Hi folks, I have a 02 Sable with about 80K miles on it. Recently when traveling over bumps and in Western PA PotHoles I notice a knocking sound. I can reproduct the basic sound just by pushing up and down on the truck area when car is parked. I pulled the wheel and looked around and could not see anything obvious. Anybody have any thoughts? How do I gain access to look at the top strut mount? Might it be worn or loose?

 

the control arm bushings are usually what causes this noise. if the rubber is cracked or visibly squished on any control arm, that point will make a knocking/bumping/clanking noise when you hit potholes. The shocks may also need to be replaced. if you press down on the car and it bounces past the resting position more than once, the shocks probably need to be replaced, but you can probably ride on them without issues for a while yet. if it bounces past center more than twice (press down - release - up past center - down past center - up past center again - etc) then they are in need of replacing.

The anti-roll bars may need to have their bushings replaced as well. (check the end points for totally squished rubber mounts)

 

Check the springs out as well, make sure they aren't broken...