I feel and hear a little chatter near the front left tire when i hit a small bump or pothole. Sounds like a ball joint or something. The right side doesn't do it. Maybe a strut?

 

Left as in driver's side? There is a good chance that it's the suspension bushing. That one is located just under/near the radiator reservoir and is prone to wearing quickly because of the excess heat given off from the reservoir. It's a cheap and easy (enough) fix if that's the issue.

 

thx tophat.Is that a dealer item? How do i fix it? thx for your help

 

While Tophatchef might very well be right, look at the foam piece under the top mount for the shock absorber. See if you see some deteriorate dfoam bits lying around. Those a re known trouble spots and not too hard to fix.

 

You can get the bushing from a local auto parts store. Since it is a good bit of work to replace (you need to remove the whole shock), you may want to consider replacing both of the front shocks. At 125,000 miles, my bushings were mostly gone, so I decided to go ahead and replace the shocks too. I'm sure there is a write up in the FAQ section.

 

thx

 

yeh, i jacked the drivers side wheel off the ground, and the top mount foam bushing is deteriorated. I guess that is whats chattering when i hit a bump. the round metal bushing cap on top of the shock under the car not having cushion! How hard is it to take off the shock to replace the bushing? Can i make a rubber bushing, cut it and slide it on there just to take away the chatter? Do you have to realign the front end after shock replacement?