My car makes a "womp...womp...womp" sound on the right front side when I am turning left or slowing on a curve

Question

I looked and I don't see antyhing wrong with it, I looked for broken bars and to see if the wheel was scraping, but it all looks ok. Someone mentioned ball bearings, but I don't know if that could be it, or even what that means. If anyone can give me information I would truly appreciate it! 94 Pontiac Grand AM SE

Ok, so I went online and found CV Joints, and what a good and bad one looks like. I checked the car, turned the wheels, and looked for anything that might be broken on the bars, and the joints. I could not find anything wrong with anything that I could see from above, below, and on the side. I pushed on the car, the wheels and the joints, and everything seems like it ought to be. Any other possiblities? I would like to have some idea so I don't get scammed. Thank you all!

Answer 1

coudl be many many things...id take it to a mechanic and find out what it is....coudl be bearings...CV joint...belt broken in a tire...etc

Answer 2

I own a 1996 Grand Am and have had this problem. Check your lower control arm bushings. I live in WV, and the roads here are rough. The rear lower control arm bushing doesn't last long in these cars because of the way they are designed. The best way to fix it is to buy a new control arm from Pontiac (about $125) or a used one from the junkyard ( about $50). I would not replace the right lower with one from the junkyard, because they naturally get more abuse than the left. The replacement of the control arm is pretty straight forward, and is covered in the Chilton manual. DON'T TRY TO JUST REPLACE THE BUSHING!!!, I tried it, they went out again in just a couple of months, and the control arm busted, which if we hadn't caught it , would have gotten someone wrecked, or killed. The control arm is not strong enough to take the stress of pressing the bushings out and back in. They will come loose, and get into a bind, and cause the control arm to break, resulting in an accident, maybe even losing a wheel. Mechanics that are not familiar with these cars often don't catch this problem. Our regular mechanic, a pro with 30 years experience, didn't catch it, even when told about the noise during a state inspection. The lower rear bushings are a different design than most other cars, and the durability is the reason why. Take a look, then you will understand.

Answer 3

I had a similar problem about 6 months ago, might be the same thing - check make sure all nuts and bolts are not missing in the inside of the wheel arch. That was the problem with my car. A piece of metal covering the shock absorber was touching the tyre when i turn the wheel a similar womp... womp noise . Best thing is to do here is jack the front of your car up turn the wheel inwards and manually spin the wheel. Good luck i hope this will slove your problem :)

Answer 4

Chances are you have a bad cv joint. Go to a large parking lot and turn hard one way drinving in a circle and see if it makes the noice and then the other way.

Also, check the boots to see if they are torn.

Another posibility is a bad wheel bearing. To check that, jack the car up, put a bar under and see it you and life the wheel.

This last will also check the ball joints. But my money is on the cv or wheel bearing.

Answer 5

Its gonna be the half shafts. Or cv shafts. They go by the same name. You cant always look at them to see if they are bad. How can you see the bearings inside of it if the boot is intact? You cant. That is why you only hear the noise when turning. It should be very pronounced when the wheels are turned all the way. They also make alot of noise in reverse with the wheels turned all the way. Grand am's are also notorious for control arm bushings. You wont be able to tell by looking at it in your drive way unless you have the front end off the ground. It will be the bushing closest to the doors that is hyperextended and knocking the frame. take it to a competent shop and have them check those 2 things for you.

Answer 6

Here is the correct answer. It may be one of several things. Here are a couple of the most likely causes, in order of probability.

1. Bad wheel bearing.
2. Broken belt in the tire.
3. Front end problem (loose or bent tie rod, bad ball joint)
4. Possible brake problem (but doubtful).
Have a reliable mechanic pull the tire and inspect it and the rest of the front end for you. Don't continue to drive the car this way. If it's a bad wheel bearing, you could be doing irreparable harm to the spindle assembly. If it's worn or bad front end components, you could have a real problem if something breaks going down the road.

Hope this info helped.

Answer 7

I see a lot of people have suggested that your CV joints may be bad... but I don;t believe that a 94 pon grand am is front wheel drive. soo, don;t listen to them. I would believe that some where between your controls( the steering wheel) and the end control component( the tires) is a spot or several spots with too much play. the suggestion of ball bearings, or your wheel bearings is the best place to start. these are quite simple to replace, but then again if you don;t know where they are to begin with ;) you should probably go to a mech.
you know it is something in the "mechanical control linkage" so be skeptical if he suggests that you need something electronic replaced, or if he trys to change your spark plugs and sell you a special air filter.
p.s. DO NOT listen to Darin Evans suggestion to have some one walk with the car while you try to recreate the failure. this is unsafe and not helpful in diagnostics.

Answer 8

My advice is either your half shaft (cv joints) are going and even though they look good doesn't mean that under the rubber is good. Look for any cracks in the rubber boots. Course those usually make a clicking noise. Sounds more like your wheel bearings. They usually make more noise at higher speeds and while going around curves or turning a certain way.

Answer 9

Womp Womp Sound

Answer 10

Sounds like CV Joint.

Have this fixed asap. Nothing worse than having a CV joint go out driving

If your worried about getting scammed get referrals from friends.
It's hard to tell what could be.
I had a CV joint go out and the boots were fine. But it doesn't mean this is it. It could be serval things

Answer 11

Sounds like a CV joint if your making hard turns such as a you turn. The sound when the road curves to the right could be dry rotted tires. Take it for an estimate these are not things you want to put aside.