Problems Automagically Disappear

[JonnyMiata]

OK....now things are getting weird. I had the clunk 2 days ago but on the way home last night it went away. I am guessing it is a combination of the shocks settling in at the top of the rear shocks and the weather getting warmer. I thought I was just getting used to the sound but I hit some wacky off center bumps on the way to work this morning and it was good. Occasionally if I hit a pothole in the minefields we used to call streets, I will get a clunk but I would imagine anyones car would clunk then.

I have the Mazda dealer trying to find a fix but I don't expect too much from them. The other thing that I noticed today is the whine in the receiver is now gone. I would get a bad whine when I would listen to the radio. It would fluctuate with the engine. I am thinking since it is warmer today, that might have something to do with it.

I just hope this streak for good luck holds out and we have no more snow. I am now at about 1800 miles so those of you who have less miles, you may want to wait and see if the clunk goes away by then.

 

[jroof]

Well, that's great news. I have a feeling I won't be so lucky, mine gets worse by the mile. While I'm glad your clunk went away, it was nice to have a fellow crusader in the quest to stop the clunk.

 

[Newf]

it's not uncommon for the clunk to disappear from time to time.

Let me ask you this.

Is it raining or snowing today? or are the roads dry?

 

[JonnyMiata]

It is very dry today. Newf, I thought we established the fact that we have 2 different problems. I know for a fact it is not my sways bushings that are causing the problems but you say that is the problem with yours.

It may turn out that the MP3's have the sway bushing problem and the MSP's have the loose shock problem.

jroof, my clunking was also getting pretty bad. I hated getting in and driving it. Now it is fine. I feel a bit like walking on eggshells but I am going to toss it a bit today at lunch and see what happens.

 

[Newf]

I'm not conviced we have two diferent problems yet, because you are only going through the same pattern and idea's I went through over a year ago. Just because your sway bar isn't moving around yet ( that only happens when the bushings are REALLY bad, not just starting off)

And my car hardly clunks when the roads are really dry.

By all means, get that strut checked, but don't write off the bushings just yet.

 

[JonnyMiata]

Newf, I know for a fact that it is the top of the shocks where the sound is coming from. You can see the play, you can hear the clunk up higher in the car. Like I said I had someone ride in the trunk to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. This is not to say that the swaybar bushings will go bad down the road but I am saying that they clunk I was hearing is from the space at the top of the rear shocks. That is why I think we have 2 different problems.

 

[Newf]

ok, keep us up to date then

 

[andr3w]

Went to the dealer, they could not hear the clunk.... I even drove around with the service manager and it took going down a curb at 20 mph to get the sound which also made the struts bottom out. We lifted the car onto the hoist and could not feel any slack in the struts. The sway bar bushings looked OK. A few points, yes the roads were much drier today and it was about 10 degrees warmer today, plus no windchill.

No coolant smell either! Now if only the cracked windshield would disappear.