It sounds loud if I pull up the drive way, one year ago, I ran over one of those center dividers and hard popped the tire.

I had someone put in a new strut on that side yet the noise is still there. Now I'm going to put the other strut on the other side, but I had it test driven and the report back was that the strutt was put in wrong!

What a way to get you, there is only one way to put a strut in, the same way it came out the bolts wouldn't fit any other way.

So does anyone have any ideas? Could it be a ball joint? If so how would you know without changing them first? A bushing? And how would you know without changing them first.

Help would be great, the front end was out of alignment but it is aligned now so that couldn't be it. Anyone with any car advice would be great help.

Thanks

Nearly impossible for us to diagnose this online without being there to check it. Does it happen only when steering? Left, right? Going straight? Hitting bumps? There are so many possibilities.

If it recently had an alignment done, they should have been able to detect a bad ball joint or bushing before doing the work. The only thing I can suggest to you is take it to a reputable place and have it checked out.

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Originally Posted by odinn7

Nearly impossible for us to diagnose this online without being there to check it. Does it happen only when steering? Left, right? Going straight? Hitting bumps? There are so many possibilities.

If it recently had an alignment done, they should have been able to detect a bad ball joint or bushing before doing the work. The only thing I can suggest to you is take it to a reputable place and have it checked out.

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It happens when I go over bumps mostly, and when I turn in the direction that the noise is which is on the passenger side, so someone would have seen the bushings, or ball joints at alignment time huh? I took it to this shop yesterday and they told me that my husband put the strutt on that side in wrong, there is only one way to put a strutt in, I think they just want to make money they told me to bring in the other strutt I have and they would put the other one in right and this one I bring in for $180.00 and it'll take 20 minutes, wow that's a lot of money for 20 minutes and bringing my own strut maybe it is a bushing or ball joint hubby just said that the noise happened way after the alignment, so maybe it is one of those, how do we find out ourselves? With out a shop charging us a mint, if it is the ball joint or bushing is there a simple way please thank you

I wrote that I have a 94 chevy cavalier and had hit a mediun, on the road, a road divider, anyway it poped the tire, and then got a new tire and had it aligned, well I thought the noise on the right side was there after that, little accident, but not. So after alignment about a few months or 1/2 yr later it now makes a noise under the car and it is coming from right site, we replaced right strutt, thinking that was problem (yes the strutt needed to be changed, and we are going to do the other side) but we still have that noise coming from right side, I took it to a car place they hoiseted it up after test drive and said the strutt is in wrong, well there is only one way to put a strutt in how can we tell if we need bushings, sway bar, ball joints, or swing arm? Without paying someone a fortune, I am having someone else test drive it today around 4 p,m Oregon time, and see what he can tell me, I will offer to pay him some money to tell me cause I can't afford a shop to put some ball joint in the car when husband can do it himself and shop would charge a fortune. Because we bought ball joints already but not sure if we need them or not. How can one tell, do you have to hoist it up? Is that the only way answer as soon as possible thank you very much for any help and for the help of the other person who answered me.

Yes, if there was a problem and you had a decent shop do the alignment, they should have noticed a ball joint or bushing that was bad.

20 minutes doesn't sound right for struts on both sides... it should take longer. Also, did they bother to tell you that you need an alignment again after doing struts? Maybe that is why they are charging $180 for it.

Basically, I am not sure how the strut could have been put in wrong unless maybe he didn't put the bushings in right or didn't line the coil spring up correctly.

Honestly, I would take it somewhere else and have them check it over and see if they say the same thing. I spent 15 years as a tech and in that time, I saw a lot of idiots that had no business working on cars for a living.

Finally... if you're unsure how to check for a bad ball joint and bushings, I doubt I could really explain it to you online. You need to jack up the car and check for play in the wheel and then, if there is any, you would need to see what is causing it. Really, your best bet is to get a second opinion.