I have a 96 ES, 3.5L. On cold mornings, when I start driving the car, there is a loud clunking noise when I turn my wheel from left to right. After about 5-10 minutes of driving, the clunk goes away. Also, sometimes there is a cracking noise when I go over bumps when the car is cold...that, too goes away after a few minutes of driving.
I asked the local Dodge Dealership and they told me that a bushing in the steering column expands when it is really cold, and gets smaller when it warms up (like when I drive it and turn the wheel alot, the friction heats it up).
Has anyone else had this problem? I just had my sway bar links replaced not too long ago, and the guy at Dodge checked my tie rod ends (he reached his hand into the engine and tried twisting something, but it wouldn't budge), so he said that wasn't the problem. Any suggestions? Thanks.
I asked the local Dodge Dealership and they told me that a bushing in the steering column expands when it is really cold, and gets smaller when it warms up (like when I drive it and turn the wheel alot, the friction heats it up).
Has anyone else had this problem? I just had my sway bar links replaced not too long ago, and the guy at Dodge checked my tie rod ends (he reached his hand into the engine and tried twisting something, but it wouldn't budge), so he said that wasn't the problem. Any suggestions? Thanks.