Loud Clunk on 2010 Explorer 4x4 When Making Left Turn

[greggpro]

Hi All,

I have a 2010 Explorer 4x4 and noticed a loud clunk when making a left turn at an intersection on Saturday.

It happened again on a straight away when I drove over a swail in in the road (right side of the lane dipped down).

Made it happen on purpose in a parking lot. I engaged the 4x4 high turned a left turn to let it lurch a little bit. Put it back to 4x4 auto. Didn't happen again until last night.

When it happens the front end on the driver's side seems to shift like it was in a bind and released.

The problem is intermittent and hard to reproduce.

I jacked it up and grabbed and shook the front driver's side wheel. It seems solid.

From what I have read online, it seems the most probable cause is upper and/or lower control arms or tie-rod ends.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Gregg

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Gregg.
I moved your thread to this forum as the one you posted in was for the 2011 - 2019 5th Generation Forum.
If you no longer have the 1998 please update your profile or add the 2010 to a signature. Also please include the Trim level as required when registering. Thanks.

Peter

 

[WaltZ]

I've had my fair share of clunks throughout the years. You are right with your guess. Mine have been:

1- worn upper and/or lower control arms
2- worn ball joints
3- last time it was loose bolts

on 1 & 2 above, have the mechanic who will be replacing them use hardware (Moog) that has a lifetime warranty. In a couple of years, when you are back replacing them again, you'll only have to pay for labor.

 

[greggpro]

After inspecting the ball joints, control arms, tie-rod ends and any bolt or nut that was loose on the driver's side I could find nothing wrong.

On a whim I decided to turn the wheels to the left with it jacked up and the tire off to see if I could see anything. Saw nothing alarming.

Then I thought, since the wheels are turned left I should check the passenger side to see what I could see. That's when I saw the broken sway bar link.

Thanks for all your help.

Gregg