Front suspension clunks

mark99tj · Post by **mark99tj** » 16 Dec 2018, 13:18

2002 V70XC with 99,000 miles.

I have a clunk when I hit bumps. I have had it two months and have replaced the top engine mount, lower control arms and the strut mounts, coil seats and bump stops. Some of the clunks have gone away, but not all. What else could cause this? Tie rod/tie rod ends? I am confident the ball joints are ok after inspecting them when I did the control arms.

I did one strut (mount, coil seat and bump stop) last night, drove it this morning and then did the other strut. When I was putting it back together I was tapping parts with a mallet and the tie rod seemed like it would move and hit the end making a noise. Could this be my issue? How much play should there be in the end?

dj_v70 · Post by **dj_v70** » 16 Dec 2018, 14:06

I have never had tie rod ends give me clunks. Only vibrations and/or shaking steering and tire wear.

I would take a 1” board and put on road. Drive car over such that only one tire goes over it per pass (check all 4 tires). If that reproduces the clunk you will know which corner has issues.

In front, end links are usual culprit but could also be sway bar bushings or sub-frame bushings.

mark99tj · Post by **mark99tj** » 16 Dec 2018, 14:27

All the noise is from the front, on both sides. I have a pot hole in my alley that I have done just what you describe.

What do you mean by end links? The sway bar link appears to be fine

Post by **erikv11** » 16 Dec 2018, 16:49

mark99tj wrote: ↑16 Dec 2018, 13:18 ... I was tapping parts with a mallet and the tie rod seemed like it would move and hit the end making a noise. Could this be my issue? How much play should there be in the end?

There should be zero play in a tie rod ball joint.

End links = sway bar links yes. Ball joints go bad and, especially if they were recently removed, often they are not tightened all the way.

mark99tj · Post by **mark99tj** » 16 Dec 2018, 16:54

I wrote that wrong— the tie rod end did not have play, but the tie rod would easily move/rotate side to side around the joint. No play, it just moved but I’m not sure if it should move that much.

I know the ball joints are good. It’s been less than 1,000 miles since I put the control arms on and I retorqued everything after 100 miles and I checked every bolt I could touch today.

I am leaning towards ends. I just ordered a new pair and I guess I will keep throwing new parts until the front end is all new and then just live with it if I can’t find the cause.

Post by **erikv11** » 16 Dec 2018, 17:10

My post refers to the ball joints in the end links, not the ones in the control arms.

Post by **Roger_850T** » 16 Dec 2018, 20:48

When I've had "clatter" type noises from the front end, especially going over bumps, it has more often than not been the sway bar (aka anti roll bar) end links connecting the anti roll bar to the strut.

Post by **velorider** » 17 Dec 2018, 00:27

I've rebuilt everything on my car and still have a clunk over bumps at slow speeds. Watching David Bello video on YouTube he mentioned a front end clunk and talked about an Axle replacement bolt with a poly bushing to pick up some gap that exists. IPD makes one and he had a link to a clone on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/MTC-171021-30714 ... %2F3071414

I have never heard anyone talk about this problem but I have a similar clunk and was considering if this was the problem.

Post by **abscate** » 17 Dec 2018, 06:58

I had a bad one in my front end, and finally figured out the ball joint in the LCA was bad - after only 200k miles.

Horrible crack sound every once in a while.

mark99tj · Post by **mark99tj** » 18 Dec 2018, 19:21

Pretty sure you guys were all correct. I received my new links tonight and couldn’t wait to put them on. When still connected and under pressure you couldn’t tell the old ones were bad. But as soon as I took the first one off, I could tell. I haven’t driven it yet because I want to have a good nights sleep thinking my clunks are gone, but I won’t be surprised if there is more to be tracked down since everything I didn’t replace is still original.