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Rotational clunking after week of not driving...

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Kingkw 
#1 ·
My Impreza has been off the road for about a week. During that time, it was very cold and rainy (if that is a clue to anything...)

My mom drove it to an appointment just last week and did not notice any issues. As it has become my second car, it is being driven less often than it used to. Today, I backed it out of the driveway to take it to work for its weekly "exercise" and there is now a firm clunk coming from the driver's front tire/wheel - or perhaps the rear I'm not sure. (rotational noise, occurring on flat pavement). It doesn't feel or look like a tire issue, but I could be wrong. A visual inspection revealed no debris on/in tire. Tire pressure normal. Stuck caliper seems ruled out because the rotational sound does not stop while braking - noise just slows down. (I've had sticky calipers several times and braking usually makes the noise stop) Maybe something is loose.

I don't hear the noise at all when going in reverse -- only when driving forward, at any speed. Also, there's no difference in the noise whether going straight or whether turning in any direction, which would seem to rule out a CV joint? If there is a vibration in association with the sound, it is not very dramatic. As for the sound itself, my mom thinks it's a "click" but I would be more inclined to call it a "clunk."

The car really hasn't been sitting very long, just maybe about a week, but we had very heavy rain and cold weather during that week and I'm wondering if something has simply seized up somehow and it isn't that serious. Can someone just give me some basic possibilities that would have happened when the car was sitting still for a week? I'm going to have to take it in, but don't want to go on a wild goose chase if it can be avoided...
 
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#3 ·
I agree with Bruce P. I know someone who parks vehicles seasonally while driving their other vehicle. Wanting to not store a dirty vehicle they washed it and stored it. When they got it out the brakes were frozen. Moving it tore the pads off and left an imprint rusted in the rotor.
 
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