99 Sport-Front end noise-Clunk

[Dman142]

It's my first post here on the site...
I've been reading for 2 days about my problem and I thought I'd ask for a little advice.

99 Sport 4WD. 89000 miles. I have been noticing a distinct hollow sounding clunk when going over bumps, entering driveways, etc. It's coming from the Driver's Front side. I can feel a thump in the floor when this happens.
There's also a very annoying humming sound at almost any speed. I put brand new tires on and it helped but still pretty annoying. The odd part is that when I turn to the right at speed, the noise completely stops and then when I am going straight again the humming comes back. Turning to the left makes no difference, hums all the time when turning to the left and going straight.

The alignment is good, it does not pull either way, brakes work great, so I think it could be a ball joint? 4WD works fine and it shifts fine. No clunking from the drivetrain.

I have jacked the truck up on the Arm and I am able to move the top of the wheel only, not the bottom, when I grab ahold and shake. I'll try again tonight just to make sure.

The passenger side doesn't move at all. How do I determine which ball joint is bad?

Thanks
Dman

 

['97 V8]

My hub assembly, bvefore it blew, made a humming sound. i thought it was the tires but then the sound would go away turning right. My money is on the hub assembly. Now for the clunk over bumps, i think oit may be that the kevlar on top of the torsion bar key thingie is worn out and needs to be replaced.

 

[Dman142]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll have a mechanic check out the hub assembly too.
Dman

 

[gucc]

Sorry for late reply, but I had both problems. Fixed....

'97 V8 is definitely right. If your turning to the right it's most likely the left hub. Easy DYI job but the hub $$ will set you back.

The clunking may not be the tortion bar pads as I thought too. In my Mounty it was the sway bar links. Another easy fix and about $30.00 for both ends.