[jskeater]

I know there has been a lot of talk about this in other threads, but I just want to ask for some advice here.

so I have had a lot of creaking and clunking sounds coming from the front end of my pat, ( yes, there were multiple sounds going on) I got my front control arms replaced and that got rid of the creaking noises coming from bad bushings. But I still had the clunking sounds happening and did some research and decided to replace the sway bar end links. I took them off and saw that they were shot. So I put new ones on that had grease fittings on them. That did help quite a bit. But there is still a clunking sound over bumps and potholes. It sounds like it is coming from the front end on both sides.

So what I would like to know is if you think it is the sway bar bushings or the struts? If I push on the front end manually I don’t hear any sounds. And the clunking seems to happen on smaller bumps and potholes. The bushings seem older but don’t look that worn. The driver side one has a small crack in the rubber bushings itself, so I am planning on replacing them anyway, but wanted to know if it could also be the struts??

sorry this is so long. Thanks!

 

[Sandstone]

Are the struts leaking?

If you want to try to rule out the sway bar bushings, try some lubricant on the bushings. I use powdered graphite others use grease or spray lubricants.

Or try taking the sway bar links off then zip tying the sway bar to the sub-frame so it can't move much, then go over some small bumps and see if that makes any difference.

If you do take the sway bar links off, remember not to take any corners fast or make sudden turns at speed as you could have handling issues.

 

[mr_et2]

On mine it was the sway bar bushings.

 

[jskeater]

Thanks for the help. I will try that and most likely replace them anyway. ( just because they are so cheap) hope that dose it!

 

[RonD]

Post what the results are! I'm going to say struts.

 

[jskeater]

So I replaced the front sway bar bushings and that did not help, so I replaced the front struts with Monroe struts and took it for a drive... I still hear clunking sounds!! They are still fairly loud too. Any ideas?? At this point I have replaced all of my front end suspension parts.

 

[mr_et2]

Maybe take it to a shop and ask them to take a look. I'm out of ideas.

 

[jskeater]

Ya, I think I will end up doing that.

 

[jskeater]

So I have replaced all front suspension parts. I brought it to the shop and they found a few loose bolts and tightened them and said it was fixed. But when I left I still heard the same clunking sounds coming from the front end. They said my rear struts should be replaced sometime. So I guess my question is since they looked at everything and all my suspension is new in front, can I just ignore the sound and turn up the radio ? or should I still be concerned ??

 

[Blackmatter]

I would keep looking.

 

[Rens914]

Turn up the sound. Mine has it too.
I know everything is ok so don't bother.
Every car/model has his issues.

 

[jskeater]

So I actually ended up replacing my tie rod ends because they were shot . While I was down there I noticed my front calipers were loose!? Even with the wheel on. So when I brought it in to get aligned I mentioned it to them and they said they would take a look. They told me there was nothing abnormal about the brakes and said I could pay 400$ to replace everything just to make sure. Since it was fine I didn’t do that. On my way home I noticed.... no clunks!! It must have been something loose with the brakes so that when they put them back on it was tighter?! I will wait and see if it stays gone now. But at least I know it isn’t a big deal anyway... ?
Wow! $500 and a entire new front end later, and it was a loose brake caliper.!! ? well I guess it is all a learning experience.

 

[sjosephfabewr]

I had the same problem, but couldn't find anything wrong. everything looked good. Coming home one day I turned into my driveway and my ball joint popped clean out of the socket. When we checked the ball joints prior to this, we couldn't find any movement. I talked to a local shop and the same thing happened to them. It screwed up my inner fender. Lucky I it happened at home.