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Front end help???

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Old 01-11-2012, 03:05 PM
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Exclamation Front end help???

Ok I've looked and searched, and still not sure whats going on. I have a 97 Blazer. 4 door, 4wd. I have a clunk when turning hard right. It happens in forward or reverse, at low speeds. It is also clunking when i am slowing down, like if im going around 10 mph and hit the brakes i can hear and feel a clunk around my feet area. I believe that it could be lower control arm bushings, but just trying to get any other ideas. Also i heard that they are a pain to replace, how bad is the job. I have already done...

Ball Joints (all 4)
Upper control arm bushings
hubs
tie rods
idler arm

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you
 
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Old 01-11-2012, 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted by bigzimnh1
Ok I've looked and searched, and still not sure whats going on. I have a 97 Blazer. 4 door, 4wd. I have a clunk when turning hard right. It happens in forward or reverse, at low speeds. It is also clunking when i am slowing down, like if im going around 10 mph and hit the brakes i can hear and feel a clunk around my feet area. I believe that it could be lower control arm bushings, but just trying to get any other ideas. Also i heard that they are a pain to replace, how bad is the job. I have already done...

Ball Joints (all 4)
Upper control arm bushings
hubs
tie rods
idler arm

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you
Certainly COULD be. Have you ruled out the CV's? Go out in field > 4wd and do hard left and right. Then try in 2wd.
 
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Old 01-11-2012, 03:29 PM
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what i do when i cant find the problem is go to a shop that offers free inspections then treat the estimate as a shopping list...i fig when i doubt check it out.

also if it is your front lowers is not really any worse than the other things you have done....
look for a how to around here....to me worst part was taking tension off t bars and getting bushings out.
some say burn them out..or make a contraption to push them out.

what i did was heat them a little then got a big straight screwdriver and chipped away at them then collapsed the cup that holds them in...not the most idea plan time wise but it worked.
 
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Old 01-11-2012, 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by warthogdriver
what i do when i cant find the problem is go to a shop that offers free inspections then treat the estimate as a shopping list...i fig when i doubt check it out.

also if it is your front lowers is not really any worse than the other things you have done....
look for a how to around here....to me worst part was taking tension off t bars and getting bushings out.
some say burn them out..or make a contraption to push them out.

what i did was heat them a little then got a big straight screwdriver and chipped away at them then collapsed the cup that holds them in...not the most idea plan time wise but it worked.
Thanx for the info. Ill have to see if i can find a shop thatll check it for free. Just wondering if while i do this repair (if it needs it) would it be a good idea to do a torsion crank as well? Any experience with the keys?
 
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Old 01-11-2012, 05:44 PM
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if all you going to do is crank on the torsion bars for extra lift its easy.
i would not go over 1.5" past your current (guessing stock) position.

there is a how to on here....pretty straight forward.
if ever you mess with the torsion bars be sure to mark them well to return them to correct position
 
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Old 01-11-2012, 07:00 PM
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how are the sway bar links? they are known to clunk when bad
 
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Old 01-14-2012, 05:18 PM
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Originally Posted by vic98blazer
how are the sway bar links? they are known to clunk when bad
im not sure, they seem ok but then again im not positive. Anything that i can look for as a sign of bad links. Ill probably just replace them and the sway bar bushings while im doing the Lower Control Arm Bushings.
 
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Old 02-06-2012, 07:56 PM
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Originally Posted by bigzimnh1
Ok I've looked and searched, and still not sure whats going on. I have a 97 Blazer. 4 door, 4wd. I have a clunk when turning hard right. It happens in forward or reverse, at low speeds. It is also clunking when i am slowing down, like if im going around 10 mph and hit the brakes i can hear and feel a clunk around my feet area. I believe that it could be lower control arm bushings, but just trying to get any other ideas. Also i heard that they are a pain to replace, how bad is the job. I have already done...

Ball Joints (all 4)
Upper control arm bushings
hubs
tie rods
idler arm

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you
How tough of a job was it to do the upper control arm bushings?
 
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Old 02-13-2012, 09:57 AM
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it wasnt bad, my uncle did help me out with it, but it wasnt bad at all. wouldve been easier if i had the tool to push the bushings out, but we used an air chisel and pushed them out that way.
 
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