Since I heard a familiar tapping sound from the front end of my '09, I ended up replacing the mounts for the 10 month old Monroe QuickStruts with Moog components, which on visual inspection appear to be a better design. While the tapping went away, there are still some clunks coming from lower on the suspension in front. I have already replaced the stabilizer bar bushings, and the stabilizer bar links are solid, as are the tie rods.
That pretty much leaves only the lower control arm bushings, and I've had noisy rubber bushings in my older cars before. The Civic, in fact, had them so rotted that the dealer couldn't perform an alignment until I had them replaced. I wonder if it is worth replacing the control arms, which come with new rubber bushings plus new ball joints. That would take care of any wear from aging rubber, and give me fresh ball joints up front also. Visually, the existing bushings don't look too bad, but they are dry. (A lot of times, the bushings don't look bad until the suspension is taken apart, when things look crumbly or fall apart.) Thoughts? I'm tired of driving something that sounds like a junkyard on wheels. ? And replacing this thing isn't going to happen until next year.
That pretty much leaves only the lower control arm bushings, and I've had noisy rubber bushings in my older cars before. The Civic, in fact, had them so rotted that the dealer couldn't perform an alignment until I had them replaced. I wonder if it is worth replacing the control arms, which come with new rubber bushings plus new ball joints. That would take care of any wear from aging rubber, and give me fresh ball joints up front also. Visually, the existing bushings don't look too bad, but they are dry. (A lot of times, the bushings don't look bad until the suspension is taken apart, when things look crumbly or fall apart.) Thoughts? I'm tired of driving something that sounds like a junkyard on wheels. ? And replacing this thing isn't going to happen until next year.