Other than my AC compressor going out recently, I believe I am experiencing my first real problem with the car.
Today the car started making a sort of grinding/clunking noise when turning left. As far as I can tell, it is coming from front driver side axle. There is a bit of play in it when I move it with my hand. The lower ball joint, tie rod, steering rack, shock/strut, and sway bar seem to be fine. I checked the passenger side axle for comparison and it has a tiny bit of play but not nearly as much as the driver side.
Parts shopping for this car is super fun. There are very few aftermarket parts available for this car.
A quick search shows this part at a discounted price of $741 plus shipping.
https://www.mitsubishipartswarehouse...wzLWdhcw%3D%3D
I called my local LKQ and ordered a used one for $98 including tax. It is coming from a car that had 2,000 miles and it should be here on Wednesday.
Hopefully I am replacing the correct part, but even if I did mess up and order the wrong thing, its cheaper than paying a mechanic's labor. The strut seemed good but its the only other thing I can think of that would be causing noise.
The symptoms I am having are what you would expect from a bad CV joint (Axle) so I think I am on the right track.