My car has been making a rattling sound when I go over uneven roads?

JUSTACHICK

MEMBER
2005 SATURN ION
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
42,000 MILES

I've been to the dealership service twice, they are idiots! Please help!
my car has been making a rattling sound when I go over uneven roads (not big bumps). It's coming from the front end, under the car. It almost sounds like a flat bed trailer being towed with nothing on it. It's not when I turn (everyone always says CV joints). My friend mentioned an axel, but she knows less about cars than I do, so who knows? I'm on the verge of just traiding it in if I can't figure this out. It's been doing this for over 7 months! Please Help! I wish I could make a donation, but I've been out of work most of this year. Please help me anyway!

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,724 POSTS

Hi,

Oftentimes, a worn strut mount or even a broken or cracked coil spring can make a rattling sound when on uneven roads or small bumps. Has that been checked?

First, safely lift the front of the vehicle, one wheel at a time.

Next, inspect the coil spring which is part of the strut assembly. (See pic 1 below)

If the coil is in good condition and there is no evidence of it being cracked or broken, grab it as high up on the coil spring as you can and pull up and down on it to check for play. There should be none.

If there is play or the coil is broken, what I recommend is to replace the assembly as a complete unit. Otherwise, you will need to get the proper tools to disassemble the assembly.

If you look below, starting with pic 2 are the directions for replacing the strut assembly. It really isn't hard to do. Note that after the replacement, the vehicle's alignment should be checked. Additionally, here is a link that explains the replacement process. You can use this to help guide you.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-a-suspension-strut-and-spring

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.

Take care,

Joe

See pics below.

Images (Click to make bigger)