Jbthompson

Hey everyone! My 01 Ultra LS is AWESOME! The Mark Levinson amp is blown, so i'm driving it pretty much in silence which is nice and semi maddening. I am hearing some strange noises though. First, when I am running the air, I am hearing a metallic sound around the vents, almost like a fan is grinding. Not really loud, but its there. Second, if I hit a big bump the front drivers side wheel area its just a loud thunk. Sounds pretty awful. Finally, when i get her going, the back of the car creaks. Is this normal? Any ideas on what these could be???? Normally I would just say, "turn the radio up" but am not really wanting to spend lots of cash to fix the amp right now!

VIPDrizzy

My car has the same ac vent issue i think i read somewhere that if your coolant is a tad low it will make that noise as far as the rest you should check your suspension see if perhaps its time to replace the bags...

Jbthompson

Interesting on the coolant, I will check that. Heaven forbid its the bags I am paranoid to even touch the air suspension buttons on the dash. It rides beautifully on the highway and even around town, its just you hit a bump the right way and its loud. I have also noticed when that happens it can jiggle the steering wheel, any ideas what that could be?

VIPDrizzy

Hmmm steering rack perhaps it really could be a few things with such a vague description but id deff say check all bushing and the bags does your car have the normal ul lean when parked?

Jbthompson

I was gonna check the bushings and ball joints when I do the brakes. The car for sure has the UL lean, looks weird to me but after reading up on it on the forum it's the "normal" stance.

ancdmd

Lower control arm bushings have a habit of blowing out since they are oil-filled, that could cause your noise in the front suspension, or ball joint(s). Maybe the "fan" noise you hear is the oscillating center vents? They move side-to-side and can make some creaking noises, you can turn off this feature on the climate screen. Creaking noise in the back could be the door seals, to check this put the windows all the way up then lightly and quickly tap the button to lower them a tad just to take pressure off the top of the door seal. Also the leather seats creak a lot in my car, kind of annoying. Check the rear seat beverage cooler, maybe the previous owner left a soda can in there or something and its rattling around.

Jbthompson

Thanks. The noise from the AC does sound like the oscillating vents, but I have those turned off trying to isolate the noise and its still there. Weird. Is replacing ball joints easy? I can't even seem to find the part online.

ancdmd

ball joints shouldn't be difficult at all, but I have never done them myself, had Toyota dealer do em. Get parts on Sewell website with the clublexus discount.