Clunk in the Front-End

[lsbit]

Well, I checked the sway bar bushings and end-links and they look good. I pulled one of the struts to look at the mount bushing, and I believe it looks OK. I didn't feel like taking that thing apart to find out for sure, but I am pretty sure it is OK. So...I start moving the wheel around to see if I have some play, and I hear a clunk...clunk...clunk. After putting my hand in different spots to see where the play was, I found it to be the lower ball joint! DOH! I had those checked by a shop and they said they were fine! Taking a screwdriver and prying lightly between the knuckle and lower control arm, I get about 1/8" to 1/4" of play and the noise can be felt pretty good while doing it. This was the driver's side. The passenger side doesn't seem as bad, but there is about 1/8" play there also. When my wife got home, I jacked up the front wheels on her's, one at a time, as her's makes no noise. I really couldn't get any play on either side.

I ordered the parts for the driver's side for now and will see how that goes first. Can anyone confirm for me that I shouldn't have up/down direct play? I loosened the nut and it is play in the ball itself, not due to a loose nut as I can get it to move without the stud budging with the nut off.

Also, someone had mentioned that you had to cut off the sway bar bushing to get a new one on. Mine was designed to open up and I didn't have to cut anything. I attached a picture of it.

I never trust a shop to work on my car. I guess I can't trust them to look it over either!!

 

[eL eS]

paid amateurs... stories like this reaffirm my belief that the folks working in these shops are paid amateurs.

Not certain about the play but you have given me something to consider on my car. I have thought I have heard a very light clunking sound fromthe front end every once in a while. So I will be inspecting mine this weekend. Thanks for sharing your findings.

 

[SurfjaxLS]

I hear a clunk in the mornings on the speedbumps at my school. I know the driver's side ball joint broke, but the sound seems to be coming from the driver's side, even though the ball joint has been replaced.

The only problem is I am very lazy and not looking forward to looking for a clunk noise.

Maybe the clunk is related to my car not being able to pull into alignment on the driver's front tire. Hmmmm?

 

[eL eS]

I hear a clunk in the mornings on the speedbumps at my school. I know the driver's side ball joint broke, but the sound seems to be coming from the driver's side, even though the ball joint has been replaced.

The only problem is I am very lazy and not looking forward to looking for a clunk noise.

Maybe the clunk is related to my car not being able to pull into alignment on the driver's front tire. Hmmmm?

young man you get out in that garage and care for your car.

I know I am not looking forward to this operation either.

 

[DLS8K]

Well, this all sounds familiar to me with the clunking in the front end. I was driving the other day and noticed the clunks coming and going at lower speeds. I put my car up on a lift to check the play in the lower ball joint and came up with something I hadn't encountered before. I can move the wheels by pushing up on the bottom of the tire. I see some play in the lower ball joint (actually, the knuckle and upper A-arm move and the lower A-arm just sits there). I'm no mechanic, but I am led to believe this is a lower ball joint issue.....It's getting into the shop to get looked at before my warranty. Lower A-arms are about $350 a piece (not something I'd want to pay for). If anyone had some technical advise on this, that would be great.

PS. The car has 100,000 miles on it.

 

[lsbit]

I see some play in the lower ball joint (actually, the knuckle and upper A-arm move and the lower A-arm just sits there). I'm no mechanic, but I am led to believe this is a lower ball joint issue.....It's getting into the shop to get looked at before my warranty. Lower A-arms are about $350 a piece (not something I'd want to pay for). If anyone had some technical advise on this, that would be great.

That sounds like the problem I have. The lower ball joint is not in the control arm. It is in the knuckle. The upper ball joint is in the upper control arm. If you have a 16mm ball joint stud, the wholesale price is $129. If you have the 14mm it is $195. Of course, mine is the 14mm! This is NOT the size of the nut, which I used a 13/16 inch wrench on to remove. I get pricing locally that is really close to fordpartsonline.com. I am sure regular dealer price would be $50.00 more on both parts.

SurfjaxLS - I don't think an alignment is going to get rid of any clunking. You better have a look at that. If you jack up one corner of the car to get the wheel off the ground, just take a screwdriver and pry lightly between the knuckle and the lower control arm. I wish my manual had a decent picture...oh wait...Let me run out to the garage and take a shot... OK...where I made the red mark (creative...I know...I use MS Paint, what do you want) pry there with the screwdriver. You won't have to do it hard to get play, if you have it. I didn't use a prybar or anything.

Maybe you just have a sway bar end-link that is bad, or some other cheap part.

You have to replace all the nuts and bolts that you remove from doing the job as they are one-time use items also! How many mechanics do you supposed actually do that?