Clunking in front right, not ball joints . . .

[paperdesk]

I had a bad clunking sound in the front end of my car, I was getting my tires changed, and asked them to have a look at it. They said I had bad sway bar link bolts. I changed them, and the noise got better for a while. Then it came back. Had my mechanic look at it and he said ball joints were bad on one side. They were changed, and the noise got better but is still there. They looked it over again and couldn't find the problem but said the shocks were bad and might be causing the noise. I replaced the shocks . . . same noise.

Next they said it must be the ball joints on the side that hadn't been replaced, even though they "seemed" fine but may have sideways play. I contested that conclusion, but they said everything else checked out, and all bushings etc. were fine.

Now I had no money to pay a mechanic to work on it, so I replaced the ball joints myself, and the noise is still there!

I'm wondering what could be the problem? It sounds like it's coming from the front right, and is only really noticable when I'm driving over a bumpy gravel road, and is especially noticable when it's washboard. I'm wondering if it could be something loose bumping, but I can't imagine what. Brake calipers are tight, tie rod seems fine etc.

Could it be sway bar bushings? How would i know? Any ideas would be very welcome! Guess this got a little long, so if you're still with me, please post!

Thanks, Ted

 

[Turdle]

Please check the brake caliper bracket bolts-
on the inside of the spindle. They have been known to work loose.

Other things to check-
is the bumpstop loose or worn?

Are the swaybar frame bushings worn? ( check the endlinks again also)

Hub?
CV axle shaft?

 

[corkey]

sounds kind of silly to suggest this, but mine did that too, and it was the exhaust ,,

 

[paperdesk]

Thanks for the ideas so far! I did check the endlinks, they look fine, also the brake calipers are tight. The mechanic says the swaybar bushings are good, and they do look fine to me, but I wouldn't really know how to tell if they're bad. I'll check the bumpstop's and who know's maybe it is exhaust or something like that just rattling! I'll have a good look at it tonight at see if it's either of those things.

Ted

 

[Turdle]

Not the calipers-
the caliper brackets-

they bolt onto the inside of the spindle-you couldn't have checked them that fast--

 

[paperdesk]

I think the caliper bolts you're talking about are the ones that I had to remove when replacing the ball joints, so I know they're good and tight! I thought I was going to break the bolts removing them!

Ted

 

[paperdesk]

Here's an interesting twist, I removed the sway bar, drove the car a little and as far as I can tell the noise went away! The sway bar bushings and end link bolts are seem fine. Both endlinks were replaced within the last six months. Someone suggested that the sway bar bushings can get hard and clunk instead of cushion. Any thoughts on that?

Ted

 

[JoeMahma]

Here's an interesting twist, I removed the sway bar, drove the car a little and as far as I can tell the noise went away! The sway bar bushings and end link bolts are seem fine. Both endlinks were replaced within the last six months. Someone suggested that the sway bar bushings can get hard and clunk instead of cushion. Any thoughts on that?

Ted

I had the same problem and my sway bar bushings looked good while on the truck...until I removed them. They were brittle and worn. Put new Moog's on and noise went away. Hope ya figure it out.

 

[paperdesk]

I had the bushings off and they seemed fine as far as I could tell! I had a look under there again last night and noticed what appears to be a coolent leak coming off the block somewhere. I couldn't see where though. I also tightened up the link bushing a little and it seems the noise is gone. I'm going to have a better look to see if I can find the leak and maybe it could possibly be related? Also found a round plastic part (about 3 inches across and an inch or so tall) wedged in the frame, so I'm really wondering if something blew apart down there and was clunking before. I'll do some more digging and see if I can figure it out.

Ted

 

[Mr.Ford]

I had the exact same problem and it ended up being my tire rod ends

 

[patman]

my mothers durango did the same thing we assumed it was the ball joints...in replacing them we discovered the control arms were not bolted on tight enough...

 

[Tethy]

I know I know.. if no one has said this already, Its your radius arm bushing.
$14 dollar part. mechanic quoted me at $140. I tried shocks, ball joints, and new brakes. Finally the cheapest fix did it. On the bright side I have new shocks, ball joints, brakes ,and radius arm bushing's now.

 

[5.0]

I know I know.. if no one has said this already, Its your radius arm bushing.

I really doubt it's a radius arm bushing... he has IFS.

 

[JDraper]

If you pulled the swaybar off and the noise disappeared...it's the swaybar bushings....period. Even if they looked good, they may not have been tightened down enough, assembled correctly, or you got a crappy set. Make sure you replace all hardware as well as the bushings. This is a very common occurance in Gen II Explorers. In my '01, I had them replaced under warranty at less than 15k miles because they clunked.

 

[paperdesk]

Just as mysteriously as the sound came it seems to have gone . . . . I'm as confused as ever, but guess I'll have to just wait it out and see how things pan out. Perhaps it was the sway bar bushings and now the cold weather is over they are more supple and expanded slightly? Hard to imagine it could make a difference, but I'm almost ready to believe anything at this point . . .

 

[amys4x4explorer]

I have the same problem...

Mine just sounds like their something loose under the front of it, because when I'm driving on a rough road I can hear something that just sounds like something is being banged together, I don't really know how to explain it. I've had my ball joints replaced to but it still does it. I've had mechanics drive it on rough roads that way though and they've never said anything about the noise. I always just turn the radio up whenever I drive on a rough road. Probably not a good idea, just ignoring the problem though.