Clunking Noise Front End

[Dennis Smink]

There is a clunking noise from the front of my truck. I thought it might be CV joints but it is not specific to turning. My mechanic suggested that it might be the front drive shaft. I started to wonder if it might be in the suspension e.g. ball joints. Any ideas?

 

[Tim Mason]

Check your sway bar links, I just replaced mine.

 

[Dennis Smink]

How can I tell if the links are bad?

BTW, I went out at lunch and pushed down on the bumper on either side. There was a noise from both sides that I'm sure shouldn't have been there.

 

[swshawaii]

Oops, wrong thread. Please delete.

 

[Brian Snider]

crawl underneath and look for the bolts/nuts that should be on the bottoms of the lower A arm and on top of the sway bar.



When my front failed it was because the bolt had rusted through. I had an end link bolted to the A arm but no longer bolted to the sway bar.



Jack up each side from the frame and try to wiggle the tire top to bottom and front to back. might help identify if steering / ball joints / Hub assemblies.

 

[swshawaii]

Best way to inspect is to unload the suspension by lifting the front wheels off the ground.

Sway bar end links and frame bushings, and lower ball joints are usually the first failures.

 

[Dennis Smink]

When I got home I got underneath the truck and lo and behold the top of the sway bar link on one side is lose! Looks like an easy fix, is that so? The only problem I could see would getting the nuts off without an impact wrench.

 

[EddieS'04]

If you have the oem end links. replace them both with aftermarket. The oems tend to break again.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

Dennis, you know what would help? Tell us up front what year your Trac is, how many miles, 2wd/4wd, etc. There's no info on your profile. BTW, replacing the sway bar end links (or tightening them) ain't no big deal. There's minimal torque on them - 10 to 12 lbs-ft. If yours are rusted, put a little PB Blaster on them and let 'em alone for a few minutes. I just replaced the end links and sway bar bushings on my son's 02 Gen1 with MOOG parts. Simple DIY job. Buy the parts from RockAuto.

 

[Dennis Smink]

I thought I had the vehicle information in my profile. It is a 2001 Ford Ranger, close to the Sport Trac. This forum is by far better than any Ranger forum.



I took the truck to my mechanic to have the ends replaced because we are supposed to get a snow storm in a day and I wasn't sure if I could get it done in time. Bad news from him though; he called me to tell me the ball joints, upper and lower on one side are shot; on the other side I think he said the upper is shot. We are in a bind because we are in the market for a new vehicle and we were going to trade in the Ranger. I thought if I could get away with a $100 bill, no problem. Now it is close to $800 for the ball joints. I don?t think it makes sense to pay that amount and then trade it in. If we sell it private party I would let the person know about the ball joints and deduct the cost from the price we would ask.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

Tough choice. If it were me, I'd lean toward fixing it and postponing the new car purchase. I doubt you'll get much in trade, especially with needed front suspension work.

 

[Jerry G.]

I just had my lower B.Joint replaced and they said all the rest are tight. Several hours later after it set in my garage it made the same metalic clank so I will bring it back in the morning and see if they checked the sway bar links . It's warentee work so I am glad of that.