Metallic Clanking Noise

My 2003 Honda Accord inconsistently makes a clanking noise when I break to
turn a corner. Sometimes it happens when I turn left, sometimes it does
not. Same goes for turning right. I just had my car in for the 60,000
maintenance and had the service tech ride with me so he could hear the
noice -- this is the second time the Dealership has tried to determine
what was causing the clanking. After 2 hours, they still had no idea. Now
they say if I pay additional money that they will continue to look for the
cause. Has anyone had this problem; should I pay to go further??? Thanks!

 

I could be totally off base in your case, but had a similar problem on
my Nissan when I first got it:
it sounded like I had pots and pans tied somewhere on the front. As I
bought the car new from the dealer, they also could not find where it
was coming from.

Eventually I found that the cheap OEM plastic hubcaps were doing it -
replaced them and my front end has been quiet since.

There are many other things that could cause noise, but the above is
quickly checked.

Remco

 

I agree with Remco. I had a noise between a screech and clunk
(low volumn) when I asked the dealer (Ford Taurus 92) about it
he told me it was hub caps, took them off and told me to test drive
the car. It was quite as a mouse. He loaned me a tube of some kind of
goo to coat the contact points of the hub caps. They were still
working fine when a tow truck totaled it a couple of years ago
after 220000 miles. It is easy to check and free, just drive
around without hub caps for an hour.
Ernie

 

Have them check the boots on your CV joints. If some of the grease leaked
out, then the joint could be seazing up which could cause the sounds you're
describing.

 

I second Sean D's post. 60k is way early for failing CV joints, but
that is probably the
#1 symptom. Is there any clicking when accellerating into a turn? Climb
under the car
and see if the CV boots are split open. They look like accordians and
are on the inside
of each front wheel at the end of a shaft that terminates at the
transmission. If the boots
are open/cracked/greasy, then you'll likely need the joints
overhauled/axles replaced.

 

I totally agree that CVs could absolutely do what he's describing. A
mechanic can easily tell when those go bad - that's why I suggested
looking at hubcaps since that happened to me.

If a mechanic cannot dianose that correctly after 2 hours of work and
needs more money to be sure, I would bring it elsewhere because they
are looking to rip you off.