Control arm bushing replacement

[milesvdustin]

I have a 2012 sonic plagued with front end noises. It has the Moog end links and new moog greaseable ball joints. Control arms a year ago,, and they are cheap ones. It is now making a popping sound from the driver side only on bumps big or small. I suspect the front bushing on the control arm, I can see some lateral movement when I torque on the arm with a pry bar.

Do I have to do the entire arm again or can I just swap in new bushings? Seems way cheaper. Any DIY on this? I plan to tackle this after valve cover gasket and timing belt.

Car has 127k miles on it.

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[jcbarr25]

Popping noise? Can you describe it in more detail? How about your struts and springs? Have you replaced those? Maybe the strut mounts?

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[macdiesel]

Might be better off changing the control arm.

 

[milesvdustin]

It's a popping sound. Not a clunk like the end links were. It's very prominent on the driver side only and sounds higher up in the suspension. So maybe the strut? I had my wife torque on the control arm up and down and I see zero movement at the strut mount. They are the original struts and springs.

Even moving slowly over very small road imperfections it makes the noise. I'll try and get a video when she gets home.

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[TurtleOverlord]

I'm assuming you added grease to the ball joint to make sure it wasnt dry?

 

[jcbarr25]

It's a popping sound. Not a clunk like the end links were. It's very prominent on the driver side only and sounds higher up in the suspension. So maybe the strut? I had my wife torque on the control arm up and down and I see zero movement at the strut mount. They are the original struts and springs.

Even moving slowly over very small road imperfections it makes the noise. I'll try and get a video when she gets home.

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How about when you turn the wheel left and right while stopped? Inspect the strut mount and see if there is anything visually wrong from the engine bay. I am not 100 percent sure but it could be the strut or the mount? Or both? With your mileage, a new set of springs and struts/shocks would probably be good. You can get the gm performance kit for the Sonic. It's a solid set up. And for the strut mount either GM or Moog. Do not buy monroe or other cheap brand. I had a driver side Monroe strut front failed in less than 15K miles. Was driving 75mph and hit some sort of pot hole. The mount broke which meant the strut was able to extend all the way, hitting the wipers assembly. 5 miles later. The strut broke the wiper assembly and then cracked my windshield at the very corner of the driver side. I was still able to drive home very slowly. Bad experience. If you looks t the Sonic strut mount, there aren't like most cars that sit under the metal of the car. The strut mount is what present and keep the strut in place.

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[milesvdustin]

You can't see anything from the engine bay. The strut mount is up under the plastic wiper cowl, the mount hardware up there is what i was watching. I'll check for movement when turning the wheel side to side. That's why it has new ball joints, driver side went bad and groaned when turning. It's like never ending noises on this car. I'll never buy a Chevrolet again.

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[milesvdustin]

I absolutely added Grease to the joints before I even let it off the jack stands. I added 4 pumps each joint, enough to see the boot swell just a smidge.

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[jcbarr25]

You can't see anything from the engine bay. The strut mount is up under the plastic wiper cowl, the mount hardware up there is what i was watching. I'll check for movement when turning the wheel side to side. That's why it has new ball joints, driver side went bad and groaned when turning. It's like never ending noises on this car. I'll never buy a Chevrolet again.

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Yeah removing the plastic cowl is not that hard. Hair remove the wipes off and then the cowl has a screw I t he middle and some press in fasteners.

This was mine. See that black part of the mount started hitting the wiper assembly arm and then, it broke it on the right side where it attached to the car. Then the wiper assembly cracked my windshield. Just something to check.

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[milesvdustin]

Yeah removing the plastic cowl is not that hard. Hair remove the wipes off and then the cowl has a screw I t he middle and some press in fasteners.

This was mine. See that black part of the mount started hitting the wiper assembly arm and then, it broke it on the right side where it attached to the car. Then the wiper assembly cracked my windshield. Just something to check. View attachment 14979

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Dang I'll check that first!

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[TitanBlue]

Yeah removing the plastic cowl is not that hard. Hair remove the wipes off and then the cowl has a screw I t he middle and some press in fasteners.

This was mine. See that black part of the mount started hitting the wiper assembly arm and then, it broke it on the right side where it attached to the car. Then the wiper assembly cracked my windshield. Just something to check. View attachment 14979

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Is this caused by weak/worn springs on the strut assembly?? Is having a gap there, normal?

I noticed quite a gap on my daughter's Jetta, which could be OEM or replaced once by previous owner. It's 20 years old and 160K miles.

 

[milesvdustin]

Soooooooo now that the forum is back, I wanted to update.

The driver side end link lower bolt was ever so slightly loose. I had to play with all sorts of pressure on the suspension with the jack under the control arm to figure it out. I am keeping an eye on it, if it comes back I need new links and a new sway bar if the hole is wallered out. Technical term.

 

[SuperS13]

I have the same popping/clunking noise on my 13' sonic 1.8L hatchback. Replaced both front struts and mounts, also went with zzperformance uprated swaybar links. Still have the popping noises, that only does it when I hit uneven bumps...shook down the entire front end suspension and found the lower control arms rear bushings were separating on the outside wall...its a weak point in the bushings gm decided cheap bushings with gaps was the way to go instead of a solid bushing.