AW11 with vibration and thunk in front end

[evilgrinner]

Well when I'm going between 40-60 MPH I get a thunking noise from up front somewhere, but it also happens at lower or higher speeds if I go over a bump. Now when I'm going between 40-55 MPH I get a very strong vibration in the steering wheel. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what I should look for first. In the near future I plan on upgrading all my bushing anyway but I do like to know the cause and the fix for problems. Thanks.

[phoenixpower]

it's something suspension related, more than likely tie rods, could be outer or inner, or could be wheel bearing.

put the front end on jackstands and grab the wheel at 12 and 6 and then at 9 and 3 oclock and move the wheel back and forth, if you get any get play at 9 and 3 then it is probably tie rod and if you get it at 12 and 6 it could be a ball joint, if you get it in both positions it can be the wheel bearing. dont mistake steering wheel slop though, you will know.

[evilgrinner]

Cool, thanks. I won't mistake it for steering wheel slop...on my first MR2 I could turn the wheel about 2 inches either way before it started turning the wheels

[jjohns1508]

Dont know if you fixed the problem by now, but I had the same problem in my 85' and I replaced the steering rack. Problem solved.