Hey guys, so my truck has a clunking noise in the front end. Now, i know that it is always likely to be the ball joints, but the thing is that they were replaced not too long ago. I had one mechanic replace them not even a year ago. Then, after i still heard the clunking, I took it to my current mechanic, and he said its probably the ball joints. My question is, what else could possibly cause clunking noise. I'll explain how it does it. I live on a dead end narrow street, so i have to turn the truck around many times. Every time that I go to make the turn, (similar to a k-turn) when i back up in between two cars, with the steering wheel all the way to the right, it will clunk, very loud and ugly. Now, this is easily heard not even at 5 mph. I would say maybe 1-3 mph while backing up and turning. I have heard that our trucks have something called torsion bars, and torsion bar mounts. Could those bars also cause the clunk?

Also, everytime that I am in Park, if i turn the wheel from left to right, either way, the front end of the truck will dive downwards a little bit, and then raise itself again. Is this normal? A friend of mine said that it is normal because the of the torsion bars, and one wheel goes up, and one goes down.

 

Could be a shock mounting bolt being loose or possibly even the hood hinge pin (which there is a TSB on). For the shock mounts, just check for play and tighten as necessary. On the hood hinge pins, you can purchase conical spring washers from the dealer for less than $5 and install them on the pins (bolts). You can try to eliminate this by tucking a rag up on top of the firewall between the firewall and the hood, just becareful doing this, if you wad up the rag too much, you could bend the hood or the hinge.

 

Were the ball joints that you had replaced greasable? If so, have they been greased regularly? Brand new ball joints can wear out quite quickly if not maintained.

As for the diving, my front end doesn't necessarily dive forward. It does sway from side to side depending as you turn the wheels left to right. Take a look at a vehicle making a turn and you'll see the tires don't stay parallel with the ground, they actually lean. Sounds normal to me, but if you already have issues with the front end it would be a good idea to check tie rod ends and such.

 

I'm actually going to get the whole front end suspension checked out. Now you have made me think about the ball joints, because I really don't know if they have been greased. Maybe that is my problem right there. Well, in any case, all 4 of my ball joints have warranty. So I'll just get new ones. And i'll definitely take a look at the hood hinges and all of its hardware. Thanks guys.

 

Oddly enuff i had the same prob with my xtreme rec, I had tires put on and alignment done and the prob went away!!!!!!!!!!! Check the alignment....

 

Check the swaybar endlinks the bushings may be shot $9.00 a side at Auto Zone.

 

Like everyone said just put it in the air and start inspecting all of your suspension rubber for wear and tear. At least that way you can see what needs to be replaced and what needs to be greased!!! [sm=signs003.gif]