front end clunk
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: Fort St. John
front end clunk
So, let's start with the basics, shall we...
I have a 2004ford ranger edge extended cab, it has a 3.0l v6 and a 5-speed tranny. its got torsion bar suspension and quite frank, it's a very nice truck. but now for the issue at hand.
quitea few months ago, the snow melted, and we had just bought new 15" rims and tires for this truck, rtx crush rims, and v-netik wheels. about 2 weeks after we had installed the tires, we were driving around town and noticed an infrequent clunk in the front end, as we drove around it got louder and more frequent, to the point where you could feel it in the steering wheel and by your feet, now here's the tricky part. we did some modifications in early January including installing a new step side box, and leaf springs, as well as the tires. there was no front end clunk in the colder conditions.
after being fed up with the clunk we decided to self-fix the problem. first, we had removed the brake discs and put in all new bearings and discs. that didn't solve it.
next we took the intermediate shaft off of the steering and nothing wrong with it, so we re-installed it and the noise was still there, so now for the 3rd round.
we took the driveshaft off and greased the hell out of the slip yoke and still a clunk. now for the grand finale.
we checked all the bolts and everything was tight. so a few days ago my co-worker had this mysterious clunk and told me about it, they replaced the front sway bar links and bushings, and the noise was solved.
so today we had replaced the end links and are currently waiting for the bushings to be delivered. this is a huge pain in the undercarriage and this is driving us insane! it never happened during the colder weather. but it seems as if the more you drive it, the worse it gets. I've been on the ranger forums looking for this topic, and everyone states ball joints, rack and pinion, slip yoke. but everything we've tried doesn't seem to be solving the problem. any help in this manner would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 2004ford ranger edge extended cab, it has a 3.0l v6 and a 5-speed tranny. its got torsion bar suspension and quite frank, it's a very nice truck. but now for the issue at hand.
quitea few months ago, the snow melted, and we had just bought new 15" rims and tires for this truck, rtx crush rims, and v-netik wheels. about 2 weeks after we had installed the tires, we were driving around town and noticed an infrequent clunk in the front end, as we drove around it got louder and more frequent, to the point where you could feel it in the steering wheel and by your feet, now here's the tricky part. we did some modifications in early January including installing a new step side box, and leaf springs, as well as the tires. there was no front end clunk in the colder conditions.
after being fed up with the clunk we decided to self-fix the problem. first, we had removed the brake discs and put in all new bearings and discs. that didn't solve it.
next we took the intermediate shaft off of the steering and nothing wrong with it, so we re-installed it and the noise was still there, so now for the 3rd round.
we took the driveshaft off and greased the hell out of the slip yoke and still a clunk. now for the grand finale.
we checked all the bolts and everything was tight. so a few days ago my co-worker had this mysterious clunk and told me about it, they replaced the front sway bar links and bushings, and the noise was solved.
so today we had replaced the end links and are currently waiting for the bushings to be delivered. this is a huge pain in the undercarriage and this is driving us insane! it never happened during the colder weather. but it seems as if the more you drive it, the worse it gets. I've been on the ranger forums looking for this topic, and everyone states ball joints, rack and pinion, slip yoke. but everything we've tried doesn't seem to be solving the problem. any help in this manner would be greatly appreciated.
Member
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 2,358
Likes: 391
From: Everett, WA
Have you tried with the old tires and wheels?
There's quite a few things that will cause a clunk up front. Bad ball joints, bad control arms, sway bar end links, and shocks. Check all of these things first.
However one thing that people overlook on the torsion bar models is the torsion key pads. Above the torsion keys are metal plates that the keys rest in. The plates sit inside a "cage" that is welded to the frame. From the factory, there is a rubber pad in between the frame and the plate. Over time these rubber pads deteriorate and fall out. This allows the metal plates to move around inside the cage, which will result in a clunk. Replacing these pads probably won't fix your clunk if you can feel it in the steering wheel, but it is one more thing to look at.
View this thread if you're unfamiliar with what I'm referring to.
https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...cation-148672/
However one thing that people overlook on the torsion bar models is the torsion key pads. Above the torsion keys are metal plates that the keys rest in. The plates sit inside a "cage" that is welded to the frame. From the factory, there is a rubber pad in between the frame and the plate. Over time these rubber pads deteriorate and fall out. This allows the metal plates to move around inside the cage, which will result in a clunk. Replacing these pads probably won't fix your clunk if you can feel it in the steering wheel, but it is one more thing to look at.
View this thread if you're unfamiliar with what I'm referring to.
https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...cation-148672/
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
