Hey all,

I've been through many, many threads on this board, and not sure which issue is the one I am experiencing. When I'm at about 20MPH or lower, with or without brakes applied, I hear a "thump...thump...thump" sound. It speeds up or slows down depending on the vehicle's speed. Doesn't matter if I'm turning or going straight either. It sounds similar to if you drive on a highway with breaks in between the pavement every so many feet, and you hear that "thump...thump" as you drive over each small break. I brought it to a friend of mine who is a mechanic, and he guesses that it may be a cv joint or trans bearings but is not sure (he doesn't have a lift to do further investigating). Any ideas? Thanks.

 

nail in tire? but that would be more of a tick tick tick

 

No nails in the tire, but I did take it to the dealer today and the technician thinks that it's the tires that are installed on the vehicle. I have nitto directional tires on it.

 

Im having the same problem I have had the car up to find out whats going on and cannot reproduce the noise without a load on the tire my noise is only in the front on ths passanger side it's driving me nuts I going to put the stockers
on in the front and check to hear if that will stop it ,Im just taking a guess for now and say its my tire they are reo50a runflats. Anyone got some more Info.?

 

some tires will produce a thumping or roaring sound when cold. Usually takes a little while of driving to warm them up so they dont hop. That may be what you are experiencing, though i haven't heard of this problem with Nitto, but it is common with some Falken tires. Wheel hop is what i think of when i hear your description.

 

i get a thump sound when the car isnt moving lol. i dunno what that is either.

 

Hope you've figured it out by now, but for anyone with the same problem that I had:

Put the car on jacks and shake the real wheels. If it's not tight and solid, make sure the axle nut on the end of the half-shaft is tight.

I had a similar problem with mine (just fixed it) and discovered there is no "castle" bolt or keeper cap on the nut. I've never had the nut off of the half-shaft, and no reason for the stealership to have it off on the two times I've had the car in to them. Nobody else has touched the car. Wonder if this is a factory assembly "oops" or a design omission? The cotter pin near the end of the half-shaft will keep the nut on, but won't nearly keep it tight.

Luckily, while I was looking for a deal on a half-shaft and considering the option of replacing just the CV joint (cheaper, but a major hassle), it dawned on me that the nut had come off too easily.

Anyway, I torqued it to 140 with some thread-locker. So far, so good.

 

That nut is supposed to be torqued to 177 foot-pounds. There's no castle nut or cap, so I assume the cotter is just to keep it (and everything else) from falling off when it comes loose.