Clunk in the front end.....

[celly]

I've been trying to solve this issue for a few weeks now. About 2 months ago or so, I started noticing a bit of feedback in my steering wheel after I'd done road trip on the highway. Once I'd get back the city, there would be a bit of a grinding feel in the front end and it would eventually go away.

The sound then felt like it was going to the driver's side front wheel, and is more prominent when I turn left. I took my Ex to a local tire store that I've used for a while. He found that the driver's side upper ball joint had a lot of play in it so we replaced it. We also did an alignment. He told me there is no unusual wear on the tires.

The alignment did seem to make the front end feel much better, and I assume the worn ball joint made a difference too. I'm still left with a very preminent clunking sound which is more prominent when I'm turning left and doing it hard. There is this flyover onto the freeway that I try and hit at speed. The clunking sound is most prominent then and noticeable if I hit seams in the road or manhole covers (in other places than the flyover). The guy at the store and two other mechanics tried to recreate the problem and didn't really notice it.All three have had it in the hoist and all agree that my front end components all look fine and seem to be within spec.

I'm a bit stumped now. I've searched this topic at length on the forums, and most similar situations seem to point to ball joints. He made it quite clear that all my ball joints look great. He also said the tie-rod ends look fine as well.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dman726749]

t-bar adjusters

 

[smiley1]

I had something that was similar on my X. It went away when they replaced the front sway bar bushings and endlinks. whatever works...

 

[celly]

Thanks for the suggestions dudes. I'm going to try the sway bar bushing route first as I was thinking of doing that some day anyhow. Now to find "Energy Suspension" products up here in Canuckistan. Such a hassle to find high end aftermarket goodies in the Great White North.

Cheers....

 

[celly]

UPDATE:

When I started troubleshooting this weeks ago, I was convinced it was front-end issues. I took my Ex to a tire guy that I trust big time. He replaced driver's side upper ball joint as there was a lot of play. He checked out the other elements of the front end and said everything looked great. Yet the clunk remained.

I managed to find some Energy Suspension swaybar bushings/endlinks based on recommendations in this thread and just had them put in. My Ex has a much more precise feel and the upgrade definitely helped...but the CLUNK remained.

Last night I was playing under the hood and checked just about everything to see if anything was loose. Attention was given to my red-top Optima battery installed by Walmart in July. The battery definitely had some play in it. I checked Optima's website and noticed the the Walmart genius had used the GM adapter piece and not the Ford ones. A visit to Walmart this morning got me the Ford adapters (only ones they had). I wasn't even going to pay Walmart to put the battery in back in July, but the price I paid was way lower than anywhere in the city, and they also dispose of the battery for me then and there. Seemed like a good idea at the time and my overall cost including install was a great deal.

Problem solved....FINALLY. Clunk gone.

 

[smiley1]

Never would have thought... go figure.

Glad you got it fixed.

 

[410Fortune]

wow battery, hahaha I hate stupid impossible to find noises, oh and I also do all my own work for the reasons you just posted.
If somebody else does do some work, I check it

 

[celly]

wow battery, hahaha I hate stupid impossible to find noises, oh and I also do all my own work for the reasons you just posted.
If somebody else does do some work, I check it

The battery seemed stable enough. it definitely wasn't going anywhere, but there was just enough play in it to go CLUNK when the right bumps were hit. I'm not a good mechanic at all. It's a matter of finding trustworthy people to do it for me. Walmart automotive doesn't really fit that description.

 

[410Fortune]

Sears does, and around here the local Firestone's do great work.

You are mechanically inclined enough to find the problem.
And if you did your sway bar bushings I am guessing you can change a battery next time! NO time like now to start learning and collecting tools

 

[celly]

LOL

I didn't do the bushings or end links. My tire guy did those as well. About the only thing I've done to my Ex is the Volant intake, Ford Racing TB and the C&L MAF. I've paid others to do everything else. My first go at the Volant intake took around 3X longer than it should have as well.

Oh, and the IAC was a piece of cake! (my 13 month old son could probably even do that).

Thanks for the vote of confidence nonetheless.

p.s. I can do the battery no problem. I just paid the guy to do it that day because I didn't feel like coming back with the old battery (they charge a deposit) and I got a price on the battery that was lower than their shelf price (I found an old ad that they honoured). I did the battery myself this morning. Those adapters were a bit of a pain to figure out but once they snapped in, I was in business.