2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Need Help on Suspension clunk

[pholt]

My front end is clunking all of a sudden, on small abnormalities in the road. , a very quiet thud thud, like a busted shock, or a bad bushing. , something has play. The front end is new, Tierods, ball joints etc. I thought it was a shock, so they are new. I STILL HAVE A CLUNK, you can feel in the floor, is it the control arm bushings? and if so no one has them but the dealer????



Please help before I throw money away again, I replaced perfectly good shocks already (125k and they were still perfect??, who would have knew).



ps, you can rock the suspension in the front hard and fell the clunk??





Thank you so much for the help.

 

[KVaughn]

It would help if you had your truck info in your signature so we know if its a 4x4, has a lift, has big tires, year etc. Just my . 02

 

[macdaddy]

PH

I had a similar sound on my 99 and it turned out to be my right front lower shock mount worked loose. The way I found was to disconnect the top mount from under the hood then drive it to see if it went away and it did. I would try it if I were you and it only requires 60 second trouble shooting skills. Or rock it back and forth.

 

[pholt]

Oh sorry

It is a 2001 2500 4x4

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

A number of things could be wrong with the front of that truck. 2nd gen trucks are notorious for having track bar related issues. Could be a bad track bar end. I would start by lifting the truck in the front, support it by the frame as far forward as possible with a stout pair of jack stands. Then start by spinning the wheels. Could be a bad bearing, Then give it a in and out wiggle from the top of the tire. That will reveal a lot of noises. Next have someone turn the wheels from lock to lock while you watch it move. Look for any looseness in the front end. Then check the bolts on the front end. Track bar, anti-swaybar, tie rod ends, shock bolts... ... I am sure you get the picture. Lastly I would lower the truck on the ground, and have the same person move the steering wheel one inch back and forth to check again for sloppy joints. Pay special attention to the track bar. Also the steering shafts on these trucks go bad after a few miles. Make sure to check back in on this thread, let us know what is up. . ! It will help others later I am sure.

Good luck,

Greg

 

[jrobinson2]

Its fairly common for the front lower shock bolts to be fairly tight but still not tight enough to hold the sleeve from moving, get your hand in to where you can feel both the axle and lower shock eye at the same time and have someone bounce the truck, I had to torque the lower bolts extremely tight to stop the movement on my truck. I have also seen the steering dampener bolts do the same thing.



Jared

 

[TMills]

don't forget to check the sway bar end links. I had a cluck in result from those. I just drove around for a couple of days without the sway bar. I noticed that the cluck stopped. I still don't have the sway bar connected (3 weeks later).

 

[az]

Same problem, I discovered what it was on my truck but the problem now is I dont know how to fix it.



My left upper control arm is acts as if it is neutral, does not support any forward or rear weight of the axle. It appears that the other three arms hold the axle in such a way that the last arm does not have any weight on it. Sounds crazy but I have had two different arms on the truck and it still does the same thing. How do I know, because I can grab the old or or new arm and there is a slight bit of play, I can actually move the arm given the differnce between the bolt and the sleave. Call me crazy but I can grab the arm and move it, truck is straight now accidents.



The noise happens when the axle moves in a way to instantly take the minimal slack up and pop, you can feel it in your feet.



I have tightened the control arm bolts to take up any slack against the busings, it helped but did not correct it, for now I just live with it.



Yes, I have check shock bolts, track bar and every other bolt on the front end.