ending. Took it to an independent Jeep place. They poked around and couldn't find anything obvious either. Right across the street was a new CarMax. Guy at the Jeep place said he'd heard they were making pretty reasonable offers to buy used cars so I took it in and they offered me $13k so I said done deal. Got to take a few things off but the noise isn't my problem anymore.

Does this make sense? (dealer diag)

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