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Check your motor mounts for wear. A deteriorated mount will allow the powertrain to move too far and too quickly when you apply power, giving you a thud.

It may be worth having a different shop check this, as you can get a written diagnosis from them and it will give you some firm ground to stand on if you choose to take this up with the car dealer. This is a 6 year old car, and I'm sure it was bought as-is with no warranty. Was this doing this at the time you bought it? If so, why did you buy it? If it didn't do it until you had the car for a bit, you likely are on your own to pay for this. If it was right away after buying it and you can show them what is wrong, you may convince them to repair it at a free or reduced rate but with a used car that has no warranty they aren't required to do so. A little tact with them will help get it resolved.

I bought it 2 months ago, i have full warranty on all suspension, engine, and mechanical including motor mounts and labor until 150k miles. i made it a point to pay the extra money to get all warranty possible when buying the car. so Yes it IS covered. (with a 200 dollar deductible) and No i did not notice this happening until 30 days after buying it.

I will be taking this to another place, but im weighing my options on paying the deductible or trying to fix it myself, i am aware of basic suspension stuff, but this one baffles me.

The thing that bothers me most is i KNOW FOR SURE something is wrong, yet the dealer says they checked my suspension and nothing is wrong with it. And i have a feeling in my fine print of warranty (which ill check later) i must take it to them to fix. and if they say nothings wrong, im in a bind. So im thinking if i can figure out the exact problem, hold there hand and walk them through what is wrong with it they will see it. Because initially i simply told them the problem and said i think its tie rods or ball joints but im not a mechanic and not sure.

And yes tomorrow after work ill do a thorough check on my motor mounts. (which after changing my pontiac's i will NOT be changing these myself lol)

They wouldn't be checking motor mounts if they are just checking the suspension, so maybe this is being overlooked by them. I'm guessing you did the lower motor mount on a Pontiac, like a Grand Prix maybe? You're right, its not the most fun in the world. Give the mounts a good check with someone torqueing the motor for you so you can see the total movement, and it will be easier to explain it to this dealer what is wrong and be on the road again happily.

Definitely i will , thank you!

well part 1 has a possible solution, now how bout the steering wheel thing? could that be related to the mounts as well? Or a totally different problem?

(id like to note although i can change mounts, tie rods etc. its only because i watched videos on youtube how to do the stuff, trial and error'ed it on my old vehicle and learned it hands on, other then that i have no knowledge of vehicles)

So if thats a stupid question, sorry ahead of time.


-The biggest thing i think im baffled by (regarding the steering wheel) is because i was under the assumption that both tires were connected with 1 bar with inner tie rod followed by outer then to tire, so if 1 tire turned the other had to turn as well. but if 1 is stationary (as explained in 1st post) how is moving just the single tire (right or left) able to turn the steering wheel at all?

if the drivetrain is moving around, it will certainly make the whole car feel different. You may possibly even have a tire causing your vibration. An easy trick would be to rotate the tires and see if the symptoms either go away or go to the rear. If so, you have confirmed it.

This site is here to help people like you. After all, if you knew a lot about cars you probably wouldn't need to be here, right? You won't learn anything if you don't ask any questions. Since you're learning a lot from You Tube, you should go to ericthecarguy.com too. He has a lot of vids on youtube but he has all of them for free on his site. He tends to work mostly on Japanese cars too as he used to be an Acura tech. If you come across videos by Scotty Kilmer, don't watch them unless you want to wreck your car by taking his advice. Trust me on that. I cringe when he puts out a new vid. We've had people post on here that dumped a bottle of paint thinner in their gas tank and tried to clean a catalyst with laundry detergent because he said it was a good idea. Its not.

Id like to specify something before it gets lost in posts. For the 2nd part (about the steering wheel) , when i say shaking , i need to be more specific in my description:

When hitting bumps my steering wheel TURNS from left to right about 1 hour (if my steering wheel was a clock).

The shaking (vibration) is only felt at high speeds AFTER the turns *from hitting the bumps, have started.

Example:

1-40 mph - I hit bump/crack etc. in road. steering wheel turns rapidly from 11 to 1 and back (more or less depending on how deep/high the bump crack in road is)

40 and up mph - The steering wheel turns so rapidly from 11 to 1 and back and forth its a shaky vibration. .

It almost feels like my wheels like u stated above, and going left and right very very fast and then straightening themselves out again as i continue driving.

Sorry if I missed it but have you checked the motor mounts yet as Nick first suggested? No telling what can bump what if it moves too much,

T

Ok update i checked the mounts ( they appear fine, and no big movement in motor when revving it up and etc.)

i did go under car again to look at something i overlooked the 1st time. The sound my wheel made when i rotated it and the source of the sound.

heres a video of me turning the tire while the car is jacked up and the noise it makes, (in the video i show only the right front tire. but both tires make this same sound and it originates from directly below the steering wheel. (where the steering wheel connects to this bar)

http://v6.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=10e58ht&s=6


and heres the source of the noise



Both tires make that sound and i put my hand on the (COLORED RED ROD) in picture, it seems to originate from directly under the steering wheel, wherever this bar connects too. ( i couldnt see it becuase then entire bottom of the car has a huge plastic over on it.


the left of the image is my tire, this is connected to the center of the tire, then goes across to the other tire. I also was able to push this in with my hand (when i gripped it i was able to push it into itself and it moved about a 1/2 inch) not sure what this rod even is? CV joint? and should i be able to move it by gripping it and pushing it towards the other tire) (if looking at image i pushed it to the right (towards the motor the direction of rod and it moved)

I can't make that video play but not matter. Since this originates from putting it in gear motor mounts are most suspect to me. You need to know how to check them not just rev it up,

T

the car makes the thud from a stop to a go or from a stop on a uphill and a start going again, it even has done it without switching gears.

i was driving uphill, a steep hill while holding it in 2nd gear the whole time. i accelerated to speed up and it goes thud, and as soon as my car bogs down from high rpm it thuds again until i press on the gas again. almost like a broken bolt or something shifting direction based on the momentum of the car. btw this is just a random guess i have no idea whats going on.


Is there another way to check the mounts?


The video is showing the 2nd problem listed involving the steering wheel turning and the bumps causing vibration. i was just curious if that noise was some indicator of something . my next post will be a youtube link to the video maybe that will work.

There should be something very obvious under the car there. It could be suspension or it could be a loose caliper. Someone is going to have to watch from underneath. A drive on lift would be best.

Finally saw video. Just moving wheel forward and back with a clunk suggests a bad CV joint to me but like Hammer just said watching it from underside you could better nail exactly what is making that noise. CV joint usually "crackle" on turns more than this behaviour. Without the right look at parts as HT said you still are guessing,

T

That's definitely not a C/V joint but could be a control arm or anything else in the suspension> C/V joints don't get play like that and still drive.

the sound in the video, the (semi grinding sound or whatever it is) its originating from directly below the steering wheel. So whatever that thing is i circled in the picture, it goes all the way under my car and connects to the steering wheel, that part is the part thats making the noise. when it makes that noise it vibrates the whole rod, as well as the circled part. and could that effect the 1st problem? when i hit bumps the steering wheel turns and vibrates?

i looked it up to be able to say where the noise is originating, its the inner cv joint area or whatever it connects too.

An inner C'V joint will make a noise like that if the tripod has come apart. Look and see if the axle shaft moves at all without the outside housing mimicking it.

Axle shafts - that's what I would call the items that include CV joints. Back a bit. From your video of the noise a CV joint that bad should have totally failed as in broken up if it could have play in the manner.

A CV (constant velocity) joint is in place of where a plain "U" joint could be but they are far for adaptive to turning sharper so widely used in most everything FWD.

Pointless to discuss but the very old way for RWD was to use two "U" joints centered by a spring ball also referred to as a constant velocity idea for those.

Your repair should be covered if your warranty company is playing fair,

T

this is the youtube link hopefully this works better then my 1st attempt