Clunk Pass. front end

Alright... I got under there tonight and put a wrench on every damn bolt I could find... nothing was loose. I am at a loss... I don’t want to just start blindly replacing things, that could get expensive.. I had my wife turn the wheel while the truck was running and noticed the steering rack was moving ever so slightly in the bushing area. Not sure if that is normal... but I did notice there was movement there. No clunk, obviously it only happens when I hit a bump while driving. I also noticed what appears to be some grease at the end of my LCAs..



And these are a couple of pics of my steering rack... looks kind of shot... not sure if that can attribute to my issues but these are the only two things I could see that were off.

 

Another way I narrowed it down was I could make it pop by rocking the truck back and forth/shaking the tire from the side. Then I could listen for where it’s coming from

 

I tried that as well. Vigorously... couldn’t get a clunk or pop from that...

 

I don’t know but it looks like you’ve got a fiat amount of preload on the coilover adjuster? Not familiar with Fox but I imagine they have a recommended maximum amount of threads showing. This can cause the suspension to top out after hitting a bump. If you’re within spec then, like others have said, check Lca cam bolts. These suckers have to be tight and the only way to know for sure is to put a torque wrench on them. Good luck!!!

 

Not sure what their limit is on thread showing but I have been lurking around in the fox forum on here and 27-28 threads is pretty normal on a setup like mine... Not saying it’s normal, but other guys run it like that. Especially since the shocks are rated for 3” of lift and I’m not all the way there yet. That’s another reason I’m stumped with this!!

 

It’s kind of a misconception Yes the might be rated for 3” but that puts you really near being topped out and after hitting a small bump then suspension rebounds and tops out. Like I said I’m not familiar with Fox but I’d imagine they have to give you a max amount of thread showing and then that amount goes down as the spring rate goes up. The only other thing I can think of that hasn’t already been mentioned is if the sway bar hasn’t been relocated forward or the correct spacer orientation on lower shock mounts. Your set up may not have either of those.

 

I might have to research up on that and see if I am at the top of the limit of the shock, and if so maybe a new coil is in the works..? Obviously for both sides, as far as the spacers and the sway bar when you order fox shox they come with a sway bar re-locating blocks/spacers and the lower shock mounts have two different size spacers and they give directions to orient the lower shock aft, meaning the large spacer in front smaller one in rear. Now, that being said is there any way to check and see if the shock itself is bad..? It shouldn't be, its literally been on the truck for a total of 3 months, no wheeling, just commuting to work a whopping 20 miles a day.

 

I wouldn’t suspect the shock but one way to check is switch sides and see if the noise follows the shock from passenger to drivers side. Other than that you can pull the shock, spin up the adjuster, remove spring and cycle shock by hand. Other than that so many things it could be... hate to guess and lead you down the wrong road. If you’ve got a go pro maybe mound it and drive and listen for clunk. At least you can associate the clunk with up and down or even sided to side (steering rack bushings). I’d still check torque the upper and lower control arms just to rule that out. You didn’t have the clunk prior to lifting correct???

 

That’s what I thought about doing with the shock. Flipping side to side.. that’s last resort tho... No clunking before the lift. But I also don’t really recall it before I did my cmc either... so I wonder if by doing my cmc welding messed up my body mount bushing..?

 

I sort of doubt the mount bushing is bad from the welding but good thought for sure. You could alway lay under that side of the truck and see if you can push up on the body to see if you can replicate the clunk. My pictures of the truck on the ground taken from the side? Like to see how high it sitting.

 

Do you have a front bumper or just that bull bar?

 

That bull bar is a winch bumper. No winch tho.

 

Ah I see it now- Check your radiator body mounts. The bushing that are OEM are SUPER cheap. I had a clunk on my front end and replaced good as new. Super easy and cheap to do too.

$41 Energy Suspension 9.4102G Universal Mount

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CN5F4Q

 

I’ll check those out. Thanks!!

 

Any updates on your issue?

 

No updates as of yet.. I think I pinpointed it down to either the LCA bushings or the body mount bushing on the passenger side.. I have been reading up on a thread and people are saying how rough the ride is after installing the poly body mount bushings so I'm kind of weary to tear the old mounts out and have a rougher ride. BUT if that is the issue the clunk will be gone.. I don't know what to do.. lol

 

Body mount bushings have been known to go out on many 2nd Gens, there’s even been a 3rd Gen replacing them. They’re relatively cheap, but a bitch to change, as you probably know.

 

Yea, ive been reading up on it and might just wind up biting the bullet and get the kit and give it a go.. I had an old Eagle Talon I did poly motor mounts on, it was driveable and not noticeable until at a light. Sounds like this will be the exact opposite..HA

 

Nice, I’m checking (tightening) mine, I have a weird sound but only have 7k miles.

 

pull the sway bar last night, it wasn't the end links.. now onto the next thing, ordered some new LCA and hopefully that solves it. maybe its the LBJ or maybe its the bushings in the LCAs, either way getting new ones will illuminate bot of those items.... this is soooo annoying