2011 Traverse Front End Clunking Noise

[Blang]

2011 Traverse with 114k miles. I've had multiple noises coming from the front end of my Traverse for a bit. I'll deal with them one at a time as I have time. I replaced the struts recently because the previous owner had only replaced one of them at some point and the other (factory one) had leaked out. I replaced them with the Gabriel assembly because they were a reasonable price and seemed to have good reviews.

Anyway, I get a clunking noise during low-speed turns (either direction). It sounds like it could be coming from the driver's side strut. I've checked and double-checked to make sure everything was put back properly and tight.

I've put it on jack stands and wiggled the front tires in every direction and everything feels tight. No uneven tire wear even after putting a thousand miles on it since replacing the struts.

Any thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[AutoMechanic]

My guess would be either CV axles or tie rod ends. Hard to tell since I’m not there to hear it and look at it though. Could be a strut mount or something too. I believe Gabriel is one of the brands that isn’t what it used to be.

 

[spasm3]

Strut mounts/bearings. I've not had good results with aftermarket front strut bearings.
I will only build my struts with whatever strut I pick and OEM mounts on the front.

 

[vw7674]

they have both front & rear stabilizer bar links...... they're cheap & easy to change compared to the other stuff.

 

[B1974]

I had to replace both sway bar end links when I did my 2012 Traverse struts with Mando quick struts a few months ago.

 

[Blang]

My guess would be either CV axles or tie rod ends. Hard to tell since I’m not there to hear it and look at it though. Could be a strut mount or something too. I believe Gabriel is one of the brands that isn’t what it used to be.

Would CV axles present other symptoms too? Tie rods... For what it's worth, when the front end was up in the air I fired it up and turned the steering wheel back and forth and everything felt smooth and it was quiet. Of course, there was no weight on it so that's not absolute I suppose.
Gabriel... Is any brand what they used to be?

 

[Blang]

Strut mounts/bearings. I've not had good results with aftermarket front strut bearings.
I will only build my struts with whatever strut I pick and OEM mounts on the front.

I'm worried that the noise could be coming from the strut mount. I don't see anything visibly wrong... Any other ways I could verify? Aside from taking things apart...

 

[Blang]

they have both front & rear stabilizer bar links...... they're cheap & easy to change compared to the other stuff.

Just to clarify... You're talking near the front axle and the rear axle?

 

[Blang]

I had to replace both sway bar end links when I did my 2012 Traverse struts with Mando quick struts a few months ago.

I thankfully didn't have any obvious reasons to replace the sway bar end links. But I've wondered if they could be making noise... ? They feel tight. I'm going to put eyes on the sway bar bushings to rule them out too.

 

[spasm3]

With the car running, but in park, have someone turn the steering wheel while you have your hand in top of the strut mount/rod. Do this on each one. You should be able to tell if the clunk is coming from the mount.

Also look at how the springs are seated in the assembly.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Would CV axles present other symptoms too? Tie rods... For what it's worth, when the front end was up in the air I fired it up and turned the steering wheel back and forth and everything felt smooth and it was quiet. Of course, there was no weight on it so that's not absolute I suppose.
Gabriel... Is any brand what they used to be?

They could click at times and pop and crack and pretty much every noise. And lesson learned for me don’t buy auto parts store brand axles lol just put some in my dads Camry back in November and have driven it maybe 800 miles since then and the new ones are clunking and clicking again. And I’ve seen bad parts give no play before. Just diagnose before replacing though. My Escape has bad ball joints but they don’t give any play at all when raised but you can tell it by the way the tires are wearing and the noise it makes on the road sometimes.

 

[Blang]

With the car running, but in park, have someone turn the steering wheel while you have your hand in top of the strut mount/rod. Do this on each one. You should be able to tell if the clunk is coming from the mount.

Also look at how the springs are seated in the assembly.

Thanks! To get to the top of where the strut mounts I need to remove the wiper arms and some plastic trim pieces... Not impossible of course, but pretty inconvenient. Thanks for the tip! I'll get my wife to help me out with that.

 

[Blang]

They could click at times and pop and crack and pretty much every noise. And lesson learned for me don’t buy auto parts store brand axles lol just put some in my dads Camry back in November and have driven it maybe 800 miles since then and the new ones are clunking and clicking again. And I’ve seen bad parts give no play before. Just diagnose before replacing though. My Escape has bad ball joints but they don’t give any play at all when raised but you can tell it by the way the tires are wearing and the noise it makes on the road sometimes.

Ok. Thankfully my tires are wearing super well. I'm always looking for uneven wear of any kind on my tires because I'm not eager to have to buy more tires if I don't have to (despite my wife thinking that's exciting to me and that I get excited to buy new tires for the fun of it or something... ).

 

[vw7674]

Just to clarify... You're talking near the front axle and the rear axle?

just checked Rockauto to see if the 2011 has stabilizer links, they do, F/R, the Heim joints open up over time & put slop/clanking in the system.
Most FWD cars those links/tiebars get beaten up before 200k miles. I suppose they could be wiggled with a pry bar to check.
When I'm servicing my front wheel bearing cartridges or CV boots, I usually take a look to see if the links are 'loose' when I've got rattle/clanks coming from the frontend.

 

[Blang]

just checked Rockauto to see if the 2011 has stabilizer links, they do, F/R, the Heim joints open up over time & put slop/clanking in the system.
Most FWD cars those links/tiebars get beaten up before 200k miles. I suppose they could be wiggled with a pry bar to check.
When I'm servicing my front wheel bearing cartridges or CV boots, I usually take a look to see if the links are 'loose' when I've got rattle/clanks coming from the frontend.

Cool. Thanks! I'll take a closer look at them again too.

 

[Egg_Head]

I've chased this same noise before with our 2011 GMC Acadia. It was a parts-darts shoot out with front LCA bushings, end links and front sway bar bushings after KYB struts. Tamed the noise for the most part. That platform seems to just make strange front end, low speed clunking noises that even the dealer or other garages could not completely exorcise.

 

[Blang]

I've chased this same noise before with our 2011 GMC Acadia. It was a parts-darts shoot out with front LCA bushings, end links and front sway bar bushings after KYB struts. Tamed the noise for the most part. That platform seems to just make strange front end, low speed clunking noises that even the dealer or other garages could not completely exorcise.

Wow. So you don't know what parts actually tamed the noise?

 

[B1974]

I think once the strut is bad that bouncing motion that starts wipes out the sway bar end link.

 

[Blang]

I think once the strut is bad that bouncing motion that starts wipes out the sway bar end link.

Makes sense. I think I still need to take a closer look at the end links.

Today I had my wife move the steering wheel back and forth while I grabbed hold of the coil spring and I could definitely 'feel' the clunk. So does that mean it's definitely strut related? Is there something I could have done wrong during installation? Could I be feeling end link stuff through the coil spring?

 

[B1974]

low speed clunking noises that even the dealer or other garages could not completely exorcise.

Funny that you mention this. We had our 2012 Traverse in when it was still under warranty for a low speed noise that would happen all the time. The dealer basically ended up changing both struts and mounts and all the sway bar bushings and end links to fix it.