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Front end clunk - bushing failure?

My 2013 Explorer clunking sound in the front end has been fixed. At least in the two days that I have had it. The problem was the lower control arm bushing that was wearing out. It took three visits and they found my issue only after another one came in making the same clunking, but louder, and they easisly found the problem and checked mine and sure enough, fixed.


Did this fix it, for sure? If so, which parts were impacted, exactly? There is more than one bushing in the control arm - one in the front and back.

Thanks!
Shumax
 



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Yes, it did fix my problem. I have a tag hanging on my left lower control arm and the p/n is: MCF-2383-GB5Z-3079-F. Not sure if that is a good number, but that's what's on the sticker.

Hope this helps.
 






I got both lower control arm bushings replaced with moog ones. I also recently had PTU replaced. My ex still is overall clunky when going over uneven roads.
 






It looks to be that the dealership had replaced the entire lower control arm.
 






Clunck still there

So I'll keep it short. 2011 Explorer LTD clunking in right front very noticeable when driving under twenty mph. New rack(recall), new right strut, new strut bearing, new right sway bar link. Now new lower arms and bushings. Waiting for arms to arrive. Dealer has had car for three weeks. They were nice enough to give me a loaner to drive. Service writer said they had to put the car on the alignment rack and rev it while another tech. physically felt parts for vibration. That's dedication! Will post results. They actually told me if this does not fix it they will have to return it to me as is and stated there should not be a safety concern. This is a CPO car that has 59k and was only driven 6k this past year. Bought it with 53k one year ago. I have a company car (Nissan Murano 156k drives like new) so this car only gets out on the weekends and family trips. I told them if its not fixed don't call me, call the used car manager because their about to have to buy a car back. Read my other post and you will see my nightmare. I remember a similar sound from the rear right shock on my 99 ford expedition. The bottom shock bolt wore out the hole in the lower shock mount. The mount is welded to the axle so there was no fix for ford using a too soft of metal. Just had to live with it. I am not living with this again in a $48k vehicle. My dealer is trying. Thank goodness for that and my extended warranty. The extended warranty is a MUST do for this car. And not some deal from an outside company, get the Ford one. I've listened to to many service writers talk about the headache getting repairs approved from outside insures. Just my 2 cents.
 






So I'll keep it short. 2011 Explorer LTD clunking in right front very noticeable when driving under twenty mph. New rack(recall), new right strut, new strut bearing, new right sway bar link. Now new lower arms and bushings. Waiting for arms to arrive. Dealer has had car for three weeks. They were nice enough to give me a loaner to drive. Service writer said they had to put the car on the alignment rack and rev it while another tech. physically felt parts for vibration. That's dedication! Will post results. They actually told me if this does not fix it they will have to return it to me as is and stated there should not be a safety concern. This is a CPO car that has 59k and was only driven 6k this past year. Bought it with 53k one year ago. I have a company car (Nissan Murano 156k drives like new) so this car only gets out on the weekends and family trips. I told them if its not fixed don't call me, call the used car manager because their about to have to buy a car back. Read my other post and you will see my nightmare. I remember a similar sound from the rear right shock on my 99 ford expedition. The bottom shock bolt wore out the hole in the lower shock mount. The mount is welded to the axle so there was no fix for ford using a too soft of metal. Just had to live with it. I am not living with this again in a $48k vehicle. My dealer is trying. Thank goodness for that and my extended warranty. The extended warranty is a MUST do for this car. And not some deal from an outside company, get the Ford one. I've listened to to many service writers talk about the headache getting repairs approved from outside insures. Just my 2 cents.

I've had the front struts, strut mounts, sway bar bushings, stab links and sub frame bushings replaced. Also drove with the bumper off to see if it was the broken weld issue. Nope. Still clunked at low speeds in parking lots - sounds like a large metal ball knocking around in a wooden box. Now, it's having both lower control arms/bushings/ball joints replaced. It was in the shop for a month and they called Friday to let me know the clunking is gone and the car no longer shakes on the highway. I don't want to sound negative, but I will believe it when I see it. Should get it later today. If it's still there, it will be gone in a week. I'm done dealing with it...

Shumax
 


















I've had the front struts, strut mounts, sway bar bushings, stab links and sub frame bushings replaced. Also drove with the bumper off to see if it was the broken weld issue. Nope. Still clunked at low speeds in parking lots - sounds like a large metal ball knocking around in a wooden box. Now, it's having both lower control arms/bushings/ball joints replaced. It was in the shop for a month and they called Friday to let me know the clunking is gone and the car no longer shakes on the highway. I don't want to sound negative, but I will believe it when I see it. Should get it later today. If it's still there, it will be gone in a week. I'm done dealing with it...

Shumax
Keep me, I mean us, posted. I hope your truck's knocking is gone. I've been lucky my service writer is new and young. He really tries. I don't blame you on selling. My problem is I hate losing a year of depreciation and I don't even know what truck I'll buy to replace this one. Every Mfg. has problems today. I'd love to keep it but what happens if Ford fixes it now and then I have to go through this all over again in another 30k to 40k miles. It's not worth it. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Every time I drive this truck, I have to keep my fingers crossed that nothing happens. Thats no way to drive a $48k truck. I don't know if I'll ever have a peace of mind with this truck after all I've been through. Every time I get a loaner or rental car, I can't help to immediately compare how nice the little toyota or honda drives. AND without all the other crazy problems my truck has had, I might add. These rental cars cost half as much and drive twice as nice. My wife tells me I drive like a old man in the Exp and a teenager in the rental cars. I'm almost always tense in the Exp or anxious that something is going to go wrong. Some say time behind the wheel will heal all wounds but I hardly get to drive it since it's in the shop all the time. My current loaner has the dealers name all over it. So now I have to advertise for the dealer as well. My neighbors all think I work there now since I'm always driving their loaners. I digress. I'm a simple guy who always bought used cars with twice the miles and half the price of this one. I work hard and decided to finally treat myself to a piece of luxury or so I thought. My wife says it's just a car but I've been a car car guy since I could drive and a car is more than that to me, it's personal. I take very good care of my cars and always get above average price for them when I finally sell one because people know its been well maintained. Friends see my Exp and say wow, now that's a nice ride. Then they hear my story and say wow, you should sue. If I had a nickle for every time I heard that...Ford's CS has been there for me on every repair but just the fact that there have been so many repairs leaves a lot to be desired.
 






Getting the lower control arm replaced WILL fix the problem.
 






I got the vehicle back and it is WORSE than it was when I took it in. They replaced BOTH front lower control arms, including the rear mount/bushing. They also replaced the front struts and mounts under warranty. They used the chassis ears on it, etc. They told me Friday "they got it." If this is what they mean by "they got it," I would run from this place. Yikes.

I used to have a dull thumping at low speeds and now it's a metal on metal clanking sound when going over bumps even at 30+mph. It used to only make the dull thumping sound at low speeds in a parking lot. The front end does feel tight, I will give it that.

I've been battling this since May 8th. I'm done with it. Perhaps it's a better fit for another owner? It's just not going to be me. At some point, you can't keep battling the same issue and spending $ on it with no resolution.

I'll start the process to get rid of it later today.

Good luck to all of you!
Shumax
 






That truly sucks. I don't blame you for wanting anything other than this truck. Wished it would have turned out better for you. The replacement of a lower control arm was all that I needed, but your issue is borderline ridiculous. Sorry.
 






Crap, I was really hoping the arms fixed your problems like others in this forum. I wonder if all these repairs show up on my carfax? How could I possibly sell this fairly new car with a carfax with a list of repairs as long as my arm. If these unresolved repairs actually make it hard for you to sell, you may need to talk to someone more experienced in diminished value. Sorry and Good Luck!
 






Smooth and quiet

Just got my car back from the dealer. They replaced both upper strut bearings. The passenger side was replaced two weeks ago but the tech said it was defective. They also replaced both struts, passenger side sway bar link, passenger side lower control arm assembly, and driver side lower control arm rear "hydro" bushing. Drove nice and quiet on the way home from the dealer except for when the Nav. System timed out and it told me the SD card was defective. I can't win. Just when I was thrilled about the front end finally being quiet this happens. I have to say they really did everything they could for me. The mechanic clocked over twenty hours fixing it. Thats just about all the moving parts on the passenger side there is. Thank goodness it was under the CPO warranty. I'm starting to think the rear "hydro" bushings on the lower control arms may have been the key to this puzzle. I don't know if the limited comes with different bushings than the xlt but I was looking at a picture of the bushing on eBay and it just looked like a big rubber bushing inside a big aluminum ring with mounting tabs. I don't know why my repair report says "hydro" bushing. Anyways, she is fixed and now it's time to move on the the next problem, the Nav. Will wait to see if the Nav. system acts up again and then maybe I'll try a new SD card with the updated maps. Hope everyone gets their cars fixed! Back when I was a mechanic I always said "if it's man made, it can be man fixed, just add money" I can't remember how I herd that or were it came from.
 






Are the upper strut bearings badly designed or something? I've read on this forum that the replacement motorcraft ones are better than the stock ones. Does anyone know if anyone else manufactures compatible upper strut bearings?
 






Somewhere else in this forum someone wrote about the strut bearings that were installed on the assembly line uses two plastic washers greased up. The new ones have two steel washers with a ring of ball bearings like a thrust bearing. That person also said the new bearing can still easily get dirt in them and can get gritty especially for people who drive on dusty roads. Several of my other cars actually have dust caps on top on the strut bearings to limit the amount of dirt that could enter fron the top at least. I may fashion some sorta of cap to cover the tops of my new strut bearings. My dodge challenger has really nice covers that snap onto the strut bearing bolts. As for the bottom on the strut bearing I think just the position way up in the strut tower in the car makes it difficult but not impossible for dirt to get in. My opinion is that a car this heavy stretches the weight limit of a macpherson strut set up and the strut bearings. My 1980 rabbit gti had this same set up.
 






Tsb 12-8-24

I think ford should extend the TSB 12-8-24 to apply to the ford explorer as well. I know this TSB is for the 11-13 Mustang but the bushing the TSB addresses is about the same one on the explorer and covers about same complatints explorer owners are having. It would make sence that problems with this hydro type of bushing would migrate to all vehicles that uses it. You would think someone at ford would think about this.
 






Dreaded front end clunk, no warranty...

Ok guys, I have the front end clunk. 2011 (early) limited AWD with 80k. I'm out of warranty now. I'm planning on tackling the job. I have read about all the different problems. Has anybody tackled this job themselves? Any special concerns? Other than struts what other items should I replace?

Thanks!
Yaakmt
 






Front End thumping noise

I have experienced this noise as well - turning in forward/reverse, low speeds. Noticed that in recent weeks the front end suspension doesn't feel the same. Just couldn't put my finger on it. At first, the noise came as a surprise and I was sure that we ran over something, but now it is happening with regular frequency. Our 2013 sport just turned 50k in miles, no warranty. Appears to me by the length of this thread and similar issues on other Ford vehicles (ie 2015 Mustang - we own one of those as well and have already had issues at less than 15k miles), that Ford should have some TSB's and extension of warranties on this set of problems.:mad:
 



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I got the vehicle back and it is WORSE than it was when I took it in. They replaced BOTH front lower control arms, including the rear mount/bushing. They also replaced the front struts and mounts under warranty. They used the chassis ears on it, etc. They told me Friday "they got it." If this is what they mean by "they got it," I would run from this place. Yikes.

I used to have a dull thumping at low speeds and now it's a metal on metal clanking sound when going over bumps even at 30+mph. It used to only make the dull thumping sound at low speeds in a parking lot. The front end does feel tight, I will give it that.

I've been battling this since May 8th. I'm done with it. Perhaps it's a better fit for another owner? It's just not going to be me. At some point, you can't keep battling the same issue and spending $ on it with no resolution.

I'll start the process to get rid of it later today.

Good luck to all of you!
Shumax

There are only so many things you can do to fix passenger side clunking or creaking noises and you have done almost all of them, at least related to the suspension. Some of the fixes are as follows:

- If the clunking seems loud and almost like metal on metal and happens while driving straight and turning over speed bumps, it could be strut mounts. 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.

- Other possibilities are the ball joints, control and sway arm bushings.

- Lastly if your getting an almost creaking type or slight clunking noise when turning right over uneven surfaces or speed bumps from the passenger side, it could be the subframe bushings. I had mine replaced and now there is absolutely no noise anymore. It was a long drawn out process, but I finally have no noise when driving over any bump or uneven surface straight or turning.
 






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