I have a 2004 G35 Sedan and about a month ago started hearing a loud metal rattling noise in my front driver side wheel well area whenever I hit a bump in the road. The noise slowly began to get louder and louder each day. And then I started hearing the noise when I hit the brakes while driving on the freeway. So I thought it may have been a loose caliper or something.

Well I changed my front brake pads and checked for any loose parts around the suspension and brake assemblies only to find no obvious signs of the culprit.

Now it's to the point where it sounds like something is about to fall off of my car when I hit the brakes when going faster than 50mph. It's hard to explain the noise... but I guess it sounds like all of my lug nuts are loose and my wheel is rattling side to side when I hit the brakes or hit a bump (as crazy as that sounds)... and yes, I have checked my lug nuts - they're definitely not loose.

Could this be a wheel bearing? The reason I don't think it's a bearing is because the noise isn't constant while driving, only when hitting bumps or tapping the brakes while going fast.

Any ideas!???

 

jack the front end up to get wheel in the air. grab the tire on the left and right sides and wiggle it. if you get alot of play its a bearing.

 

It's definitely not the wheel bearing. I jacked up the front end and tried to rock the wheel back and forth holding it at 12 and 6 o'clock and it didn't move at all. I even tried removing all of the plastic splash guards just in case that was causing the noise, but it still made the noise whenever I would hit a bump or if I got up to about 50mph or higher.

At this point I'm thinking it may have something to do with the brake system. The caliper mounting bolts are tight but there's a tiny bit of play in the caliper when I force it in and out with my hand. Is it normal for the caliper to have a small amount of play when you aren't pressing on the brake? In previous cars I never noticed that - they always seemed pretty snug up against both brake pads.

 

I would check the compression arm on the front lower suspension. not the lower control arm but the arm that mounts on the lower control arm and fastens to the sub frame below the footwell. The ball joint affair at the lower control arm is probably sloppy and causing the the rattle. Expensive part so make sure that it is the problem.

 

I have this exact problem.. I even took my car to a repair shop and they did everything they could (without taking things apart) and could not figure out wtf is loose in the driver side front.

 

Same problem when I press brakes light i get heavy rattle as well as when I hit the bumps. If I hit the brakes hard it stops. Kinda scary above 50 I done wanna hit the brakes. Did you get a fix?

 

I replaced the compression arm and fixed the problem. The front end does not make any noise at all now. The ball joint at the front of the compression arm where it connects to the lower control arm was sloppy. Make sure you get a 4 wheel alignment done after the part is replaced.

 

same issue, also on an '04 g35 sedan... fivestar, where did you purchase your compression arm from?

 

I did a search on kijiji and got lucky. Someone bought the part for his sedan and totaled it before he could install it. They are available aftermarket but be careful what you buy. Best option is the dealer as you don't want to change them often. It can be a nasty job because they seize onto the stud that comes out of the sub frame. I bought my G35 as a rebuilder from a local salvage yard and rebuilt it. I had to replace both sides, one was bent the other was worn and rattled as a result. The car tracks as straight as an arrow. By the way I am a small collision shop owner and have been in the business for 35 years. I hope this helps and good luck.

 

one easy way to test if its the compression rod is to drive with two feet left for braking right for gas and go on a bumpy road and drive while braking if the noise goes away it'll be the compression rod 95% of the time u can try and check for play by prying it or taking pliers and pressing it once you get it out of the car you can also check for play

 

if a wheel wiggles it doesn't mean its a bearing. It could mean a lot of things. It could be tie rods as well. But tie rods won't give you rattling noises

 

have you checked for any loose bolts?