Clanking noise from front wheels?

91 Accord LX.

I don't know that it's the engine, I suspect it's the wheels. It is
audible at lower speeds (under 10 mph). The best way I can describe it
is a clanking noise as opposed to a grinding noise.

As far as I can tell, the car is driving fine - I get on the highway to
to to work everyday. Anti-Freeze filled, oil change done, tires changed
and balanced....

I put the question mark because I'm not even sure that the wheels are
actually the problem.

 

Some ideas:

Maybe start by putting the front of the car on jackstands and grasping each
front wheel at first the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions; then the 3
o'clock and 9 o'clock positions and pushing/pulling so as to seek play in
the wheel. There's supposed to be practically none.

If someone puts their head under the car and looks at the suspension system
ball joints at the same time, he/she might also see some movement that's
not supposed to be there

Possibly a bad wheel bearing might be behind this.

Does the noise sound different on turns? Possibly a steering system tie rod
come loose or bent.

Hit anything that might have got into the undercarriage lately? Or that
might have bent a wheel rim?

 

-----------------------

Retorque the lug nuts with the wrench that came with the car. Best to
do it before going anywhere

'Curly'

 

Are you turning when this happens? If so, sounds like failed CV joints.
Peek underneath at the inside of the wheels and see if there is grease
flung everywhere.

 

GBU:

Agree with Curly:First thing to do- Check torque on lugnuts, especially
if rims are alloy. First action to take when you notice any noises when
moving. Alloy rims are notorious for lugnuts loosening, especially after
having been recently removed and retightened. Symptoms of loose lugnuts may
be similar to bad wheel bearing noise: whines at highway speeds, gets worse
when negotiating a curve in one direction and quiets down when curving in
the other direction. Hard to localize wheel bearing noise; I just paid a
dealer to change the wrong one, and then had to pay again to have them
change the bad one.
To test for bad axles: look for split-open drive boots. If the boot has
split open, grease has been flung out and grit and water have gotten in.
Also, find a wide open space like a parking lot, turn the wheel sharply to
one side(without holding it tightly agains the stop on the steering wheel),
and (safely!)perform tight doughnut like circles in both forward and reverse
and listen for axle noise. If bad, it may click while turning.
My opinion regarding repair/replacement of boots: it's already too late
for the axle, and it's ultimately more cost-effective to leave it alone and
plan to change out the entire axle instead. You are going to pay a lot to
have boots replaced or axles rebuilt, and it may be more cost-efficient to
just have the axle replaced; especially since many after-market axles are
warranted for life of the car.
Doc

Disclaimer: Much of the information I pass on is speculation, based on my
experience with Honda transmissions. My experience includes 8 years building
and rebuilding Honda torque convertors, 6 years of
building/analyzing/rebuilding Honda automatic transmissions, and 10 years as
owner of Honda Accords(currently 5). Please use this information for
reference only.

 

Interesting that none of you have suggested Engine problems.

I haven't checked it out by the way, I probably won't until this
weekend.

My reasoning is that so far, it's driving well and the breaks seem
fine. I was going to change the tire and put it back on, but then the
lugnuts were on tight enough that I felt I better not mess with it.

Thanks for all your advice, I'll get it checked as soon as I can, I
hope it survives until then.