The first thing to check is the signal flasher. There are two different ones, one for the signals that include all the lights on just one side of the car, and one for the flashers which includes twice as many bulbs. It isn't really practical to test the older, reliable, mechanical flashers. Just pop in a used one from a salvage yard. You can also switch the signal and hazard flashers as a test, but the flashing speed will likely be wrong. At least it will tell you if the flasher is suspect.
If you have the newer, expensive and very unreliable electronic flasher, those are used for both the signals and hazards, so if only one function doesn't work, it's usually due to a defective switch. If the flasher is bad, typically the signals on one side will still work.
If you do suspect the switch, they can get rather expensive so you might want to start with a used one from the salvage yard. There's no quick way to test them either except by substituting a different one.
Clunks can be caused by a worn strut which is not a serious safety concern, but it will affect tire wear and handling on corners. It can be caused by ball joints too, and those ARE a safety issue. Tie rod ends don't usually make a clunking noise.
Wednesday, April 30th, 2014 AT 12:59 PM