MechanicAdvice
Wife’s Bf’s Car making noise
Mazda 3 2015, 150k miles. Knocking noise going over bumps. Can’t tell if it’s sway bar link, outer tie rod end, ball joint, all the above, or none of the above. Appreciate any help. First video has the clunking noise as I’m driving over some bumps
Discussion
Please don't get under the car with just the emergency jack supporting it. When it fails your wife's bf will have to take care of your kids.
Turn the wheel full left or full right to access the sway bar link. Have someone rock the vehicle side to side (I typically push hard along the roof line right above the driver's window.) Carefully put your hand on the link. If you feel any popping or clunking, you should take a closer look at the links (very common across all car brands)
This, common issue in these cars mostly caused by repeated bouncing of the suspension. Tell your wife to take it easy.
Lmaooooo ts got me weak
🤣🤣
Wife's boyfriend??
Neither the husband nor boyfriend were man enough to fix this issue, so they had to post the issue on reddit. Evidenced by the fact the wife needs multiple partners for satisfaction.
To be fair one of them just sits on the chair in the corner.
Now we all know which one that is now don’t we……..
cough OP cough
Anyone has video evidence for that? The judge can't decide a verdict unless he sees the video evidence
She didn’t want anyone to fix this though. She was just venting about it.
I couldn't have said it better myself 🤣
And she needs another one
Or its his own car (he is his wifes boyfriend in addition to being her husband - my gf often likes to describe me like that - best friend, lover, boyfriend, hiking buddy, etc)
Or its actually unironically true and they are in some consenting three way…..but I fail to see why it had to be mentioned. So people share way too much.
Dang chill bro that’s my wife you’re talking about. I will fix the issue, just need help figuring out what the issue is
I think you have bigger issues than the car.
It’s a meme.
"Wife's boyfriend??"
I came here for the comments!
I believe he means best friend
Maybe best friend?
Let’s hope they meant best friend
His wife's boyfriend is also her best friend. OP is just there to pay the bills and fix her boyfriend's problems.
I saw this and thought, yep someone's already commented this
That was my first impression too, then figured it actually meant Bastard Father.
Must be in an "open relationship," either that, or they are a stingers couple.
Exactly what I was thinking
Lololol I came to comments for this first
Yes I was going about that and I thought may I didn't read it correct lmao
Polyamorous people are a thing.
This shouldn't be any more shocking than a woman's wife's car having a problem. There are all kinds of people out there who aren't straight cis gendered monogamous.
Polyamorous people are a thing.
They shouldn’t be
Fuck off.
People should be free to live their lives as they see fit if they aren't hurting anyone.
At least you've managed to confuse the hell out of /r/MechanicAdvice today.
Most likely the sway bar end link in my experience. Grab the end of the sway bar and move it up and down. If you feel any play then that's it.
But the bigger question is, why does your wife have a boyfriend?
wallstreetbets meme
Joke's been around a lot longer than that sub's been around.
you won't feel any play when it's jacked up on one side like that, both wheels need to be on/off the ground
Wife’s boyfriend or Wife’s best friend? 😭
Wife's beef farmer
Wife's beet farmer.... schrute.
Dwight's M.O. smh
You melon farmer
Hmm how many boyfriends does your wife need to change a sway bar link?
Quit gingerly touching suspension parts, and grab a hold and violently shake the fuckers.
Youll be able to find the noise then.
Either it’s the wife’s best friend or OP is a cyclist.
So your wife's dealing with 2 guys that cant fix cars?
Man. She really knows how to pick em.
Jack that puppy up and start hitting things. It could be the exhaust slapping around.
Where does it sound like its coming from?
HANK! DON'T ABBREVIATE BEST FRIEND WHEN TALKING ABOUT YOUR WIFE! HAAAAANK!
Sounds like the balls joints also wifes bf?
Don't touch your wife's bfs ball joints!
It's like when 3 of your exs cheat on u with the same guy. At that point, u just gotta find out what all the fuss is about.
No. You don't.
Of course you don't. I, on the other hand...
Wanna join me? 😏
Enlighten me
At least not without consent.
Wife’s boyfriend’s gonna ow you big time after this repair!!!!
let you wife's boyfriend figure it out why you gotta post about your wife's boyfriend's car making noise?
Very true. They don’t get the joke
They're in for a real treat when they check their local Wendy's dumpster 😎
This man is putting his life on the line for his wife's bf by crawling under the car with that jack. He must really care about her.
So the husband and boyfriend couldn’t figure this out she needs another side dude smh
Suspect he meant "best friend"
I was like wait, what's going on?
Tell your wife's boyfriend to fix it himself.
I was rereading this multiple times and then like: “Wait a second?!!!🤔🤨🧐”
Wait. Are we just going to skip over the title? Your wives boyfriend?
If you look at OP's post history, it keeps track.
It gets the people going haha
Deff an attention grabber 😂😂
It could be lower control arm bushings sway bar links or upper /lower shock mounts.
Could replace the sway bar end links first as they’re cheap to get off RockAuto or something.
My recent experience, one of our cars had the same noise over bumps and it was the struts.
If you want to eliminate the sway bar links, disconnect one of the links. If they are making the noise, the noise will stop. Obviously you don't want to be going around a corner super quick, but it'll be fine for diagnosing.
Amazing idea, thank you
Should add, cable tie the link out of the way or completely remove it. Might get squashed otherwise.
Unless you want to kill your wife's bf
I thought BF= boy friend
Certified corner chair sitter
Read this as “wife’s boyfriend’s car” and was really confused for a second
I just hope her and her boyfriend weren't too bothered by you not fixing his car for him so they could have a lovely evening together. So rude.
Now this is a hold up moment if I ever seen one
I hope that means "Best Friend"
Why does your wife have a boyfriend
🍆
Seeking assistance for Wife’s boyfriend’s car is wild 💀
Sounds like the Cuck hose isn’t working.
Hit it with your purse.
Nice, got me!
Is this for the cuck forums?
My girlfriends boyfriend isn't me
Just let him use your car
Why are you fixing another mans car for him? AND hes dating your wife???? My brother in Christ what are you doing?
It’s a joke!!!
Just take it to a man to look at
Dang dude nice, got me
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My guess is a joint or bushing. My wife's car makes that noise and it's her control arm bushings. Since it's happening on a bump, I'd start with anything that has up and down movement. That would direct me to ball joint, control arms, sway bar and links. From there I'd see if any have excessive play. I'd put a jack underneath the rotor or ball joint to lift it so that I could relieve the pressure from the strut, then see if any thing feels excessively loose. The jack will also help you see what bushings seem worn or detached. Sometimes it's easier to diagnose when you detach components so that you can move them around without the resistance of the car.
People from wallstreetbets have cars too, but they usually belong to their wife bf
Wait what ???
whose car?
Somebody’s circlejerk subreddit is leaking.
Maybe cut the brake lines.
Them two been hammering the suspension and each other. The boyfriend should pay for the repair🤨
Let it be
Sounds like a bad strut top mount
The scissor jack is not for this kind of use. It's also not going to be useful in diagnosing a swaybar end link, because you're keeping them loaded up.
You need a floor jack, both for safety and practicality. Unload the entire front end of the car by lifting it from the front central jack point. Install jack stands on the sides.
The problem will likely be much easier to diagnose then.
It’s more than likely end links.
You’re not going to find the problem diagnosing it that way.
Suspension is at full droop tightening anything that is worn out. Diagnosis should be done at ride height.
you’re going to need a large pry bar to really move the suspension.
If you still can’t find it, start with the easy stuff first. Remove one end link and go for a drive. If it’s still clunking, remove the other one and replace the old one.
This narrows down the sway bar end links. (you should replace them in pairs. )
If the clunking is still there with both end links removed, it’s either strut mounts or lower control arm bushings. Use a pry bar between the frame and control arm to check for movement.
Still no movement? Get your pry bar under the tire and see if it makes noise. It’s the strut mounts.
In that case the shocks would be the first to go
Wife’s boyfriend?
Bf = best friend?
Wife’s boyfriend?
Yeah please don't ever get under your wife's boyfriend's car like that again. Scissor jacks are for absolute emergency use only. Always have a jack stand.
Wife’s Boyfriend? Fuck that guy, cut the brake line.
You're a good husband.
i have the same noise with my 2011 mazda 3
It's quite difficult to find failing suspension parts unloaded, by just visual inspection unless the parts are close to catastrophic failure.
Really, the first thing I would do is put the wheel back on and do the shake test. It gives you the leverage you need to find the bad parts of the suspension. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oR_5MqvBgE
However I would also check where the struts are mounted. The clunk over bumps makes me think of struts and their bearings.
I had a knocking similar to that while going over bumps and turned out to be the shock absorbers.
I have the same car, my sway bar link went and it sounded like this.
Sounds like the exhaust ....
Also! NEVER get under a car supported by a jack. Get some jackstands! They are cheap and will keep you alive.
Buick Fast car.....
I had a similar knocking in a sonata, it was the lower control arm bushing.
Trying to move that stuff under load with your hands won’t show you anything, unless the bushings are severely worn.
Put the wheels back on and bounce the front end by pushing down on a fender. Leave the hood open. If you can't see or hear it from above, have someone else bounce the car while you look underneath (carefully, you don't want to get squashed by an overly enthusiastic bounce).
Unless you have some very athletic friends to run alongside whilst you're driving it is very difficult to diagnose "chunks going over bumps"
On those particular cars, with that type of mileage and sounding like that… the balljoints are very common, you’ll need to replace the whole lower arm to replace the ball joints.
Gotta get his F mobile back on the road ASAP.
It's the sway bar links even if they look fine and don't have play and don't make noise from jumping on the hood. Should be using a big pry bar to check for play though, if you can feel it with your hand it has to be completely trashed. Try going like 15mph and swinging the wheel left and right it should make noise pretty consistently
It could be strut mounts or something but it's not
If the scissor jack is the only thing supporting that car you are a fucking wild man for getting under it.
My Mazda 6 was making the same exact noise…. Replaced sway bar links and the sway bar bushings… noise is gone now!
You’re gonna need to use alittle more muscle to see if it’s loose lol. And get a real jack and stands, that thing will fall down for no reason
Check the rear strut mounts, they’re notorious for falling apart.
Throuples are also notorious for falling apart. Godspeed, my friend.
It issue is the brakes. Take a hacksaw and make some cuts on a few lines that go to a couple wheels. This will relieve the pressure, and the noise will stop once the BF gets to the scene of the accident.
Sounds to me like the sway bar could be the culprit. What i do to check those is with the car on the ground roc the car from one side to the other. You'll need another person to check if the knock comes from the sway bar. Just stick your hand from underneath (usually from the back of the tire) and place your hand on the sway bar and you should be able to feel the movement. If it does feel on the sway bar it can be the link or the bushing that are worn and need replacement. If you don't feel the movement then it most likely is something else.
There's a TSB out there for suspension clunks on '14-'15 Mazda3s (02-001/18), depending on year/VIN it's a coil spring protector and/or a bump stop.
I also had to replace the struts & strut mounts (bearings) our ours for a similar clunk years ago.
Most likely the sway bar link. If the sway bar links are good, i could be something in the strut mount. Shocks and struts are recommended to be replaced every 100k miles.
I know some shops will do inspections. Some free, some $10, some $20. Depends on the shop. If you don't have a way to safely lift the front of the vehicle to do a proper check, see if a local shop will take a look for you. They'd be able to give a proper shakedown, but if none of the suspension parts have ever been replaced, I'd put money on it being the links.
Source: Owned a 2013 Mazda 3 for 8 years, after 150k-ish miles the sway bar links were worn out and were clunking.
You need a pry bar and some wheaties for breakfast
Is there any wheel shake when moving at higher speeds? Also, obligatory, why does your wife have a boyfriend?
I've never seen such a big group of normies on Reddit in my life lol
This one is locked due to too many reports.