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2001 civic ex clunking upfront

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Old Aug 26, 2009
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2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Car drives/handles fine straight or turning. Clunking is heard near front right wheel when hitting small or large road bumps. clunking continues for a very short time after hitting the bump. checked muffler hangers-ok.
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Old Aug 26, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Sounds like your lower control arm bushing is done. You can get it replaced or you can just have a shop replace the whole control arm. It depends on the shop. Some shops can replace the bushing only and some shops tend to only replace the whole lower control arm assembly
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Old Aug 27, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

THANKS Honzo for reply. Had vehicle checked (quickly) by mechanic. Said strut isthe problem. I am not so sure. Had tires rotated and balanced - no evidnece of cupping, uneven wear. Listening carefully to suspension noise, I notice the noise disappears/lessens on turns-even though road bumps are present. Doesn't this suggest worn stabilizer/sway bar bushings? THANKS
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Old Aug 28, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Originally Posted by gzulauf
THANKS Honzo for reply. Had vehicle checked (quickly) by mechanic. Said strut isthe problem. I am not so sure. Had tires rotated and balanced - no evidnece of cupping, uneven wear. Listening carefully to suspension noise, I notice the noise disappears/lessens on turns-even though road bumps are present. Doesn't this suggest worn stabilizer/sway bar bushings? THANKS
I Think its the lca compliance bushing also, but one thing it could be is a worn sway bar end link. My wifes 2001 crv was clunking pretty bad and it turned out to be the endlinks on the front sway bar. It would clunk especially when it went over bumps.
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Old Aug 30, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Solved the problem. Yes, the sway bar links were the problem. I purchased for $30 and installed. No more clunking! Drives beautifully. Especially feels good to have saved nearly $600. THANKS Honzo for your replies. My impression is that mechanics may use the strategy of offering the highest cost option ($600), then when the problem is not solved will offer to fix for free ($30 in parts) and they still come out way ahead. They wouldn't do this would they????
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Old Sep 1, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Originally Posted by gzulauf
Solved the problem. Yes, the sway bar links were the problem. I purchased for $30 and installed. No more clunking! Drives beautifully. Especially feels good to have saved nearly $600. THANKS Honzo for your replies. My impression is that mechanics may use the strategy of offering the highest cost option ($600), then when the problem is not solved will offer to fix for free ($30 in parts) and they still come out way ahead. They wouldn't do this would they????
Is the pope catholic?
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Old Sep 8, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

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Old Sep 13, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Sounds like a bushing if it sort of "bounces" off cracks, also possibly could be your struts. Id say it is your lower control arm and bushing.
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Old Oct 15, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

I have the clunking and rattling in front of my 01 civic....I have changed struts, stabilizer links, LCA and nothing has changed...I am fed up...Have taken it to at least 4 mechanics and none have been able to fix it.....
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Old Oct 22, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Jala- I have the exact same problem and I'm not going to bother fixing it. We can to take into consideration that our year was the test dummy one, but I won't purchase or recommend a Honda any longer.
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Old Dec 7, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Guys I have the same clunking prob w/my 02 Civic EX, on the right front. I removed the wheel and saw that the front bushing (compliance??) on the LCA is gone, take a look. This bushing started to go at around 65k miles.
Question now is, should I use an OEM replacement or an aftermarket one, possibly a neoprene bushing that might last longer?
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Old Dec 18, 2009
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Thanks for the tip, my 02 ex is doing the exact same thing..70k miles.

Another option when your having front-end problems,take it to a good alignment specialist who will tell you exactly what part needs to be replaced. Fortunately I have one who will do this, of course there is a fee involved. I then replace the parts and take back for alignment…save you big bucks and headache.
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Old Mar 24, 2015
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Sounds like an engine/transmission mount somewhere.
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Old Mar 24, 2015
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Originally Posted by jala
I have the clunking and rattling in front of my 01 civic....I have changed struts, stabilizer links, LCA and nothing has changed...I am fed up...Have taken it to at least 4 mechanics and none have been able to fix it.....


knocking sound could indicate bad ball joints. I found today this is the reason in mine 2001 EX both sides. Duralast **** lasted less than 2 years.
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Old Oct 13, 2015
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

I think the Honda LCA bushings are kind of weak... I've replaced mine with some polyurethane ones from amazon, so far so good.

It was easy to see the play in mine though, they were really shot.
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Old Jun 16, 2016
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Hi. I am having similar issues. 2001 Honda civic LX 5-speed stick with about 160k. There is a clunk sound (and a clunk I can feel, slightly, through contact with the gas pedal/floorboard) seemingly coming from the right(ish) side of the car. So far I have replaced:

ball joints on both sides
struts on both sides
lower control arm bushings on both sides
sway bar links on both sides
brake calipers on both sides
bearings on both sides
CV joint on the passenger side (but only because I stupidly managed to mushroom it when I was trying to get it out to replace the bearing on that side).

Just FYI, most, if not all of these parts needed replacing, so they didn't get replaced simply chasing the clunk.

However, I am understandably frustrated that the clunk remains (in fact, seems worse).


I haven't yet replaced any transmission or engine mounts (or even inspected them) so maybe cowboys2015 has my answer?


Thoughts?
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Old Jun 17, 2016
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Originally Posted by gzulauf
Solved the problem. Yes, the sway bar links were the problem. I purchased for $30 and installed. No more clunking! Drives beautifully. Especially feels good to have saved nearly $600. THANKS Honzo for your replies. My impression is that mechanics may use the strategy of offering the highest cost option ($600), then when the problem is not solved will offer to fix for free ($30 in parts) and they still come out way ahead. They wouldn't do this would they????
Got to love new sway bar links, they operate fantastically, especially that some are updated with better materials.
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Old Jun 17, 2016
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Originally Posted by emich
knocking sound could indicate bad ball joints. I found today this is the reason in mine 2001 EX both sides. Duralast **** lasted less than 2 years.
I retrofitted a grease nozzle and grinded it so that it would give clearance for the cv axle boot.

Now I just grease it and the old **** overflows and comes out. Keeps my ball joints 100%
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Old Jun 17, 2016
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

Originally Posted by shinobi9
I think the Honda LCA bushings are kind of weak... I've replaced mine with some polyurethane ones from amazon, so far so good.

It was easy to see the play in mine though, they were really shot.
Some brands like MOOG are sturdy! The machine shop that pressed them in said they are good quality, and updated designs for the OEM replacement.
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Old May 6, 2017
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

bump.
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Old Jun 20, 2017
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Re: 2001 civic ex clunking upfront

I had the same issue, lower control arm. It is a lot easier to replace the whole control arm instead of pressing bushings in my opinion. Took care of the clunking in my case. My 2 cents
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