Clicking in front suspension??

[Lazzman]

I have a 1998 Explorer Sport with 121k miles, mostly highway. Within the past year I have been getting a clickity click sound in the front suspension that can be felt in the steering wheel. I recently replaced the upper and lower ball joints, control arms, stabilizer bushings, shocks and stabilizer links which did not fix this problem.

It is most prominent and noticable when coming to a stop and accelerating from a stop, whenever the enertia from motor or brakes causes the truck to lean forward or back on its frame. Also it can be felt when going slow, under 20 mph and going over uneven or slighlty bumpy pavement. The dealership could not figure out the problem and instead told me that I needed to have the driveshaft lubed- a $175 waste of money. I know some component must be worn out but I can't figure out which one, especially since I have replaced so many.

What could this be and what suspension components start to wear out at 100k+ milage point. I rarely take her off road and mostly do highway and city driving.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[95vikesfan]

I have a 95 Explorer that had a similar problem. Upper and lower ball joints as well as tie rod ends were all replaced and fixed it.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

A clicking sound can be a symptom of failing CV axles, but that usually isn't felt in the steering wheel.

 

[Lazzman]

Hmmm, I have a suspicion that it is the Tie Rods. I beleive this for several reasons. A year ago the upper and lower balls joints were replaced by the dealer along with both upper and lower control arms at a cost of $1340 also the bushings on the sway bar were badly decomposed and those were replaced also. I am not sure if they replaced the tie rod ends, but I heard nothing about them, I will have to check the receipt. The steering wheel does seem to be a bit off center and dealers have been able to diagnose the problem as of yet. You can definately feel this click in the steering wheel as I mentioned in the above post.

I am in the process of upgrading the suspension and just installed 4 Edelbrock shocks and Engergy Suspension sway bar bushings and Sway bar links. What should I look for when inpspecting the Tie rod ends and other suspention components?? Can I replace them myself or should I take it to a mechanic? I am good with hand tools and can follow directions easily but do not have major experience working on cars.

 

[exploded99]

Could be rear torsion bar mounts. There are some pads between the torsion bars and the frame that wear out.

You can make the noise by hitting a speed bump at the right speed to bounce your hood up in the air. Do this at the right speed - you want your hood going up as you drive off the bump. Your front wheels will drop, fully extending your front suspension.
(Too fast, hood never bounces up, too slow, hood is going down as you come off the bump and your suspension does not extend.)

You will probably hear the click.

Now, remove the rear covers (4 bolts) and spray wd40 liberally. See if that makes the noise go away or change.

If so, you will need new pads, and possibly new torsion bars and torsion bar adjusters.

Had this in my Ex. It was less than three years old, about 32k, so it was warranty - got lucky. It is a hard problem to track down.

Also, if the speed bump test works the dealer or a good front end shop can confirm it with the electronic noise sniffers they use to find front end noises.

 

[Lazzman]

Thanks I will look into that. I checked the tie rod ends and they seemed fine to me so I don't think it is them.. Most of the front suspension is new so I can't figure out what else could be the problem.

Definately a clicking type noise, definately can be felt in the steering wheel. Also getting a slight vibration around 70mph could be tied to the problem.

Running out of area's to look at, I suppose for all the works thats gone into a front end with 122k on it, it should be tight but one last thing seems to be holding it back.

 

[hunterdan]

I have a similar problem on my 98 sport. You can feel the click when stopping or just hitting the gas from a stop. I replaced the shocks, that stopped the noise for about 2 days, then it came back, i then had to replace the sway bar endlinks, that helped some, but I still get it once in a while. I checked the tie rods, and they are all tight with no slop in them, as well as the balljoints. I just usually spray some good lube around the control arm bushings, swaybar mounts and let it go, seems to prevent the noise fairly well.

Dan

 

[Lazzman]

Thanks I will give that a try. Lots of people say it could be the ball joints from what I describe, one mechanic even told me that Explorers where notorious for ball joint problems?? Anyway I had them replaced about a year and a half ago upper and lower along with all the neighboring hardware, control arm etc... Three weeks after that I took the vehicle to another ford dealership and they told me bad ball joints were put in. Took it back to the original dealer who of course denied this fact, but said they would fix it.

So its a year and a half later and something is still funky under there, wont bring it back to the original dealer. I hate repair shops $1460 for what?? :fire:

 

[jp450]

Check the sway bar links too. Mine always loosten up causing a clicking noise that can be felt in the steering wheel.

 

[Lazzman]

I just upgraded the front sway bar links with Energy Suspension units, for $30 I highly recommend them

I went over my receipt from the dealer and it seems they only replaced the U/L ball joints and upper and lower control arms. They did not touch the Tie rods which have 125k on them. It seems strange to me but also on the receipt they replaced the front left hub assembly?? That cost $260 just for the part?

I am going to have a local mechanic check it out tommorow. More importantly it is not just the noise it feels loose and clanky through the steering wheel and vibrates at 70 mph leading me to believe something is worn out.

 

[exploded99]

Ok, the loose feel in the steering wheel points away from the rear torsion bar mounts, they are not going to affect steering. Though the noise and the loose steering could be two different things?

The dealer and most good front end shops have "ears" which are electronic microphones that they clip to the front end to locate noise. Of course, you have to be able to reproduce that click noise in order for that to be of use. So try the speed bump test and see if that makes the noise - then they can use the ears.

After a couple of trys at fixing the click in my Ex's front end, I got tired of throwing parts at it with no fix. My solution was to find a way to consistently make the noise. Then I asked for the service manager at the dealer, and took him on a test drive. Showed him how to reproduce the noise. Sometimes you gotta bypass those service writers at the counter.

My suggestion, given the amount of money you have spent, is to not do any further repairs until you have two shops that agree on the diagnosis of the problem. I would try and find a shop that specializes in front end work.

 

[Lazzman]

Yeah, I think your right... There are so many damn components in the front end. I really do think it is the tie rod ends though for a number of symptoms. I will ask my mechanic before he aligns the truck.

 

[Lazzman]

Just an update for anyone that was curious, it seems to be the rear Torsion bar mounts.... As Explode suggested, now I have to find a way to obtain & replace them.

 

[exploded99]

So that WAS the click. Voice of experience: make sure you put in new torsion bar adjusting bolts when you fix it. They are coated with a dry adhesive and are supposed to be use one time bolts.

They are important to hold the correct front ride height. Ride height changes, alignment changes. Alignment changes, tires get screwed up.

Tie rod ends are cheap. As long as the inner tie rods that connect to the steering rack are ok, replace em when you do the T bars.

Then you are probably good to go another 75k given the work you've done!

BTW, I use ExplodeD99 as opposed to ExplodeR99 because of all the &#@#@^&!!!!! front end problems I have had. My front end has been on self destruct since I bought the truck new. Like you, I drive on all new parts.

Check the junkyard for T bars if you don't mind used parts.

 

[Lazzman]

Good advice thanks.....

 

[Exploress]

I just posted a thread with the same noise problems, only it's coming from the rear, but my truck still shakes when I get to 70 mph, what is it????

I have a 1998 Explorer Sport with 121k miles, mostly highway. Within the past year I have been getting a clickity click sound in the front suspension that can be felt in the steering wheel. I recently replaced the upper and lower ball joints, control arms, stabilizer bushings, shocks and stabilizer links which did not fix this problem.

It is most prominent and noticable when coming to a stop and accelerating from a stop, whenever the enertia from motor or brakes causes the truck to lean forward or back on its frame. Also it can be felt when going slow, under 20 mph and going over uneven or slighlty bumpy pavement. The dealership could not figure out the problem and instead told me that I needed to have the driveshaft lubed- a $175 waste of money. I know some component must be worn out but I can't figure out which one, especially since I have replaced so many.

What could this be and what suspension components start to wear out at 100k+ milage point. I rarely take her off road and mostly do highway and city driving.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Lazzman]

There are not nearly as many components in the rear as in the front so it would be easier to track down, although it could be a number of things like broken shock, loose shackle in leaf spring, frozen brake drum etc... Try and pin point the sound if you can. That would make it a lot easier. Recently my sport would make a howling noise when I backed up, turned out to be that I needed new rear brake pads.

 

[Exploress]

Thanks Lazzman, I will check it out and see. I figured it had to be something related with the brakes. We'll see...

There are not nearly as many components in the rear as in the front so it would be easier to track down, although it could be a number of things like broken shock, loose shackle in leaf spring, frozen brake drum etc... Try and pin point the sound if you can. That would make it a lot easier. Recently my sport would make a howling noise when I backed up, turned out to be that I needed new rear brake pads.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

I just posted a thread with the same noise problems, only it's coming from the rear, but my truck still shakes when I get to 70 mph, what is it????

A shake @ 70 could be unbalanced tires or bad u-joints/driveshaft, among other things. If you know the tires are ok, take it to a tranny shop for a "free diagnostic check" and see what they say.