Hi, I'm new here but, need some help diagnosing an issue I'm having. I have a 5-speed manual and months ago I started noticing that when shifting hard or downshifting I'd get some clunking under the hood. Now, my first thought was "oh no, it's either transmission or motor mount!" Brought it to aamco to have them put it on the lift and check it all out. They said absolutely nothings wrong with it. They said I probably "wasn't shifting right" I've been driving for 15 years and learned how to drive in a ____ty 89' Corolla 5 spd manual that 2nd had gone out in. So I pride myself in being able to drive anything and I've actually only owned clutches besides one automatic bmw X3 only because they didn't have a manual option. I know how to drive a clutch. Anyways, now it's to the point that the driver's side what seams to be wheel is violently shaking and humming especially when I get up to 50-75 on the highway. It will completely stop if I turn the wheel slightly left but if I turn it even a little right it gets much louder. At low speeds like turning into the gas station or down a street it doesn't click or pop. So, I haven't suspected a cv joint. I was thinking wheel bearing. Jacked it up and tried to wobble side to side and up and down and it's perfectly tight both ways. Got new tires since I noticed that particular tire was worn uneven on the tread. Didn't help. I do know the previous owner did some upgrades to the suspension, got drilled/slotted rotors, sway bars, cold air intake, carbon fiber hood, and after market rims. If that helps. What else could it be? I'm very stressed about this and need to fix it ASAP. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

Definitely sounds like a mount or control arm. Some kind of bushing that is no longer happy with its life for sure. So hard to diagnose an issue like this via description on a forum, but I wouldn't trust AAMCO with recycling my used oil, let alone vehicle inspections.

I thought maybe a bent wheel or tire out of balance, but new tires should have ruled both of those out. CV would shake when accelerating under loads. Unlikely - but any chance you bumped a curb or pothole and threw the alignment out of whack or possibly blew a shock?

 

So I spent a lot of time in Baltimore and DC which are famous for absolutely terrible roads. Potholes are a normal part of life and impossible to dodge them all. Everytime I hit a bump it's bouncy and makes some metal clanging noises. So it could be a shock. Would a blown shock do all this though? Thanks for your help btw.

 

Just something to look into if you can't find any issues elsewhere and all the suspension bushings and mounts look good. Bouncy, floaty feeling is a sign on of a blown shock. If the tire was cupped on the inside of the tread (little wave looking tire wear pattern) that's also signs of a blown shock. Quick check is to see if there is any oil on your shock bodies - then shake the car in different ways to see if it bounces or looks like its damped.

Metal to metal could be a worn ball joint somewhere - could be the cause of vibration too. Lot's to look into when you're trying to diagnose a noise or vibe. You isolated it to the driver front though, so start there and see what looks out of whack.

 

Could also be wheel-bearings. Due to closeness of brake-pads, you can't wiggle wheel up & down, sideways to feel for wheel-bearings. Have to remove brakes before testing.

 

so this is what both front shocks look like! I noticed the other day that the hood was slightly uneven now from one side and told my husband that I thought it was a blown shock. He told me no way. Well, I was right and when looking for other problems he finally checked them and found this. How bad will replacing them be?

 

Can't hurt to replace them! Stay away from Monroe & Gabriel.

Some KYB quick-struts will be easy and you get back OEM springs. Lots of aftermarket springs aren't that good, so best to replace them too.

 

Hard to tell from the dust shields if the shocks are done, but if they're original from 09 they're probably well-past their lifespan. If it's an RS model you have, I believe those should come with the red TRD springs, which will be fine to reuse. They're pretty easy to replace using spring compressors and an impact if you wanted to keep the ride height, but might be best to take it to a shop if you're not comfortable installing the parts yourself.

 

I will say they are not leaking fluid so I feel that's a good sign but, I think the pressure from the struts has taken the driver side berring as well. I'm going to do the work myself with the help of a friend mechanic at this point since I'm so scared I'm going to screw something up. 😂

 

Again, hard to tell from those pics. All the fluid could already have leaked out. Looks like there is residue on the shock but hard to tell if it's old oil or just road grime.

Definitely could be a wheel bearing, but since you already ruled it out in the OP I didn't suggest it. The shaking + humming leads me to think it is a possible cause of the issue as well.