That sounds like a cracked brake rotor, but you would hear that once per wheel revolution. From your dandy video, it looks to me like road speed is too low for that. If the clunking is heard three times per wheel revolution, that would point to a CV joint. It would have to be very badly worn to make that much noise, and should be easy to identify. Tie rod ends won't cause this. It has to be caused by something that is rotating.
Loose lug nuts could sound like this too, but you would have found that when doing other repairs in that area, and the wheel would have fallen off long before four months. When this happens, the matching friction surfaces between the wheel and the nuts will be chewed up, and no amount of tightening will ever keep the nuts tight. The only proper repair for that is to replace the nuts and the wheel at the same time.
I suppose a sloppy wheel bearing could do this too, but I've only run into one that was so bad the top of the wheel could be pulled in and out on top over four inches. That sad owner refused to believe that was a problem, but he was frustrated that no one could tell him why his car handled so badly and made so much noise. Those people are coming at you on the highway. This will cause a low brake pedal too because the wobbling rotor pushes the piston back into the caliper, then you have to push the brake pedal far enough to move enough brake fluid to push that piston all the way back out every time you apply the brakes.
Your wheel bearing assembly is held together by the large nut on the end of the axle stub shaft / outer CV joint. The torque setting for that nut is very high and critical. That nut must never be loosened when there's vehicle weight on the tire. Doing so will instantly make it noisy, but it will make a buzzing sound like that of an airplane engine. That buzzing noise will not lead to the knocking noise you're hearing, but a loose nut can over time. As I recall, that is a "torque-to-yield" nut on this model. That means the threads are stretched when it is tightened. As such, they are a one-time-use nut and are supposed to be discarded and replaced after they're loosened.
If none of these things I've mentioned pan out, consider having the steering and suspension systems inspected at a tire and alignment shop. The people there are experts at finding the causes of noises, vibrations, and bad tire wear patterns. The car has to be supported in different ways to "unload" them so excessive wear and movement can be observed. If you have to do this on the ground, that means setting the car down on jack stands under the frame for some parts inspections, then under the lower control arm for other parts inspections. I can describe that better if you're having trouble checking a specific part.
You might want to check out the second half of this article for more details:
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/jack-up-and-lift-your-car-safely
Also take a look at these:
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/popping-noise
https://youtu.be/xLFn_bMkZc0
but remember, we're only interested in things that are rotating.
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 3:51 PM
