2004 Neon Front End Vibration ****Update****

check the front wheel bearings

I had my wife turn the steering lock to lock and didn't see anything unusual on either side.

Interestingly, I found out that the tires I'm running might be part of a recall. I stopped at a tire dealer tonight and they are going to contact the manufacurer and see what they can do about replacing them. But, that still doesn't explain the clunk noise.

I did notice that the tires are weather checked around the bead, so I should at least get partial credit toward a new set. So I'm crossing my fingers that new rubber will fix the vibration issue.

check for bad or loose motor/trans mount

You havent mentioned anything about the ball joints. They can and will cause a clunk like you mention. First check the pinch bolt in the knuckle make sure it's tight. Seeing that the control arm has been removed before. Next check the grease plug on the bottom of the ball joint. If it has any rust dust in the plug area their going bad.

When I replaced the CV axles I pulled the spindles off at the lower ball joints. The both seemed to be in good shape and required the use of a pliers to reposition them to be re-inserted into the spindle. So I think the actual ball and socket are good. I will definetely check the pinch bolt though to make sure I have it tight. Maybe I over looked it putting back together?

I had the vibration issue prior to replacing the axles, thus why I replaced them. The right side one was pretty rough. There wasn't much spring pressure left in the inner, so it was still good to replace it as preventative maintenence.

It's hard to tell if the clunk noise came after the CV axle replacement. I had bad sway bar bushings that I replaced after the CV axles which were making their own clunk noise.

The more I think about it I think the clunk and the vibration are probably 2 seperate issues and not caused by the same problem.

I did check the rack bolts and they are tight. Also this morning I checked the ball joint pinch bolt on the right and it is as tight as I can get it with a 3/8" breaker bar.

I just inspected the upper front motor mount and it is dry rotted a little. It doesn't look really bad but it's questionable enough that it's worth replacing. So once I can get to a parts store I'll pick up a new one.

As for the vibration, I just got back from taking it on the highway again. I noticed something that I never noticed before. The vibration doesn't get really bad until it's been on the highway for awhile. For the first 5 minutes or so the vibration is limited enough that it could just be normal road noise in a small car. Between that and the fact that the vibration is completely speed dependent makes me even more suspisious of the tires.

The vibration issue is solved!

It came down to the simplest solution: tires. I had already rotated the tires a few different ways to try and rule out tires and wheels. No matter how I rotated them the vibration wouldn't go away so I thought I had ruled it out.

A couple of days ago I noticed that all 4 of my tires are weather cracked around the bead. I checked the manufacturer's website and found out my tires are under recall for this exact failure. I'm currently in the process of getting it verified by a dealer so that the tires can be replaced under recall.

Knowing that the tires are defective I decided to swap on a set of wheels/tires I have that came off a PT Cruiser. I wasn't running them because the tires are 8 years old and there isn't much tread left, but for experimental purposes I bolted them on. I got all the way up to 80 mph with no vibration, smooth as silk. So I got my answer. The worst part is that had I not had a second set of wheels and tires to run I would have never been able to diagnose it.

Now I still need to figure the right side clunk. Last night I replaced the upper, front engine mount which didn't help, in fact today even though the clunk sound is from the right it now does it in both left and right hand turns. I picked up a set of swaybar end links and I'm going to replace them. The right side one is still connected, but the bushings look rough and since they're pretty cheap I figured I would start there.

My Intrepid is in the shop for the timing belt and struts. The guy told me the spring was broken, so he ordered the whole shebang. It was making a clunk too.

My springs are definetely not broken. I got a good look at them while checking the strut mounting plates.

I did get the sway bar end links replaced and now it takes an "extreme" case to get a clunk out of it, like turning all the way in one direction while coming out of a driveway. Even when it does clunk now its not as load. So I'm pretty sure the problem is in the sway bar. I noticed when I replaced the bushings that the bar itself is worn bretty good where the bushings ride. SO unless I want to spend the money on a new swaybar I will just have to live with a little noise. I'm just glad it wasn't something more serious.