chad3113

iTrader: (1)

Got in the V this morning and noticed that when i went over bumps there was a "crunch" sound coming from the front end. It Sounds exactly like the plastic bumper dragging over a curb.... but thats not it.

Checked under the car, found nothing dragging. Pushed down on the front end, bounced on the front end, and nothing. I could not duplicate the sound with the car parked.

It was a chilly morning, roughly 30* or so, warmed up to mid 50's and the crunch was still there after about 15 min or so of driving. I've driven in cold before, and had nothing.

Like i said, this literally happend overnight. There was no sound yesterday. Any ideas guys?

EDIT: This is NOT the "clunk" that is common with these cars. I do have that, but this is a distinct "crunch" sound, as when the bumper bottoms out on curbs...

JJSimon904

iTrader: (8)

Maybe a tree limb caught and rubbing on the suspension?

Nacho SS

iTrader: (4)

Plastic air dam liner that hangs down?

Stepside

Ya know, sometimes creatures crawl under the front for the warmth of the engine. Hmmmmm, sounds like the ~"Dead Cat Crunch"~ syndrome. Ask your neighbors if they're missing . . . . ahhhhh, . . . NEVERMIND.

chad3113

iTrader: (1)

Nah, no animals, car stays parked in garage, lol. The cold seems to be making all kinds of wierd noises come out. Now when i push down on the front end theres a sound of grinding rubber on rubber....??? I dunno, maybe bad isolators?

Is there anything down there that needs to be greased? Bushings? Etc?

Shon Herron

iTrader: (25)

funny, my 04 makes the same sound...or something similar, like the inner plastic of the fender well is hanging down on the tire.
And I only notice it when on the brakes.

my car is stock...

Jon05CTSV

My car has a tendency to eat front control arms. It makes a similar noise.

egypt123

iTrader: (1)

Could it be one of the front shocks? Usually you can veer off to one side of the street so only one side of the car goes over the bump. I'd try driving over the speed bump on each side to see if I could isolate it down to one side of the car. At least you cut the problem in half if it works. Also, have you physically tried to pull down on any of the plastic parts (fender well covers, underbody spoiler/scratch guard, etc)? Could one of them be loose and be dropping down and rubbing/crunching when going over bumps or hard driving?

nixc5

iTrader: (3)

Hey man, I think I know the answer to your problem.

I had this same issue start over the Christmas holiday and the noise is exactly as you describe it. I took my 2004 V up to the dealership without doing any research of my own because I bought an aftermarket warranty for the car so I figured I'd let them deal with it. Unfortunately it turned out that the warranty didn't cover this issue but that is a whole nother story.

Now to the heart of the issue. There is a TSB out there for this problem but I cannot remember the number. The problem is that the rubber bushings on the lower control arms wear and it causes the "Crunching" noise. They have to replace the bushings with what they called a bushing/spacer. This is probably an easy fix you can do yourself.

Nix

calimanv

i think that it is the bushing material that makes that noise when it is cold, i have an 05 v and it has always done that when it is col, i have a 1968 firebird that started doing the same thing when its cold after i put the polyurithane bushings on it.... i could be wrong but everytime i have looked at the bushings on the front of my v they dont look bad at all.....