Ok, so this is going to be a rather lengthy post with various "problems" that I certainly hope are tied together and not caused by each other.

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TL;DR:

2 months ago, deep thump/thud noise when driving < 15mph on almost any bump sounding like it was coming from both sides and feeling it through the steering wheel almost as if the car was going to fall apart or the steering wheel would disconnect on the next bump.

1 month ago whirring/growling sound when going >45mph and then progressed to now >35mph.

Replaced top engine mount today which seems to have made the deep thump/thud go away but now I can hear a much quiter (compared to before which was extremely noticeable) thump/thud noise which sounds like it's just the driver side.

Thoughts on either issue?

About 2-3 months ago I was noticing that whenever I would be going over bumps SLOWLY (~15mph and below) I could feel (and hear obviously) the bump through the steering wheel as if it was two pieces of metal banging off each other not clicking or rattling just a quick hard "bump" and that was it, especially over railroad tracks, almost as if when things were "flexing". To a non-mechanic I would literally say it seems like something is loose and ready to the car would fall apart on the next bump, which of course doesn't mean something is loose but still. I popped the hood and noticed the upper motor mount was starting to get worn.

Needless to say I didn't really do anything about it until it got worse with... about ~1 months ago I started noticing a whirring (possibly growling to a trained mechanic) sound coming from the front-end of the vehicle when going above 45mpg, which I swear sounded like it was the driver side. I took it to a mechanic about 3 weeks ago who took it for a drive with me, I drove halfway and he drove halfway back doing crazy pulls left and right at about 50mph and when we got back said "Well, I wouldn't worry about a tire falling off or anything, the car is 7 years old sometimes you have to deal with noise" and I was like...

Then I'd swear no more than a week later I was making a normal angle left turn and heard two quick thuds (I never had a ball joint go bad but I assume the clicking they make is fairly distinguishable to know it's not a ball joint?) and then it seemed that the whirring/growling was now noticeable at 35mph and above. I know a click/clunk/grind all sounds different to different people especially non-mechanics but just follow me.

Outside of that ONE left turn I've literally never heard or felt anything through the steering wheel but thump/clunks when going over bumps slowly (possibly motor mount related since I don't really feel or hear it if I have any decent amount of speed?) and whirring sounds when going over 35mph. I have heard of some motor mount situations where those thump/clunks where caused by the engine actually hitting off the frame(?) but I don't think I'd be lucky enough to have that be the cause of the whirring.

The real kicker? I've tried narrowing down the whirring/growling and thump/thud to what side it's on by bouncing the hell out of the car and shaking it left->right but outside of jacking it up since I don't have a garage and it's too damn cold out to work outside currently but I'm confident the whirring/growling sound at 35mph and above is the driver side since turning wheel left you hear nothing but straight and/or turning wheel right you hear it. I couldn't reproduce the thump/thud.

The only other thing I've tried is having the key in the ON position and turning the wheel all the way left-right makes no noise outside of if I quick "snap" the steering wheel left there's a quick, faint click, which my normal mechanic says don't worry about? It certainly could always be like that and it's just me trying to pull my hair out over the problem but yea.

Now, I did just put the top motor mount on today and the deep thump/thud that sounded like the car was going to fall apart on the next bump is completely gone but the noise must have been covering up the "real" culprit as now it seems like not every bump, like before, but certain some bumps there's a faint thump/thud nothing like it was before. I'm kinda praying it's nothing more than the tranny motor mount or bottom motor mount as far as the "new", faint thump/thud... since the middle (some parts places call it the rear?) motor mount is a royal pita to get to.

Realistically, I'm rather concerned that with my **** luck something (WHATEVER it is, bearing, axle, ball joint) catastrophic is going to break before it gets worse/makes more pronounced noise, etc. Ahh, the life of a layman, hearing noises from the front-end praying the wheel won't be falling off.

So overall, nothing has broken on the car and I plan on jacking it up tomorrow or Tuesday and shaking the **** out of everything underneath but anyone have any guesses on where to look for either the whirring/growling and the "new" thump/thud? I took it to a mechanic last year when I was having thump/thuds on a dead stop acceleration and had a guy telling me I needed a new CV, Hub, Bearing, Control Arm, Ball Joint and wanting to whack me $1200... I don't feel like throwing parts at the thing which I'm fairly certain he was going to be doing... but in the same sense I almost know he was just looking for a payday with me. :P In the end, the problem/sound a year ago was nothing more than a $30 outer tie rod, which I replaced both sides. Never had noises for a year since then.

Finally, completely sorry for the wall of text, and if darthroush is looking, I'm definitely going to measure the top motor mount since I didn't realize you needed to.

 

My work schedule is jacked right now and I'm running on a few hours of sleep for the past few days (and am going to bed after I type this), so I'm just going to keep it short right now and ask: outside of the tie-rod ends that you replaced recently, have you checked everything else? Not just that something is broken, but worn too? Ball joints, control arm bushings, sway bar mounts and bushings and strut top hats (mounts).