Mazdaspeed3 front end rapid clunk/vibration

Hey Guys, low miles MS3 2013 75,xxx - I'm getting a heavy-ish rapid clunk/vibration from the front left that as you increase speed increases as well - seem to vary with loading in turns somewhat. It was there - but then I chased down a jag on the track and made it worse (lol). 

I thought (hoped) it was a really out of balance wheel, but a quick rotation yields the same results from what I can tell. I may try to take them in to get balanced to make 100% sure - but I'm suspicious since it feels like it's the exact same place.

I tried wiggling the wheel bearing didn't seem to indicate it was that (no grind/wiggle) - but I'm not a calibrated wheel bearing checker. A visual inspection didn't find anything note-worthy. 

What's next? 

**Edit, update from below

Bummer, I was sure it was driver side axle, but replaced with no changes.

Makes more noise turning right than left, but makes noise both ways. Engine in neutral still makes noise while doing the above. More of a "wub-wub-wub." On brakes or off brakes doesn't seem to effect it, but it gets harder to reproduce because the noise more or less goes away <40mph 

Anything I can do other then just replace the whole front end?

you can hear the "wub-wub-wub" in this video

My regular Mazda 3 ate transmission mounts. The mount is on the driver's side under the battery. They are pretty easy to swap and are common failure points. I'd usually get about 70k out of one before it started making all sorts of bad sounds.

Sway bar end links, strut bearing, bad strut  are just some of the things that cause an odd front end noise.

In general, wheel bearings show up first with a "hum" when rounding a curve.  The often have no play.

Ah! Good point fellas - I'll check those tonight. I forgot about the trans mount, I've read that in the past.

Check the lower control arm bushings. On my 11 MS3, the clunk started at 63k miles. I had replaced sway bar end links, thought struts, and nothing helped. Swaped the control arm bushings - and it finally went away.  Of course I ended up then trading her on a 16 new WRX (which I kept a month and 800 miles only)...so that was the end of my celestial blue MS3

On a non-speed 3 I solved a similar issue with a drive axle.  
 

On a different 3 the issue turned out to be the brake pads moving in the brackets whenever they would hit the sticky spot from uneven transfer layer.  

That drive axle is a good point.

iceracer said:

That drive axle is a good point.

I was really hoping it wasn't the axle TBH. Maybe I'm making it worse than it will be in my mind, but that seems annoying to replace. Any pointers for determining if it's bad? Just wiggle it? 

Bummer, I was sure it was driver side axle, but replaced with no changes.

Makes more noise turning right at speed than left, but makes noise both ways. Engine in neutral still makes noise while doing the above. More of a "wub-wub-wub." On brakes or off brakes doesn't seem to effect it, but it gets harder to reproduce because the noise more or less goes away <40mph 

Anything I can do other then just replace the whole front end?

It feels worse in the wheel than it sounds in the video. You can hear it pretty well at the end of the video.

Have you changed the lower control arm bushing ? 
 

that was the problem on my ms3 and tons of ms3 on the MS forums 

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

I inspected it and didn't look terrible, can you replace those without replacing the entire arm? Any inspection tips?

whitelines are the only other option besides OEM

You can get a whole front LCA for $80 on ebay.
Or you can get OEM bushings for an LCA for $80

Or you can spend the money on an upgraded poly bushing from whiteline for a grand total of $300


Either way the whole thing has to come out 

 you can't swap the bushings out one by one with the arm hanging from the ball joint and a bushing, you gotta pull both out and you could leave it hanging by the ball joint.

I chased the clunk on my ms3 by throwing lots of parts. The bushing was the culprit on mine, and I have found that to be problem on most ms3

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Was there any visual indication after removal that they were shot? Not doubting you, just trying to do my due diligence and all....

In reply to accordionfolder :

Apologize -- didn't see that question. I am not saying it MUST be that - thus you are welcome to doubt me :) 

I was just saying it's a common problem and I would look there first. On mine one visually you could tell was bad. 
 

good  luck with yours ! 

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Thanks for the input! Looks like whiteline may have dropped their prices a bit - only 130 for a full front end kit it looks like. I think I may just do the front lower with whiteline pieces and see if that helps. 

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Well, both front lower control arms have been swapped and the stupid clunk is still there.... Anyone? Low speed not as pronounced, high speed make a terrible noise and vibration. Right hand turns make more noise than left and it makes the noise power on or in neutral. I'm annoyed at this point.

Aftermarket wheels? Bent wheel? Bad rear wheel bearing. Had to replace the left rear on my Speed3 75k or so

Sonic said:

On a non-speed 3 I solved a similar issue with a drive axle. 

This would be my next step since it's correlated to vehicle speed.

In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :

Ugh, I did the driver side axle already... I wish there was a good way to know if the passenger axle was good or not, it's a pain in the ass. 

In reply to sergio :

No change in position of the noise when rotating the wheels, it's definitely in the front end of the car - you feel it through the wheel. 

Does it change based on gear? I’m wondering if it’s transmission related. Tony had a weird problem like this and it turned out to be the transmission.

In reply to CyberEric :

No change in gear - it does the same noise in gear or in neutral and it doesn't matter what gear you're in, it clunks (faster==louder)

I assume you have ruled out the tires? (for the wub-wub noise)

In reply to triumph7 :

I can't be 100% sure, but I rotated the tires and the noise/feel remained very focused in the same place.