Pretty sure I found my Mark VIII front end clunk

dunno if its the clunk, but those are certainly done for and you need new ones.
 
is the front end susp all orig? how many miles? if yes and over 100k you might wanna rebuild the entire front end (lca, uca, srb, in/out tre's, sw bar links)..best to do it all once it's apart
 
is the front end susp all orig? how many miles? if yes and over 100k you might wanna rebuild the entire front end (lca, uca, srb, in/out tre's, sw bar links)..best to do it all once it's apart

I don't think it is all original. It has 120k on the odometer but Brett took care of it and replaced most any drive line part that needed attention. I did disassemble plenty except the UCA and yes, some bushings appear replaced. I need to take some pics this weekend so you guys see what I see.

As stated above, I won't know if it was the clunk til the rubber meets the road but boy am I hoping so.
 
When I had a good clunking up front it was the UCA
 
my clunk/rattle was sway bar end links. my blown upper control arm didn't make any noise, it just drove funny.

obviously, your mileage may vary.
 
The clunk happened under certain conditions and in another thread I mentioned my bad pass inner and outer tie rods but some investigation turned up bad lower ball joints.

I bought a 20 ton press Monday, put it together tonight and will replace them this weekend.

I would just replace the entire LCA instead of press in new balljoints. At least for me, it was nearly the same price to replace the entire arm as it was to replace just the balljoint. Plus, the inner bushing is probably worn a decent amount if the LCA has never been replaced.
 
Unfortunately the price varied b/t vendors here. I ended up buying the 'cheaper' brand from O'Reilly's at $30.00 each, lifetime warranty. Auto zone had just the ball joints in stock at $26.00 each, one year warranty. Napa only had upper class ones at $69 each. I put the LCAs in a vise, took a large screwdriver and stuck it through the bushings, pulled from side to side and they appeared fine.

Besides, I needed a reason to buy a 20 ton press so buying only the ball joints, my savings went to this. The configuration of 4x4 wood with the press plate on top on the right and the 5/4 deck board with press plate on top on the left worked well. The lower control arm is angled so need to get the right angle to set in on so it presses evenly.
20-ton-press-5.jpg


I don't have a bearing press set so I took the ball joints to Ace Hardware and matched sizes. For $25 I had the correct fittings for both pressing out and in. The one on the left is to press out and the right to press in.
20-ton-press-6.jpg


Pressed in and ready to be installed.
ball-joints-7.jpg


I think these bushings have already been replaced.
ball-joints-6.jpg


Lining up the bolt for the bottom bag mount (whatever it is called) but discovered this is easier to do with the UCA joint dislocated from the top part of the hub spindle assembly.
ball-joints-5.jpg


I'm probably going to take it for an alignment Fri but if I can't fit it in, it will need to be after Tgiving. It will sit with a car cover on it until then.

dnsherrill, I forgot to mention this earlier but I like your rims. I don't know if it is the picture but it seems the spokes have a unique 'angle' to them. Quite different.
 

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