Clunking in front end, ball joints?

[unpredictable1]

k heres another update. i took the entire front swaybar mechanism out of the front end and left it in the garage and took her for a spin.

clunk is still there, i swear its even worse. but thats probably because whatever the problem is, its getting worse.

so the new verdict right now is, the swaybar bushings are ruled out.

 

[X-1]

Okay,
Try this
1. To check your balljoints jack one side of the front up so that tire is off the ground, then take a bar or a 2x4 and slide under wheel with the end of bar about six inches past inside of wheel, gently lift up, watching for movement in wheel, if you see it has play, have someone do the same as you watch balljoints. Do not stick your head under truck at this point.
2. To check for bad tie rod, or center link jack up one wheel same as before and try to shake wheel side to side, if you have play there you will see movement in the steering linkage.
3. To check radius arm bushings, this is difficult because the bushing may look fine on the outside, you can try to check same as balljoint, but this time put the barunder from the front, like you are trying to pick up the wheel, this will put force on axle pushing the arm back if there is play. Now the bushing may just be hard and not plyable anymore, or the spacer inside may be broke. Either way there is probably a ton of miles on them and they are just wore out.
4. Also check top shock mount, if the bushing is squished down and the bolt is bottomed out, then you will also hear that noise, quick fix, take nut off and add a washer.
5. Lastly when checking all these parts, watch for play in your wheel bearings, you may find a little as you run these checks.
I hope I covered it all.

 

[unpredictable1]

if you guys were close enough that i can hand you an ice cold beer i would!

sway bar is not it, as mentioned earlier.

jacked up the driver side and grabbed the top and bottom of the tire, and pushed/pulled to hcekc the ball joints as I have for many other cars, no play in the tire.

the steering linkage all seemed to be ok, although i could move it quite easily with just one hand. i accidently grabbed thinking it was the sway bar to pivet myself under the truck (not watching what i was doing) and moved vertically quite easily.

You're probably right on the radius arm bushing, it could be something that i can't see from just looking at them. maybe i should just go ahead and replace them. they seem to be easy to do. not sure if i want to tackle the crossmember ones that require cutting those rivets. or is there more to it than just unbolting the back bolt on the radius arm and pushing it forward?

at least i'm getting some progress as to what it could be...i'll go check the top shock mounts....

 

[Jason_25]

I still think it's radius arm bushings. On my friend's truck, his don't look worn from the outside either,

 

[unpredictable1]

Well, I'm going to change them anyways then.

So am I right when I say to change the radius arm bushings, you need only to let go that one bolt in the back part of the radius arm and then push the front wheel forward?

all else looks fine, and if they can be bad without looking it, then they're the culprit

 

[fordkrazy]

just a little note to all about the radius arm bushings....you cant tell that they are bad by looking at them assembled....what makes them go bad is them rubbing on the radius arm crossmember (why they go bad will be very obvious when you get them disassembled) there are two pieces that are mushroom shaped and the press together on the crossmember...the rubber pieces that you see while its assembled locate the axel front to back...its the part of the rubber that you dont see that makes them wear out....and if your hearing the clunking I can almost garantee that the arm and crossmember have been worn away at. when the suspension flexes the arm rotates to either the top or outside edge of the crossmember and rubs on it....it starts as a squeek and then once enough metal has worn away the arm starts to catch on the crossmember and when it goes back level it clunks as its being released.

good luck on your repairs.

 

[unpredictable1]

ok, went to crappy tire and lone and behold that had but 2 radius arm bushings left. i took that as a sign and bought both of them, 25 bucks a piece.

oh man i certainly hope i don't have to replace that cross member... the whole cutting the rivets thing is not attractive to me right now.

that being said, i guess i should be able to tell from looking at the radius arm and cross member once its apart if it needs to be replaced....heavy scouring and deep grooves?

 

[fordkrazy]

yup...that would be the sign...if you dont replace at least the crossmember the new bushings will wear out 2-3 times faster due to the sharp edges created by the wear.

 

[unpredictable1]

get this, they have no idea what a crossmember is, how to look it up, or where to find a listing for it.

but then again this is the store has lil kids behind the counter because they can't get anyone else to work there.

about how much can i expect to pay for a crossmember? and is there another name for it so i can call craqppy tire back to see if they have a listing for it.

thanks,

leo

 

[X-1]

Are you even sure that you need one?

 

[unpredictable1]

well according to fordcrazy if i'm hearing the clunking chances are i will....i hate getting a job underway only to find more that i have to do that i wont be able to get parts for for a few days...

i won't be able to do this job till next weekend, so basically this is what i think i have to do...please tell me if i'm wrong...

jack up front of truck...place on jackstand. take off back bolt on the radius arm bushing, push front tire forward to get the radius arm out of the crossmember. check for damage to the crossmember from radius arm hitting it.

reassemble new bushing in reversal of how i took it apart.

is that right? heck i might do that tomorrow night if thats the case....

 

[Ryan1]

yes please do it tomorrow and let me know if it stops the clunking. Mine does the exact same thing, but mind didnt start until after I put my lift on. I hate that damn noise.

Ryan

 

[X-1]

Not so easy, with out removing mount you will never get the arm out of there. If you are not able to remove the cross member, then you will have to remove the coils and take out the bolts holding the radius arm to the beam, I am assuming yours is two wheel drive, either way you can't move the beam or axle far enough front wards to remove the bushings. Now my passenger arm has a small rub spot on it, and I just installed the bushings with the intent of replacing the arm with extended skyjacker arm, it has been almost a year now and no problems. Inside your bushing is a plastic spacer that takes most of the abuse, your new bushings should have come with these. If you need help in explaining how to remove coils let me know, they are fairly easy, just time consuming the first time.

 

[unpredictable1]

yeah i got a 4x4. damn so this job just got worse. fer fawk sakes.

if you could so kindly tell me the quickest way to get these radius arm bushings installed i'd greatly appreciate, because its getting done no matter what now.

if its going to be somewhat time consuming, it wont be done till next weekend. But if I'm having to disassemble more stuff and i can plunk new things here in there while i'm at it, that doesnt cost much...i'll do it.

Exploder-1 i really appreciate you helping as much as you have thus far, and everyone else.

 

[fordkrazy]

the crossmember comes in two pieces...each piece will be about 50 bucks....the radius arms are about 60 each

ok....here is how i did it cause i replaced my springs too...you basically have to disassemble the whole front end to do it easily(as far as the bushings go)...but its not that easy to disassemble everything....if i was you i would just do everything since you have a 93 and prolly have sagging springs like my 94 did ( you can tell if you look from the front and the tires look like they do this / \ ) but if you dont need springs and the crossmembers are ok or not that bad then it would be good to at least try to get them out by pulling the axel forward rather than take the whole thing apart....you will have to unbolt the drive shaft for the front and make sure you mark it so its back together in same way...but other than that you should be able to do it fine....you can check the crossmember before you dig into it deep by taking off the radius arm nut and pulling off the back bushing (incase you dont know by now what the arms and crossmember are if you look at the axel there will be a sort of cone shaped bracket that goes from where the spring sits to the rear and that is the arm....the crossmember is what the arm is bolted to)...if you have to replace the crossmember you wont have to disassemble the springs and radius arm but if the arm is bad or the springs need to be replaced you need to disassemble the whole thing.

if you still are not clear a haynes manual will be a good investment if you can find an old one or a chiltons manual will be better. the manuals will tell you how to do the job.

good luck man
oh yea and the arm and crossmember are dealer parts but you can get the springs at napa for about 90 bucks

 

[unpredictable1]

well then, what i'll do this week is take off that back bolt on the radius arm to remove the back part of the bushing to check for any wear n tear.

all of a sudden removing the crossmember seems the easier and quickest way to go

i'm a bit slow in tackling any of this cuz i just bought another car

your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[unpredictable1]

hrmmm...the other night when i was driving her, the 4x4 HI was blinking with every bump i hit.

4x4 wasn't engaging, and the light wasn't as bright as if it were turned on, but it blinked with every bump. If i hit the button it stayed as bright as always, and 4x4 worked, and disengaged when i pushed it again.

Driving tonight it didn't do the blinking. the truck is possessed i swear.

 

[fordkrazy]

yea its prolly just the switch on the dash....mine acts up too....sometimes it will engage and other times it wont.

 

[unpredictable1]

Ok, this is getting started tomorrow!

I could very well be buying a grinder tonight because it seems the fastest and easiest way to get at the bushings is to grind off the top of the rivets and punch them through.

So basically I need to know a couple of things.

Is it ok to put her on ramps in the front and start working on her, or does the front have to be free of any load (placed on jack stands)

If I get a grinder, er well when i do, do I just have to grind off the rivet ends that are facing the ground (i think theres 4 total, 2 on each but then they are accompanied by bolts), and then punch the rivets through with a hammer and punch/screwdriver?

What other parts or tools do I need other than possibly a new crossmember if thats worn too (i'll see how that thing is once i get it out basically)...

Please let me know, I was going to post last night but my internet died. This job will be started in the early hours of tomorrow morning. All the help and guidance you have supplied so far is very appreciated.

 

[fordkrazy]

you will have 4 on each side....the ones facing the ground are easy but there are 2 that face the body on the side of the frame and its kinda tough to get a grinder up there.....like i said before i had a buddy w/ a cutting torch get those (BE VERY CAREFULL the fuel lines are on the drivers side)....if you can get them w/ a grinder then kudos to you. You may even want to go the dremel route cause they are pretty flexible as far as what you can use them for and cost about the same as a grinder.

as far as jackin up the car.....you really dont have to but you will want to remove the tire to give you more room so if you do that be sure to set your brake good and use jackstands so you can pound and push all ya want.

oh yea...did you check the crossmembers? cause i only had to replace one side. I wouldnt want to do this twice for nothing.

Good luck and let us know how it goes and if you run into any problems.