Weird clunk in the front driving me nuts (1 Viewer)

[Murckman]

In need of some help
2002 Land Cruiser with 126k
I'm trying to figure out this odd pop/ clunk in the front end. In my efforts to figure it out noticed the sway bar links were trashed and later noticed the tie rod ends were too. I fixed all that and much better ride now, but the noise is still there.
The noise only seems to happen when I back up (typically after moving just a few feet) and turning the wheel slightly. However, it doesn't happen all the time, say 50% of the time. Also, it appears to come more from the drivers side.
Currently have OME front and rear shocks and torsion bars (2" lift I think) BFG AT 285/75/16, all that were on when I bought the truck 3 months ago. Everything else on the truck feels pretty tight in regards to steering and suspension, but this noise is driving me nuts trying to figure out the source.
Lots of torque steer so wondering if the pop is from a worn ball joint in upper control arm. However, noise feels more towards the front and bottom of the drivers side though, not really coming through the wheel well - if that makes sense.
The UCA's could use new bushings but again not sure if that's where the noise is coming from. As much as I'd like to think it's the UCA's and just go buy a set of Total Chaos, I would hate to do that and still have this pop noise.
Any advise will help.

 

[DirtDawg]

Have you checked your drive flanges for wear?

 

[Murckman]

Christmas Day in Florida

 

[Murckman]

Didn't think of the drive flanges
It is a fairly loud "pop" noise at times.
Hard to check?

 

[DirtDawg]

Didn't think of the drive flanges
It is a fairly loud "pop" noise at times.
Hard to check?

No, just pop off the dust cap on the front hubs and look at the Cv shaft End and the drive plates. If there is any play between the two they can cause a clunk.

 

[Murckman]

Had to look
Didn't take off passenger side to see if there was a difference
What do you think?

 

[DirtDawg]

Try to clean some of the grease off to see the teeth. They don't look bad from the pic, but the grease could be hiding things. If the teeth look good and no gaps between them you can most likely rule it out.

 

[Murckman]

I'll try that, thanks!
It will never clunk going forward, just reverse. And only one (violent at times) "pop" is all it does. Weirdest damn thing.l
I was hoping for a reason to get some new UCA's

 

[DirtDawg]

I'll try that, thanks!
It will never clunk going forward, just reverse. And only one (violent at times) "pop" is all it does. Weirdest damn thing.l
I was hoping for a reason to get some new UCA's

Check your ball joints and replace if loose.

Also I would check u joints on your front drive shaft as well.

 

[Pinittowinit]

I would first start by making sure the entire drivetrain is greased properly with the correct grease. From what I have read they are quite picky on the drivetrain grease. Mine made some aweful at times "clunks" then I started reading about the drivetrain clunk isn't greased properly. Just a thought

 

[bctlex]

The OFFICIAL clunk/thunk driveshaft thread

 

[mmaakk]

You say it occurs when you back up, is this while your applying brake force? I have a similar clunk I'm trying to figure out when I apply brakes moving forward from the exact area your describing. Once force is applied it won't replicate until I reverse and apply brakes then move forward again. It also happens when I'm pulling away from the curb when parked. I am leaning towards steering rack or front diff play. Good luck, let me know if you have any new findings. This has nothing to do with the front diff clunk mentioned by many here in the forum.

 

[Murckman]

Good responses from all. Gives me hope.
Thanks

 

[Murckman]

You say it occurs when you back up, is this while your applying brake force? I have a similar clunk I'm trying to figure out when I apply brakes moving forward from the exact area your describing. Once force is applied it won't replicate until I reverse and apply brakes then move forward again. It also happens when I'm pulling away from the curb when parked. I am leaning towards steering rack or front diff play. Good luck, let me know if you have any new findings. This has nothing to do with the front diff clunk mentioned by many here in the forum.

The noise happens whether or not applying any brakes. Starting to think it might be the lower control arm ball joint. The tie rod end ball joints were completely trashed and likely the ball joints on the lower control arms are too. The noise does seem to be coming from that area.

 

[mmaakk]

I see, sounds like a different animal than mine. Getting underneath the vehicle and trying to replicate the noise may be the best way to find it.

 

[Murckman]

I found the issue. Turned out the sway bar frame bushings in the front were causing the clunk. Upon visual inspection the original bushings appeared to be in decent shape and there wasn't any play in the sway bar when you grabbed it and tried to force it to move. One bushing seemed to have more deterioration than the other. But these are heavy trucks and trying to manually force a sway bar to move versus the force of the truck doing it is a huge difference. After removal both bushings where they touch the frame were cracking and the galvanized metal on the backside of the bushing was completely rusted away.
It took 2-1/2 hours to install the new ones because 3 of the 4 bolts needed be be torched out. I went with the Moog rubber bushings as replacement. The location of the bolts are just not easy to work on if they are somewhat seized and hence all the additional time get the old bolts out. It was well worth the time spent because now the clunk is completely gone and the drive feels much tighter and steering more responsive with less body roll.
I hope this can help someone else trying to figure out their issue with a front end clunk!

 

[Murckman]

New tires helped with the drive too. New Toyo AT II LT285/75/16 to replace my 7 year old BF Good All Terrains that were on it when I bought it.

 

[mmaakk]

Happy for you, way to stick with it, I'm still in search of my clunk. I replaced all sway bar bushing and all is snug and tight! Thanks for sharing... those tires look sweet!

 

[Murckman]

Thanks
It took 4 long months to figure it out. I am really impressed with these tires.

 

[paflytyer]

You say it occurs when you back up, is this while your applying brake force? I have a similar clunk I'm trying to figure out when I apply brakes moving forward from the exact area your describing. Once force is applied it won't replicate until I reverse and apply brakes then move forward again. It also happens when I'm pulling away from the curb when parked. I am leaning towards steering rack or front diff play. Good luck, let me know if you have any new findings. This has nothing to do with the front diff clunk mentioned by many here in the forum.

This sounds like loose hub bolts. If it happens only once in each direction, I'd check there first. When you move in one direction and apply the brake, the entire hub and rotor are moving and taking up a little bit of play. If you continue in that direction and apply the brake again, it wont happen. If you go in the other direction and apply the brake, it will most likely happen once again.