Noises from front end

Labcoatguy

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Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Messages
14,181
Location
New England region, USA
Car(s)
#Jaguar #XKR #XJR, #Saab #9-3 #9-5 #900
With the car off and turning the wheel back and forth, I get knocking noises from the front suspension that I can feel through the floor. Also, it still pulls to one side or another after a series of alignments. I'm suspecting ball joints and/or tie rod ends; does that sound right? This is the Saab.
 
1995 Saab 9000 Aero; Macpherson strut front end with lower control arm, nothing too funky.
 
It could also be the bearing on the strut. How much are you turning the wheel?
 
Not very; this is just a little jiggle. I replaced those strut bearings only four years ago, then again this has been a New England winter car.
 
I know it sounds implausible, but I had a similar situation on my Volvo (similar front suspension setup) a few years ago and it turned out to be swaybar endlinks. No one had an explanation why they would cause the pulling/assignment issues, but after replacing them the issue went away. Raise the car, unbolt just one of the swaybar endlinks bolts on each side and check them for play at the balljoint.
 
That sounds so odd that swaybar end links would cause alignment issues. In any case I'm going to take it to the pros for a pre-winter checkup and have them take care of it.
 
Had the same issue in my car and that's because of the snapped control arm.
 
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