Knocking sound from front when turning steering wheel. Advice?

[gunjafarishta]

Hi.everyone.

Would appreciate if someone can advise me regarding a mechanical issue I am having with my Honda City (2011 model).

Description of Problem in the Car

When driving if I turn left, a loud knocking sound can be heard which increases with acceleration - usually if it's a sharp corner, the sound is louder. There is no such sound when driving straight or turning right (at least for now).

Background

Mechanic 1

Basically, this car has had a front collision 2-3 years ago and has been fully repaired. Following the accident, everything seemed fine for about a year but then it started making these knocking sounds especially when turning left or right.There were a host of other minor issues as well so decided to take it to a mechanic recommended by a friend. This mechanic opened up the car and gave me a list of issues that were wrong with it. This mechanic basically screwed me over and to summarise:

The Preliminary quote by him was 20-25k;

After opening up the car and showing me a bunch of stuff that needed repair and/or replacement, the quotation was bumped up to 50-60k. This stuff included all sorts of things like the axle, bushes, joints and what not I don't even remember;

Ultimately, the final amount was 96k including the service charges. The guy had done loads of minor doh numbri which made me not trust him e.g. emptying out the fuel tank (on more than one occasion); telling me randomly that the axle broke while he was test driving etc. which also drove up the cost. He also caused some new electrical problems due to which the engine light came on and he charged extra for sorting that out as well. Overall he was an unreliable guy and I did not trust him to fix my car honestly.

As suspected, the problems started again after a month or two including the knocking sounds when I turn the car while driving.

Mechanic 2

After the problem resurfaced, I showed it to another mechanic. This guy gave a reasonable quote for about 4-5k etc. But I think was not able to diagnose the issue correctly because it's started again after only a few months.

I would appreciate if someone could recommend a reliable mechanic based in Karachi who will be able to diagnose and sort out this problem for me. I do not mind paying the quoted price as long as the work is being done honestly. As my knowledge about cars is very very limited, I am relying on the mechanic to be truthful and install genuine parts.

Please suggest and guide.Thanks in advance.

[dayrider]

Your axle aka godda is weak, get it replaced by a new genuine one. problem would be solved, Front collisions usually result in mechanical work but those things surface later

[gunjafarishta]

Thanks for replying.

The first mechanic claimed that he had replaced the axle. Oh well.

How much would be the tentative cost for the godda aka axle? And what is the difference between genuine and non-genuine?

Can you please recommend a reliable mechanic in Karachi for this?

[dayrider]

I am not from Karachi so can't help you there. But genuine parts are the ones used by company and non genuine are made by other companies. Look for best quality parts, not cheap parts, the reason that these things happen is mechanics usually trick the owner, and repair the old one instead of replacing it. If money is not an issue, and you know very less, your safest best is a 3s stealership they overcharge but can't compromise on work and quality.

[pwuser147983858371]

You should get your car axles checked. If they are faulty then install Honda Genuine axles from dealership but if you want to have them in less price then install kabli axles in mint condition.

[ToxicDevil]

The noise you describe is coming from the CV joint. (Constant Velocity joint).

If the joint is faulty then you will hear the noise on turning only. There is a rubber boot on the joint and that boot contains grease. Sometimes the boot gets torn and the grease comes out or gets contaminated with dust etc causing friction and the joint wears out.

New joint (chinese etc) is not that expensive, probably less than 2000 rs. Only the joint needs to be changed and not the axle.

Even non OEM joints lasts for a long time (years) if they have been installed correctly.

Since you said that your car was in an accident, the repair work might not have been good (bad alignment of parts or parts for a different car with slightly different sizes) causing stress on the joint and making it go bad earlier.

Can you check if the boot is intact or not? Because if it is intact, another reason could be incorrect amount of grease put by the mechanic.

I cant suggest any mechanic in karachi.

[gunjafarishta]

Thanks. Any idea how much genuine Honda axles would cost?

[pwuser147983858371]

No idea seriously, you should contact nearest honda dealership.

[gunjafarishta]

I do recall the first mechanic showing me torn CV joint boots (I just checked Google images to confirm) from my car and said that he would be replacing them. I also remember him talking about "bushes" which he may have replaced.

Will get it checked by a mechanic today.

I just want to sell this car now. It's becoming a liability. Any idea how much 2011 City with front accident and about 80-90k mileage sell for and what would be a good replacement? (I know this is beyond the scope of this topic...)

[dayrider]

1.3 manual?

[gunjafarishta]

It's an automatic transmission.

So I gave the car to a mechanic who could not figure out what the sound is because he said it does not sound like the axle or CV joint issue. Instead he thought it might be a suspension issue but the suspension wala said the suspensions are fine. So he is not sure and was saying it might have to do with the "wheelcaps" although it does not make sense.