clunk noise on left front
 

Hey Everybody
I have a problem that I am sure you can help me out with.
When I am driving and turn a little to the left i get a clunking noise and the steering moves a little and also car is pulling to that side.
any input please

Several possibilites, here. Ball Joint, hub bearing and possibly strut mounts come to mind first, although anything in the suspension (inner/outer tie rods, end links on sway bars, struts) could be the culprit. First order of business is to remove the wheel, and inspect the suspension components for any obvious broken/bent/missing pieces. If everything looks intact, you can put the wheel back on and try the wiggle tests. Place hands at 12:00 and 6:00 and thry to move the wheel up and down. Do it again but with your hands at the 3:00 and 9:00 position and try to rock the wheel back and forth. If there is any play or slop when you do either of these, it may indicate a ball joint or hub bearing faliure.

I had the same problem. Front left upper mount bearing. I would turn and it would clunk, then it would pull in the direction that I turned. To make sure this is your problem watch the top of your coil spring through the wheel well. What your looking at is that mount and its bearing.

While looking up at that mount, have someone turn the wheel. Watch to see if that mount will stick and then clunk loose instead of moving fluently.

Mount + bearing = 45$

Lots of labor though, whole strut must come out. Spring must be compressed. I bought new struts, mounts, mount bearings, and boots for both front struts when I fixed this problem.

I bet a hundred bucks its one of your cv joints on that side. I had a sway bar link pin break on my 95 and tear the boot on my pass. side outer cv joint. Like arakor said it could be the strut bearing but if its the strut bearing you would hear the noise by turning the wheel with the car parked. if the sound only comes when your moving, and turning, and if your car pulls to one side when breaking i would bet its the cv joint. inspect both inner and outer cv boots for damage and leaking grease. The whole drive shaft cv assembly is about a hundred bucks and a pain in the A$$ to change.

Also to add, if its the bearing, the car should cluck a bit and pull somewhat to the right after making a right turn.

Now that's a tempting bet. Usually that outer CV joint will click for a good long while before it gets so bad (or dry) that it is binding and making a clunking noise. The strut bearing, on the other hand, will make the clunking noise when it gets dry and binds, then suddenly breaks loose while the wheel is being turned as Arakor describes. Not saying it could not be the axle, but just for fun, my pretend money is on the strut bearing. :)

x2