I finally checked what was making the thunking noise whenever I turned the steering wheel to the maximum and it turns out I have 2 broken front coil springs. They are broken near the top at about 1-2 coil revolutions. The passenger's side is worse, and that's from where the noise I can hear is coming from. I have heard the noise for about 2-3 months now and am guessing the springs have been broken since then.

I only want to replace the springs, but what about the strut mount bearings? Could they have been the cause of the breakage, or have become damaged from the broken springs. I have complete service records from 10 years ago onwards and there is no indication that the springs have been changed. I will disassmble everything once I have ordered and received the springs from FCP Groton, so I'll only know for sure when I take it all apart. My preliminary inspection of raising the car and changing the wheel turning angle by hand led me to believe only the springs were damaged because everything else felt smooth. Also, does anyone out there change the self-locking outer tie rod end nut after its removal? If so, what are the specs (diameter and mm/thread) so I can get a new one? Thanks.

Michel Garcia
Ottawa, Canada