Front suspension clunking noise when going over bumps

[PEAR0119]

Hey guys, I need your help once again. Ever since I bought the explorer about a year ago there has been a clunking noise in the front end when going over large bumps. Now, since the truck is a DD the clunk has gotten a lot worst. Every time I go down a bumpy road there is something that clunks in the front end. Small bumps I hear nothing and now I am starting to feel the clunk in the floor, its also clunking now when I hit a patch of deep snow.

When driving down the bumpy road and the front end clunking away I get this sensation that something is lose and slopping around up there.

I don't want to bring it to the dealer, but at this point I don't feel I have a choice since its way too cold and there is snow everywhere (I wish I had a garage).

 

[jdc28va]

I had the same problem.

New lower ball joints, upper control arms, and struts cleared it up.

 

[Reddawg]

Agree

I had the same noise and it turned out that it was my bushings in the upper control arms. I replaced the rear upper control arm bushings on each side and problem was gone. It was a bear getting the old ones out, but money is tight so I put up the good fight.

 

[PEAR0119]

New lower ball joints, upper control arms, and struts cleared it up.

Thats actually good new, since all of that is covered under my Extended Ford warranty.

I have been doing some research though, and it seems like there is a very common issue with the brake caliper bolts coming loose and causing this noise as well. The dealership did mess with the brakes right before I bought it too, so I will be checking this tonight when I get home (don't want to pay the dealer $100 to tighten a few bolts).

edit: It also seems to be a lot worst when its cold out.

 

[jdc28va]

edit: It also seems to be a lot worst when its cold out.

That to me makes the caliper bolt issue even more unlikely. Easy to check though.

 

[PEAR0119]

Thats what I am thinking, but couldn't hurt to at least check. Is there a way to easily check to see if the ball joints and bushings are gone? There doesn't seem to be any play in the wheel.

 

[jdc28va]

Thats what I am thinking, but couldn't hurt to at least check. Is there a way to easily check to see if the ball joints and bushings are gone? There doesn't seem to be any play in the wheel.

When you say there doesn't seem to be any play in the wheel, do you mean while you're driving / steering, while the truck is up on a jack and you're checking for play with your hands, or while the truck is up on a jack and you're trying to move the wheel with a metal bar from under the tire?

 

[PEAR0119]

I never lifted the truck up I just grabbed the wheel and tried to move it side to side and pushed in on the top of the wheel to see if it would move any. I know this is not the best way to test but its all I could do with all the snow outside. I really need a lift and a garage.

 

[PEAR0119]

Well on my way home today, the bumpy ass road that usually makes something clunk forever up front didn't do a thing. The only difference between every other day and today was the fact that it was pouring rain and everything was wet. I have no idea how the water would cause thing not to clunk is beyond me. Any thoughts?

 

[StryctNy9e]

I dont know much about the 2006 but i have the same noise on my 1993 XLT and i think i pin pointed it to my radius arm bushings. I am going to replace soon and you should give yours a look, couldnt hurt.

 

[PEAR0119]

for sure I am just waiting for some nicer weather. I have about 3 inches or rain in my driveway right now (Gotta love the city for making the sidewalk several inches higher then the house). I am suspecting a bushing is gone somewhere, cause the entire front end feels very sloppy when going down bumpy roads or over large bumps.

 

[StryctNy9e]

I have the same problem with the rain in oregon But it will go away one of these days. Only benefit of rain is mud!!!

 

[PEAR0119]

Only issue is here, the rain is turning the snow into slushy crap. I don't mind cause I just plow through it, its the other people that worry me.

Again this morning in the rain I never heard any clunking noise over the bumpy road. This makes no sense to me, if there is something loose/worn out shouldn't it make the clunk no matter the weather conditions?

 

[paulyjsob]

Try going over the potholes with your foot on the brake. My front end makes a clunking sound lately, but if I apply the brakes while hitting the pothole, no clunking.

 

[PEAR0119]

I tried that, and the clunking is not as pronounced but seems to still be there. I will be getting rid of the lake they call my driveway tonight and taking the wheel off and see if there is anything obvious.

 

[FordService]

Hey guys, I need your help once again. Ever since I bought the explorer about a year ago there has been a clunking noise in the front end when going over large bumps. Now, since the truck is a DD the clunk has gotten a lot worst. Every time I go down a bumpy road there is something that clunks in the front end. Small bumps I hear nothing and now I am starting to feel the clunk in the floor, its also clunking now when I hit a patch of deep snow.

When driving down the bumpy road and the front end clunking away I get this sensation that something is lose and slopping around up there.

I don't want to bring it to the dealer, but at this point I don't feel I have a choice since its way too cold and there is snow everywhere (I wish I had a garage).

PEAR0119,

This is Seni with Ford Customer Service. I am sorry your Explorer is not performing to your expectation. I can understand how this situation would be frustrating to you. I would like to look into this concern further; first, I need to obtain your vehicle information to ensure our records are accurate. Please send me your VIN, mileage, and dealer name via private message. Thank you.

Seni

 

[PEAR0119]

I have not had the chance to bring it into the local dealer yet. I just want to figure out what is wrong first before I end up spending the $100 deductible (Extended Ford Warranty) on a $30 part that I can replace myself. Or at least get under there and figure it out so I can get the dealer to take a look.

Plus having this as my only car to get to and from work I can't really afford any down time. I'm almost positive that it is a upper/lower ball joint or a bushing that is gone.

 

[PEAR0119]

Well, I found a source of the clunking noise. Got under the car yesterday to start looking for the cause, and I found that out of the 6 push tabs that hold the front lower valance on were missing and the thing was just kinda free floating in there. Went out and some new fasteners and that is nice and quiet now.

With that being said, the main clunking noise remains and is more pronounced since there is nothing else rattling. The upper and lower ball joints look good, pried on them as much as I could without any movement. The tie rods are looking kinda weak as I can rotate and move them by hand, but I don't think that this is the issue. The noise usually appears only when one wheel is travelling up and down and the other is on a smooth surface, which leads me to believe that the swaybar links are toast. I took a look at them and they seem to be very loose, with about a 1/4" gap between the bushing and swaybar end. Also, the swaybar bracket to body also have about a 1/4 gap above the swaybar between the bar and bushing. I do not believe that there should be any gap or play in there.

Now my question is, is there really any way to test the swaybar links for noise or to see if they are in fact toasted? Thanks again for the help.

 

[thebrakeman]

If this primarily happens when the front wheels are moving independant of the other (and no noise when you go straight over a speed bump), you are right in that its something to do with the sway bar.

Either the sway bar bushing(s) are worn out, or the sway bar end links are on their way out. I don't know the configuration on the Ex/Mountys, but the links attach the ends of the sway bar to something solid on the suspension (usually the strut).

The bushings were a common problem on Chrysler minivans, and I changed them on both of mine which solved this single-wheel bumping sound. Best $12 ever spent.

I recommend the Moog brand for suspension parts if available. They tend to be "reengineered" and badged "problem solvers", meaning they are stronger than OEM to solve known problems. Yet they are priced competitively.

 

[PEAR0119]

It never dawned on me, going over speed bumps it would never make the noise when both wheels are traveling together. The noise only happens when they travel independently of each other.

The endlinks attach the swaybar to the LCA, on this truck anyway. When looking at the swaybar the bushings and links didn't look very good to me. So gonna stop at the parts store tonight and see if I can pick one up. Hopefully this fixes the issue.