Hello! I am new to the Acurazine forums and to the mdx world as well. I just bought my 2007 mdx from an older gentleman who took great care of the car (according to him and his family). I absolutely love this vehicle and it is my favorite so far although I did love both of my bullet proof Integras
So far I have changed the oil/oil filter, flushed the transmission, replaced the brake rotors (pads are still new), fixed an o ring leak in the power steering pump, rotated/balanced tires (although they are basically brand new as well), and waxed the car.
The only problem left is a wobble in the front end and some minor clunking noise.
I was told by a dealership mechanic that my front left shock is bad and needs to be replaced, but I REALLY hope that is not it because I have the sport model and the cheapest quote I have received for this part is 750 plus labor.
I do not believe him, however, because although it does clunk like a blown shock, it makes this noise even on smooth roads with very little roughness. Sounds more like a loose bracket or loose bolts. I have researched the possible causes for days now. There is also a constant wobble in the front end at all speeds (more noticeable during slower speeds, and while turning). It used to make a grinding noise on turns as well but I think I fixed that when I flushed the power steering system. It feels like the body of the car is wobbling more so than the steering wheel (which feels tight). That leads me to believe it should not be a problem within the steering system.
So with the combination of wobble and clunking I thought I would start eliminating possible causes. Although the tires are new, I went to re-balance them and conduct a road test to see if there were any bubbles/lumps, or if the wheel was bent. Every thing checked out okay.
I replaced the rotors and that fixed the wobble while braking.
I inspected the compliance bushings and they looked like they were in great shape, not even a hint of a crack from what I could tell. There was one that I was not able to view because of it's location within a metal frame but I imagined it was as good as the easily view-able one.
I took the u bracket off of the stabilizer/sway bar bushing and it looks like there was no issue with that either (it looked and felt wet on the surface under the bracket).
I shook the tire as hard as I could to check the tie rod ends and no movement was found
Checked the motor mount that is easily visible on the driver side (the side that is making the noise and is believed to be causing the wobble
I used my weight to push down on the front end of the car and there was no popping/clunking noise and it only bounced once. That leads me to believe the shock is okay. (there are no leaks on the shock)
Lastly I took a wrench to ever visible bolt on both sides of the front end and found that some of the bolts were not torqued to the same level on both sides.
The top mount of the driver shock was not as tight as the passenger side so I took a wrench to it and cranked it down. (I couldn't even budge the passenger side and the driver side wasn't too hard to turn). I was able to tighten the motor mount bolts slightly on the driver side, and I think a couple of other bolts I was able to torque down a little more.
After I test drove the car, I have found that the sound decreased significantly although not completely gone and the wobble seems to have gotten slightly better (maybe because I cranked the sway bar bushing clamp tighter), but it still very apparent and annoying especially during slow speeds and turns. It is just constantly shaking (can't tell if it is up and down or side to side but all of the passengers can feel it).
I hope all this is is the sway bar bushings but they looked good as far as I could tell. I don't have experience with a press so I REALLY hope it is not the compliance bushings, I would just have to replace the entire LCA if that was the case. I really don't think it is the shock because after I test drove it again I was purposely hitting harsh bumps and I really had to try hard to hear any clunking after the tightening. It has almost disappeared, almost.
Any other ideas of what this issue could be? The wobble is just devastating to me, I can't stand not being able to fix broken things on any of my cars. If there is ever any orange in my dash I am so proactive, I usually have it fixed within two days. I am just stuck between a rock and a hard place, looking underneath this vehicle is much more intimidating than my little integras.
Thank you for all of your input!!
So far I have changed the oil/oil filter, flushed the transmission, replaced the brake rotors (pads are still new), fixed an o ring leak in the power steering pump, rotated/balanced tires (although they are basically brand new as well), and waxed the car.
The only problem left is a wobble in the front end and some minor clunking noise.
I was told by a dealership mechanic that my front left shock is bad and needs to be replaced, but I REALLY hope that is not it because I have the sport model and the cheapest quote I have received for this part is 750 plus labor.
I do not believe him, however, because although it does clunk like a blown shock, it makes this noise even on smooth roads with very little roughness. Sounds more like a loose bracket or loose bolts. I have researched the possible causes for days now. There is also a constant wobble in the front end at all speeds (more noticeable during slower speeds, and while turning). It used to make a grinding noise on turns as well but I think I fixed that when I flushed the power steering system. It feels like the body of the car is wobbling more so than the steering wheel (which feels tight). That leads me to believe it should not be a problem within the steering system.
So with the combination of wobble and clunking I thought I would start eliminating possible causes. Although the tires are new, I went to re-balance them and conduct a road test to see if there were any bubbles/lumps, or if the wheel was bent. Every thing checked out okay.
I replaced the rotors and that fixed the wobble while braking.
I inspected the compliance bushings and they looked like they were in great shape, not even a hint of a crack from what I could tell. There was one that I was not able to view because of it's location within a metal frame but I imagined it was as good as the easily view-able one.
I took the u bracket off of the stabilizer/sway bar bushing and it looks like there was no issue with that either (it looked and felt wet on the surface under the bracket).
I shook the tire as hard as I could to check the tie rod ends and no movement was found
Checked the motor mount that is easily visible on the driver side (the side that is making the noise and is believed to be causing the wobble
I used my weight to push down on the front end of the car and there was no popping/clunking noise and it only bounced once. That leads me to believe the shock is okay. (there are no leaks on the shock)
Lastly I took a wrench to ever visible bolt on both sides of the front end and found that some of the bolts were not torqued to the same level on both sides.
The top mount of the driver shock was not as tight as the passenger side so I took a wrench to it and cranked it down. (I couldn't even budge the passenger side and the driver side wasn't too hard to turn). I was able to tighten the motor mount bolts slightly on the driver side, and I think a couple of other bolts I was able to torque down a little more.
After I test drove the car, I have found that the sound decreased significantly although not completely gone and the wobble seems to have gotten slightly better (maybe because I cranked the sway bar bushing clamp tighter), but it still very apparent and annoying especially during slow speeds and turns. It is just constantly shaking (can't tell if it is up and down or side to side but all of the passengers can feel it).
I hope all this is is the sway bar bushings but they looked good as far as I could tell. I don't have experience with a press so I REALLY hope it is not the compliance bushings, I would just have to replace the entire LCA if that was the case. I really don't think it is the shock because after I test drove it again I was purposely hitting harsh bumps and I really had to try hard to hear any clunking after the tightening. It has almost disappeared, almost.
Any other ideas of what this issue could be? The wobble is just devastating to me, I can't stand not being able to fix broken things on any of my cars. If there is ever any orange in my dash I am so proactive, I usually have it fixed within two days. I am just stuck between a rock and a hard place, looking underneath this vehicle is much more intimidating than my little integras.
Thank you for all of your input!!