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Front end clunk - bushing failure?




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2013 Explorer XLT with 96,000 miles just had the strut bearing replaced and the rack and pinion/ gearbox replaced. Went in for a clunking noise when moving the steering wheel back and forth. The strut bearing just happened to be the first thing they looked at since it was making a clunking noise when driving over bumps.
 






After 51,500 miles, mine is going under the knife on Friday, 7/1.. There is a loud metal clanking when going over broken pavement under 40mph. I can also hear it on the highway if there are several pieces of broken pavement in a row.

At 38k, I had the struts and strut bearings replaced. At 44k, I had the sway bar links replaced. At 46k, I had the sway bar bushings replaced. Each time, the condition seemed to go away for a while and then come back after time. Around 47k, I filled the rear hydro bushing on the front lower control arms with 3M window weld. That seemed to work for about a couple of thousand miles.

On Friday, I will have new Motorcraft OEM controls arms installed - includes the ball joint and front bushing. I am then having MOOG front, lower, rear control arm/hydro bushings installed. I am hopeful this will solve the clunk/clanking issue I am having. The entire front end feels loose.

I also plan to have them look over the tie rods and steering rack carefully.

Shumax
 






Well, I got it back today. $396 in labor to replace two front lower control arms and the rear hydro bushings. Seems steep to me. The controls arms (OEM) were $115 and $120. The rear hydro bushings (Moog parts) were $35/bushing, roughly.

Drove off and noticed it is much stiffer in the front end. Feels like a new car, which I liked. The dull thump appears to be gone; however, I've only driven 15 miles so far. What isn't gone is the metallic metal on metal knock. I was frustrated to hear that within 5 miles of leaving the dealership. I'm sort of at a loss now as the dealer said everything in the front end was very tight and appeared "new" to them.

I've recapped it before; however, in the last 14k, I've had the struts and strut bearings replaced. In the last 3-5k, roughly, the sway bar links and the sway bar bushings. Now the control arms and rear hydro bushings. It leaves the steering rack, tie rods and the sub frame bushings. I looked at the latter this evening and there appears to be a lot of rubber there.

I am stumped...

Shumax
 






The plot thickens! :)

So, 1,000 miles later after replacing both front control arms/ball joints and the rear hydro/compliance bushing, the clunk/clank beats on. Ugh! Recall, I used OEM parts on the control arm/ball joints on both sides. I used a MOOG part on the compliance bushing, though.

So, I disconnected the sway bar links - took them off and zip tied the sway bar up. Clunk continues. That eliminates the sway bar bushings and the links. I then disconnected the tie rod end from the knuckle - each side. I pulled and pushed and the inner tie rod seemed very secure. The outer was stiff and no play. In inspected the boots and they appear fine. So, those are off the list now, too.

What's odd is that I'm also now noticing a vibration in the front when I come off of a rough section of road. The wheel will shimmy just a bit and then smooth out. I'm starting to wonder if the MOOG bushing was a bad idea. Thoughts? Or, could bad strut mounts allow the wheel to shimmy a bit?

Back to the clunk: I am now suspecting the strut mounts. I had ruled them out as they were replaced 7 months (15k) ago; however, I know they are prone to going bad. Here is the condition: Driving on surface streets where there is a dip in the road that causes the wheel to drop and then suddenly come back up - happens in a nano second - I get a clunk/clank. Focus on the "clank" as that is the odd part to me. I hear a bit of metal on metal along with the clunk. From there, driving on the highway and hit several expansion joints in a row - I get a metal on metal rattling/vibration that comes through the cabin.

Finally, I've looked at the motor mounts - they appear fine to me. I can't get to the tranny mount easily, so I have not inspected that.

I'm at a loss as to what it could be outside of the strut mounts. I have an appointment on Friday with my local INDY to have the tires balanced as he does a very good job with this - read: Master of the Hunter Road Force machine! I get a vibe from 45-60mph nearly all the time. Subtle, but there. It's been 8k since I had them balanced, so it's time. He is going to look the suspension over then.

Any thoughts?
Shumax
 






The plot thickens! :)

Back to the clunk: I am now suspecting the strut mounts. I had ruled them out as they were replaced 7 months (15k) ago; however, I know they are prone to going bad. Here is the condition: Driving on surface streets where there is a dip in the road that causes the wheel to drop and then suddenly come back up - happens in a nano second - I get a clunk/clank. Focus on the "clank" as that is the odd part to me. I hear a bit of metal on metal along with the clunk. From there, driving on the highway and hit several expansion joints in a row - I get a metal on metal rattling/vibration that comes through the cabin.

Finally, I've looked at the motor mounts - they appear fine to me. I can't get to the tranny mount easily, so I have not inspected that.

I'm at a loss as to what it could be outside of the strut mounts. I have an appointment on Friday with my local INDY to have the tires balanced as he does a very good job with this - read: Master of the Hunter Road Force machine! I get a vibe from 45-60mph nearly all the time. Subtle, but there. It's been 8k since I had them balanced, so it's time. He is going to look the suspension over then.

Any thoughts?
Shumax

Balancing your tires is a good first step as well as a general visual inspection of the overall suspension.

I used to hear the noise when driving over speed bumps, so a dip also producing a vertical motion might be causing the same noise, a clank/clunk, not a creaking noise. As I've posted before, a fairly easy way to isolate the strut mount bearings is to drive slowly and crank the steering wheel back and forth swiftly and if you hear the noise then it's very likely it's the strut mounts. My mechanic drove my car very slowly in a parking lot, cranked the steering wheel back and forth and said he was 90% sure it was the passenger strut mount and he was correct.

It should also be noted that my clank/clunk was easy to detect by listening which side it was coming from, the passenger side. Hopefully you can pin point the side of your vehicle the clank/clunk is coming from.
 






Will start with that Friday, as mentioned.

Found this interesting. Called Ford today to have strut mounts replaced Mondayto see if that is the source of the clanking/clunk given the above. Got to talking about the control arm and rear hydro bushing. Ford just released an updated part. The control arm now INCLUDES the rear hydro/compliance bushing. So, finding the old, singular, rear hydro bushing has become challenging. I have Moog parts on mine but suspect they may not be strong enough as the wobble in my steering is there now from 42-65mph. Is that the bushings, bad balance or tires? If the roadforce balance does not solve my wobble, those are coming off and being replaced with the OEM version. Growing irritated with this thing. Thank goodness for the turbos or I would be moving on. Haha!

Shumax
 






Your problem, as lengthy as it is, sounds very similar to our issue. Ours turned out to be bad lower ball joints. The dealership replaced them under warranty with a 1 year warranty on the parts. That was six months ago and now our clunk is back. In the process of fixing ours they replaced the rack and pinion, both CV axles, lower control arms, and a steering linkage/bolt. I asked them specifically to look at the strut bearings and spoke to their mechanic directly during a test drive. He said he was pretty sure it wasn't the strut bearings because it wasn't loud enough. So now our clunk is back. We are in a different state now and will be working with a new dealership (small town so I'm a little concerned with their tech quality). I really find it hard to belive that it's the ball joints again, however, SHUMAX you say there is an updated part? I wonder if ours were still old versions? I get a noise when I rock the steering wheel back and forth at low speeds so it could be the strut bearings now. I don't know, I'll have to take it back in to the dealer and go in swinging and I don't like doing that but I don't want this to drag out for 3 months like it did last time.
 






I get a noise when I rock the steering wheel back and forth at low speeds so it could be the strut bearings now. I don't know, I'll have to take it back in to the dealer and go in swinging and I don't like doing that but I don't want this to drag out for 3 months like it did last time.

Rocking the steering wheel back and fourth at low speeds and hearing a clunk/clank is more than likely your strut bearings, but best to let the dealer come to their own conclusion. Hopefully you've been able to isolate it to a particular side, the front passenger side seems to be side where this occurs more times than not.
 






It has been mostly the passenger side. Here is the video from when it was the ball joints:



I need to crawl back under there again and see if they are doing the same thing. The video is short but if you watch the boot of the ball joint you will see the side to side movement.
 






It has been mostly the passenger side. Here is the video from when it was the ball joints:

I need to crawl back under there again and see if they are doing the same thing. The video is short but if you watch the boot of the ball joint you will see the side to side movement.

That's a very different noise than a strut mount bearing. You would hear a bad strut mount bearing when rocking the steering wheel back and forth at a very low speed in a parking lot, but it has more of a clank sound, almost metal on metal, like something is loose. You can also usually detect a bad strut mount bearing by driving over a speed bump making a left or right hand turn at the same time on the side of the vehicle that you think has the bad strut mount.
 






Its making noise when turning, going straight over bumps, it's all the time. If it's the ball joints again I'm going to be pretty upset. We drive this car very easily and while some roads around us are bumpy it should not warrant them going out in 6 months. Either way I'm not looking forward to working with the dealership again, even if it is a different one.
 






Its making noise when turning, going straight over bumps, it's all the time. If it's the ball joints again I'm going to be pretty upset. We drive this car very easily and while some roads around us are bumpy it should not warrant them going out in 6 months. Either way I'm not looking forward to working with the dealership again, even if it is a different one.

If it's a clank sound then it may very well be the strut mount bearings. I fully understand your frustration in that you bought a truck, but you have to drive it gentler than most cars or the front suspension fails in one way, shape or form.
 






I should write a book on this, seriously.

So, my local Firestone folks, who are AWESOME to work with, took it on today. On Tuesday, they had their Hunter Road Force machine calibrated. Awesome! We start working on my tires and instantly notice there is an issue. It keeps calling for weight all over the place. We check the road force and have 5, 10, 10 and 17. The 17 is on the passengers rear and the other 10 on the drivers rear. 10 is on passengers front and the 5 is one drivers front. We balance on this machine and it takes a while to chase. We then move to their NON road force machine to validate. Made a few minor adjustments and then moved on as everything zeroed out on this machine. Their road force machine is in need of another calibration, unfortunately.

Relative to the balance, my steering wheel shake was from 42-65mph. Now, I notice it a bit at 55mph, so it's clearly improved. After the Hunter rep is back out, I will be back for another check. I feel bad for the guys at the shop. Hard to do any better when Hunter was JUST out to calibrate the machine. Enough of this for now...

So, vibe issue somewhat resolved tells me it is NOT an issue with the rear hydro/compliance bushing I just installed. That's good, even though I have both on order. Haha.

The updated part? Ford stopped making a separate control arm/ball joint and rear, lower, hydro/compliance bushing. Part of the reason included the understanding of the pain it was to remove that rear, lower, hydro/compliance bushing and pressing the new one on. Going forward, the new part will come with the control arm/ball joint and rear, lower, hydro/compliance bushing attached. No pressing on/off. The pricing, I am told, remains around $120 for the arm/ball joint AND bushing. In the past, the arm was $120 and that bushing was another $90! Ugh. So, if you have the old setup, finding that rear, lower, hydro/compliance bushing is becoming increasingly challenging.

Relative to my knock/clunk? Keep in mind my control arm/ball joints are new. Same for the rear, lower, compliance bushings. Further, the sway bar bushings and stab links are new, too, and have been disconnected. That leaves little else but the tie rods and strut mounts. As mentioned, I disconnected the tie rods from the knuckle and noticed no play on them - inside or out - on both sides. So, Firestone loosened my strut mounts and then tightened them up. So far, 90% of the rattle is gone. If it gets worse, the strut mounts are coming out and will be replaced with new OEM units.

Will report back after the rebalance. If that does not work, I will pull both control arms and replace that rear, lower, hydro/compliance bushing with an OEM part - currently it is a MOOG part. I doubt it gets to this as the balance they did today took care of much of that wobble I had been experiencing.

Wheew- that is a lot. Thoughts?

Shumax.
 






The noise in that video is clearly the ball joint and NOT what I heard in mine. With the new part, it will be a full control arm, with the obvious integrated ball joint, and then the rear, lower, compliance/hydro bushing already pressed on. True plug-n-play. That part, as described, should be $120-140. Add in labor, and alignment, and you are close to $3-400 big ones. Ugh!
 






The updated part? Ford stopped making a separate control arm/ball joint and rear, lower, hydro/compliance bushing. Part of the reason included the understanding of the pain it was to remove that rear, lower, hydro/compliance bushing and pressing the new one on.Shumax.

I sure hope they come to the same conclusion with the internal $40 water pump, that it's pain and very expensive to remove and replace. The least they could do is to put out a TSB for the water pump and add a sensor to let owners know that it is just beginning to leak so they don't end up stranded with a seized engine.

The noise in that video is clearly the ball joint and NOT what I heard in mine. With the new part, it will be a full control arm, with the obvious integrated ball joint, and then the rear, lower, compliance/hydro bushing already pressed on. True plug-n-play. That part, as described, should be $120-140. Add in labor, and alignment, and you are close to $3-400 big ones. Ugh!

The control arm noise is not clank, but a creaking noise that occurs when driving over uneven surfaces if I recall correctly.
 






UPDATE: I received both of the rear, lower, control arm/hydro/compliance bushings. Again, difficult to find given they changed the part between it and the control arm - see above. Considering I JUST replaced the entire arm, on both sides, I needed to locate this part - or so I thought - see below.

I took the car to my Firestone shop that I trust. They heard the noise I was experiencing. They determined it was the strut mount - mostly on the drivers side. They loosened those up and then tightened them back down. The noise is nearly 90% gone. Over the very roughest sections of road, I can just hear the clank/knock. For now, I'm driving it until it becomes worse again and will then replace them.

Unfortunately, though, as they balanced my tires, I learned I have a slightly bent rim. It's bent on the inside lip and you can see the tire/wheel assembly "hop" up and down on the balancer. It's barely noticeable to the naked eye - only when you spit it on the balancer can you see it. Folks, you can balance an egg, but that doesn't mean it will roll down the road smoothly. Ugh. So, I am now on the quest to locate a different rim. Ford wants $820 for ONE rim on the Sport. YIKES!

We put it on the back, where it was, and it is not as bad. The balance was out on the front tires by .75oz on two planes. Road force was 10lbs. So, the RF figures are good. Corrected the balance and the wobble seems to be gone. So, I may not need to replace those control arm bushings after all. I think that I will keep them....just in case. :)

Any suggestions on where to find a new, to me, rim? I considered having it repaired, but sending it out is a pain. I could do it over the winter when I have the snows on, though.

Shumax
 






They determined it was the strut mount - mostly on the drivers side. They loosened those up and then tightened them back down. The noise is nearly 90% gone. Over the very roughest sections of road, I can just hear the clank/knock. For now, I'm driving it until it becomes worse again and will then replace them.

Shumax

When you say they loosened them up and re-tightened them, did they loosen the nut for the strut rod in the center of the mount, or did they loosen the 4 mounting studs that come up through the shock tower. If it was the strut rod nut, were they able to determine if perhaps is wasn't torqued down properly?
 






It was the nut in the middle. Said it was snug but not tight.
 



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I took the car to my Firestone shop that I trust. They heard the noise I was experiencing. They determined it was the strut mount - mostly on the drivers side. They loosened those up and then tightened them back down.

Any suggestions on where to find a new, to me, rim? I considered having it repaired, but sending it out is a pain. I could do it over the winter when I have the snows on, though.

Shumax

The actual strut mount is not all expensive if I recall, about $125 or so, and takes about an hour to replace, but book time could be more than that. Since they were already putting time into it, I probably would have replaced it and called it a day.

As far as getting a new "used" rim for less $820, do a search on EBay for a "2014 Ford Explorer Sport Wheel Rim" and you'll find much cheaper options with free shipping. Also if you buy one used, send the seller a message to ensure that it is not bent.
 






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