Quiz - Name that clunk noise up front (1 Viewer)

[ManrigDude]

Let's play a little game of "Name that Clunk". I found my problem last weekend so this is purely for entertainment purposes. I'll post the answer tomorrow.


The drivers side wheel was making noise for some time so I finally decided it was time for a birf job. I went whole hog and ordered Longfields (with chromoly axles) and all new bearings / seals from CDan.

I hadn't driven the rig for several weeks because I had broken a brake line while wheelin' (one of the hard lines just after the flexible line on the front PS by the caliper) and didn't feel comfortalble driving around with vice grips holding the crimp in my brake line

The parts arrived and I spent a day and a half covered in grease. I replaced the wheel bearings and trunion bearings while I was in there. Everything seemed to go well and I got it all put back together, including replacing the broken brake line.

Then I went out for a test drive. In normal driving, everything seemed fine. BUT, whenever I turned sharply, I would hear a definate "clunk" from the front axle. It sounds like its coming from the passenger side of the rig but I can't tell if it's from the passengers wheel or the diff (which is offset to that side). There was never any "clunk" before the birf job.

I checked the following to help find the cause:

Lugnuts - tight
Jacked up front end - no wheel play
Checked caliper bolts - tight
Checked steering arm studs/nuts - tight

So, what do you think it could be?? First correct answer gets . . . . well, nothing actually

 

[topend yobbo]

You left the vice grips on

 

[OZCAL]

You left the vice grips on

 

[tarbe]

You forgot to grease the cat bearing.

 

[RAYJON]

brake caliper still hanging on coat hanger on front spring...

 

[rolliges]

Just your imagination....

 

[ManrigDude]

Just your imagination....

Yeah. It turns out I was transporting some 10' 4x4 posts in the rig and every time I turned a sharp corner they would slide across the top of the back seat and hit me in the head!! No, really. There is a mechanical explanation.

Keep guessing. I know you can figure it out. You guys know everthing

 

[rolliges]

Yeah. It turns out I was transporting some 10' 4x4 posts in the rig and every time I turned a sharp corner they would slide across the top of the back seat and hit me in the head!!

LMFAO

 

[fzj80kidpen]

Steering stop bolt thingy

 

[aamiggia]

OK, I'll bite.

You forgot to put the outer snap ring back on each axle. So it was sliding in and out of the hub and hitting something.

 

[Beowulf]

Shock bushings.
-B-

 

[KliersLC]

Sway bar loose

 

[alia176]

Are your wheel bearings still tight? As in no play when you grab the tire 12/6 o'clock.

 

[cruiserdan]

I would say shock bushings or perhaps the sway bar end bushing (at the axle housing). You did not mention breaking into the suspension though so I am not convinced.

 

[landtank]

that single marble left in your skull rolling to it's limits.

 

[RavenTai]

Tie rod end's? Steering stabilizer rubbing on tie rods?

on a similar note I though the back hatch or tail gate or latch had developed a problem, as I was getting a structural sounding metalic clank going over bumps from back there, been looking for it on and off for several days lookign at the strikers latches closign and checkign for play etc, was sitting on the tail gate today and happened to bump the hitch with my foot "clank"

Forgot to pull the hitch back out after a recent tow
it is loose in the socket and makes noise when there is not a trailer on it.

 

[ManrigDude]

OK. So here's the deal. I figured since it didn't make the clunk before the axle work, it has to be something I put together wrong. After double-checking that the wheel lugs, wheel bearings, and steering arm studs were not loose, I thought maybe the c-clips didnt' engage in the stub axle and it was drifting back and forth. Checked the clips and they were right where they should be.

Hmm. Now what? I figured the only other culprit could be that I hadn't fully seated the axle into the birf and now the axle was sliding back and forth in the housing. The sound was definately on the right-hand side of the rig but I thought sound must be the mass of the long-side axle sliding and impacting the diff. So, I decided I was going to have to tear it back apart and check it I pulled the whole long side apart and . . . . . . NO. The axle was fully engaged. ARGHH!

So I get the whole long-side put back together. On a side note, it took just over an hour from start to finish which was a tiny fraction of what it took the first time around. It's good to know I could do a birf swap on that bad boy in a reasonable amount of time if I needed to.

So, then I figure I'll just have to launch into the short-side. I get the tire off and the brake caliper off and then I notice something odd. Why does that swaybar bracket look crooked? The answer is because it is NO LONGER WELDED TO THE AXLE HOUSING! The bracket is sitting firmly on top of the housing but it has broken the welds. That's also what broke the brake line!! The clunk had nothing to do with the axle at all!! As I mentioned, I didn't drive the rig between the brake line failure and the axle work and I just ASSUMED that I had screwed something up on the axle job.

So, Kudos to KliersLC and Cruiserdan who, unlike me, freed themselves from the tunnel vision and correctly assessed the problem. You guys are awesome!!

Lessons learned:

1. Always consult IH8MUD first, before you tear apart your hard work
2. When something breaks, find out WHY before just replacing it.

Thanks to all who participated.

 

[topend yobbo]

thought you knew what was going wrong to start with !!!!
Couldnt have looked to hard .

 

[tarbe]

He found it himself.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

So I broke the same hard line last weekend and was searching around and found this thread... After reading I thought to myself, "Hmmm... I've had a clunk in my front end the last few times I took it out." So I went and looked. Low and behold, my PS sway bar mount broke too. Has anyone else had this problem?!?