hello everyone , ive came here to ask for help with a thud / bump noise coming from what seems the front end of the car. i can feel it under my feet when driving and hear it but when sat in the passenger side it is ALOT louder and can feel it more. it is always in the same spot - 1 second thud 1 second tud 1 second thud etc. feels like something is stuck to the tire if you know what i mean, ive had new tires and have taken it to 3 garages one of them being bush tires and all of them had it up on the ramps and took it for a drive and none of them had a clue what it was. they just told me to live with it but i cant. any help from anyone that has had this problem would be great just hope it is something simple thanks alot

It's always on the same 1 cycle per second frequency, irrespective of road speed and gear? If so, we can eliminate wheels, tyres, brakes, driveshafts, gearbox and engine as causes.

hey thanks for the reply ! i typed wrong sorry - it gets faster with speed between 20 - 40 mph then i cant hear it after that probs because of the road noise. it feels as if something is stuck of the tyre thats always in the same spot. its alot louder on smooth road surface too. thank you .

Edited 5 September, 201114 yr by emmacookvrs

If it's tied to road speed, we can still eliminate the gearbox (not the final drive, aka differential though) and the engine itself. This probably leaves us with diff, driveshafts, wheels and tyres, brake discs, or a resonance in the undertray or exhaust system.

If I've followed you correctly it's had some new tyres; fronts only or all round? I'm trying to eliminate a resonance that's coming from the back tyres but you're hearing as coming from the front here. Either way, what you're looking for is a thin patch in a tread, a detached chunk of tread, or a lump in a sidewall (probably innner side if so).

Resonances next because they're visual checks too; look for evidence that the exhaust is hitting either the body or the "X" brace (dead obvious what that is from under the car), that the heat shield on the front silencer has detached (common problem, but your description of the symptoms isn't the usual one), or that the engien undertray is missing fasteners.

Brake problems and wheel bearings I'd hope a mechanic would spot! If he's not done so, change garages!

Diff - I really hope it's not this; it's not a typical sound for a diff since they usually whine, but it's expensive to fix.

Hey thanks for the reply. I just had a quick look under the car and the whole exhaust is very loose, from the front all the way back, you only have to touch it slightly and it swings. How much play should it have or should it be very solid ? Would this make more noise in the front than the back ? Again thanks for your help

Hey thanks for the reply. I just had a quick look under the car and the whole exhaust is very loose, from the front all the way back, you only have to touch it slightly and it swings. How much play should it have or should it be very solid ? Would this make more noise in the front than the back ? Again thanks for your help

shouldn't be that slack but it's not likely to be the problem(but get that fixed too) I would put the spare on the front passenger side if no better front drivers side and so on----if it stops take the relevant wheel back and check for ovality on a balancing machine don't let them fob you off with a visual inspection

Edited 5 September, 201114 yr by cheshire cat

Ok thanks. Ive already had this done with the fronts, I may get this done with the rear ones. Although it sounds the fronts it may be the rear.could this be the discs or pads ?

process of ellimination swap tyres around if the sound is still there well you know its not the tyres, check brakes and shocks but does sound a little like the tyre its getting more frequent the faster you are going?, louder on smooth roads only because a rougher road will drown ou the sound, was the noise there before tyre change? may have a blister on the tread

I changed the fronts because of the noise. Its still there. Ill get the rears done at weekend and report back. Thanks for your help .

By the way could it be the driveshaft ? Someone told me to ask ? As I can feel the bump under our feet. May take it back to garage and get them to run the car on the ramps just didnt want to spend anymore just for a noise. Had it checked 3 times and new tyres plus wheel bearing and still there ahhh going to go crazy

It's unlikely to be the driveshafts or discs, but when all else has been eliminated, whatever remains, however implausible, must be the answer. Hence why we're trying to go through all the cheap things we can think of before saying "It's $gubbins, and it'll cost you £Lots".

Ref the exhaust, it will shake a bit, since it's on rubber and/or braided cloth hangers. The only people who'll can tell if it's "too loose" are experienced exhaust fitters, but there should be evidence in the form of polished bits on the exhaust and/or clean bits on the underpan, if it's hitting stuff. Also, the loose heat shield I mentioned yesterday is almost common enough to be a feature !