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2002 Special "Clunk" up front
#944986
03/06/11 11:20 PM
03/06/11 11:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dartman75
OP
master
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OP
master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Once the cold hit in December, my 2002 300M special started making clunky rattling feelings over the rough snow packed residential roads. It's audible to a lesser extent and hard to tell where it comes from, but also can feel it in the floor of the car through the dead pedal and general driver footwell area. I can induce this in the parking garage by quickly turning back and forth. But that is about the only predictability I have in the cause as some bumps do tiand some don't. Some uneven bumps cause it and others don't. When the car is warm (fresh from heated garage, or warmer days) it s certainly less prevalent or vanishes for all but the bumpiest roads. I did some digging on the LH forums and came up with man options that it could be:
strut bushings
ball joints
Control Arm bushings
Sway bar bushings
Sway bar end links
Is there a rasonable way to reduce that to the culprit. Things to poke, prod or pry to find out what is what?
Thanks in advance.
Greg
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Re: 2002 Special "Clunk" up front
[Re: Todd]
#944989
03/07/11 01:46 AM
03/07/11 01:46 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 515
Bolingbrook, IL
HemiRunner
super street
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super street
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 515
Bolingbrook, IL
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Unfortunately newer chrysler products are bad for outer tie rod failure, but also have had problems with the sway bar end links & sway bar frame mount bushings. To check the tie rod ends, easier with two people, jack the car up & shake the wheel side to side & have one person look at the outer tie rod for movement. You can also put your hand on the joint to feel for movement. Inner tie rod, put your hand on the inner portion of the boot & feel for movement. Outer sway bar end links, slide under the car with the weight on the wheels & see if you can move the sway bar end up & down to see if there is play in the joint. Sway bar frame mount bushings, look for shiny area on the bar around the mount bushing. That tells you it is moving around too much in the bushing. These are just some of the things to check.
Blown & Injected, need I say more?
71 Road Runner
04 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 CTD
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Re: 2002 Special "Clunk" up front
[Re: Dartman75]
#944992
03/07/11 05:28 PM
03/07/11 05:28 PM
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 473
MI
Blown69
mopar addict
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mopar addict
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 473
MI
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Quote:
Once the cold hit in December, my 2002 300M special started making clunky rattling feelings over the rough snow packed residential roads. It's audible to a lesser extent and hard to tell where it comes from, but also can feel it in the floor of the car through the dead pedal and general driver footwell area. I can induce this in the parking garage by quickly turning back and forth. But that is about the only predictability I have in the cause as some bumps do tiand some don't. Some uneven bumps cause it and others don't. When the car is warm (fresh from heated garage, or warmer days) it s certainly less prevalent or vanishes for all but the bumpiest roads. I did some digging on the LH forums and came up with man options that it could be:
strut bushings
ball joints
Control Arm bushings
Sway bar bushings
Sway bar end links
Is there a rasonable way to reduce that to the culprit. Things to poke, prod or pry to find out what is what?
Thanks in advance.
Greg
We replaced many sway bar links over the years for that concern
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Re: 2002 Special "Clunk" up front
[Re: Dartman75]
#944994
03/08/11 02:18 AM
03/08/11 02:18 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dartman75
OP
master
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OP
master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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I pulled the drive side end link out, and drove it. Dead quiet, no clunk or thunk. The end links had no play in them, were not seize and seems to be in good shape, but I replaced them anyway. I didn't know the sway bar diameter (1" or 1-1/16") or i'd have grabbed those despite no signs of movement in the mounts or bar. After replacing the endlinks I test drove and it still clunks again so I have to assume it's either the sway bar frame bushings or the sway bar is allowing something else to flaot around when I steer back and forth to induce sway. It seems like that thunk or clunk is too solid (hard surface impact) for it to be sway bar bushings though. Is there anything else that can unload and load as the sway bars oppose the motion of the shocks and body?
What is the swaybar diameter on the 2002 300M Special?
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Re: 2002 Special "Clunk" up front
[Re: Dartman75]
#944995
03/08/11 09:47 AM
03/08/11 09:47 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 515
Bolingbrook, IL
HemiRunner
super street
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super street
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 515
Bolingbrook, IL
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Trying to find clunks & squeaks can be a mechanics nightmare as sound can travel through suspension & frame & make you think it ic coming from someplace it's not. As mentioned already, the sway bar & tie rods are the usual culprits, but on the newer cars there are many other places it can come from. Being a mechanic it is a little easier to check everything cause you have it on a lift & see a lot better. Other areas that can make noise is ball joints, lower control arm bushings, upper strut mounts, steering rack mounts.....had that one time, steered fine, wheel was straight, but one of the bolts that hold the rack down was loose & would make a thunk when the rack shifted, so there can be quite a bit to look at.
Blown & Injected, need I say more?
71 Road Runner
04 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 CTD
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Re: 2002 Special "Clunk" up front
[Re: 392charger]
#945005
03/21/11 09:06 PM
03/21/11 09:06 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 515
Bolingbrook, IL
HemiRunner
super street
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super street
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 515
Bolingbrook, IL
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392, Are you seeing movement at the inner dust boot of the rack or the bushings where the rack mounts to the cradle? Inner tie rods don't have bushings, it is a ball & cup setup & screws into the inner rack. If your turning the wheel with the tie on the ground, you will see some deflection in the rack mount bushings, but it shouldn't be excessive. Best way to check inner & outer tie rods is have the wheel off the ground, put your hand on the boot end closest to the rack or on the outer tie rod end. Have someone sharply jiggle the tire side to side, not a smoothe motion as you won't feel the pop as well. The outer tie rod you can try & move it up & down as well to see there is any movement in the joint. Rack mount bushings should be avail from Napa. If it's an iner tie rod, you need a special tool to remove/install it. Some parts stores have these that you can rent & they aren't that had to change.
Blown & Injected, need I say more?
71 Road Runner
04 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 CTD
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I finally got around to checking the clunking noise in my front end yesterday (2000 300M), and it looks to be the inner tie rod? Not sure what it's called. It's the bar that connects the outer tie rod to the rack. Cant see it very well, just looking thru the wheel well with a flash light while my son jiggled the steering wheel back and forth. Appears to be very spoppy where the bolts connect the bar to the rack. Almost like the bolts are loose but I assume there is a bushing or something there? Both sides of the car are loose btw. I'm not doing a good job on the description I know, but can somebody offer some advice or maybe a link to an exploded view of that set up? Thanks