Hi there! Yesterday I was taking a right turn at around 20 mph and about half way through there were 5 loud "clunks". When I pulled over there didn't seem to be anything out of place, so I chalked it up to losing a chunk of break pad, (brakes disintegrated over the weekend as well, got that taken care of this morning.) thinking it bounced around the wheel a few times before falling out.

Today however it happened again. Only on right turns above 15 mph and it's coming from the driver's side front. 5-6 clunks each time. 2002 2 door 4x4 blazer.

It does need ball joints that I haven't got around to doing yet, could this be what's causing it? Never heard clunks like this on a vehicle before.

Thanks for any insight!

 

Well if it needs ball joints, try that first. Could also be a bad wheel bearing

 

Appreciate the reply. It's not whining like a bad wheel bearing but I'll keep it in mind to check if it doesn't turn out to be the ball joint. I guess I'll just hope that's all it is and start there.

Ah the joys of discovery in the first few weeks after buying from a private party! Can't wait to get all the bugs worked out so i can just drive it!

 

Immediately inspect your front drive axles, especially the inner CV joints.

Look for play, but also for missing/loose bolts. Someone was on here in the past couple weeks looking for bolts because all of his fell out and the inner joint fell out. I've seen those bolts work loose on other vehicles, too. If they all fall out together, it's bad. If all but one come loose, and the inner joint starts swinging around on the one remaining bolt, that's even worse. That can cause lots of damage to anything nearby.

 

Just went out and checked it. At work right now so I can't get it lifted up or anything, but a quick look and feel around didn't reveal any play that I could find. No play or rattling in the CV shaft on either end and (thankfully) no bolts missing that I can see.

You sure scared me into an immediate action though, glad you brought that up to check. Got rid of my last vehicle because the rack and pinion fell apart driving down the road. Don't ever want that feeling of no control again.

 

Update: I replaced all 4 ball joints today, and cannot find anything else wrong with the front end. 2 shops have confirmed this as well. the clunking is still happening. Any other ideas?

 

sway bar bushings, can feel tight but still make noise

 

I just figured it out and boy do I feel a mix of stupidity and relief. Further tracked the sound down today by getting out of the city and making a few turns. With the ball joints not squeaking anymore I realized it wasn't the front end at all. Turns out the muffler isn't secure and is slapping the rear u joint if I turn too hard. Thank god for an easy fix finally!