Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
#641947
03/16/10 04:39 PM
03/16/10 04:39 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,395 Highland, MI.
Sunroofcuda
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Highland, MI.
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I'm hoping someone like a dealer tech sees this post & can respond, or someone that has experienced & fixed this issue.
Anyway, my car has about 70,000 miles on it & has developed quite a noise coming from what seems to be the RHF. It sounds like something is loose & it makes all kinds of noise on even the slightest bump - it does not seem to matter if you are turning or going straight. There does not seem to be any steering play or shimmy, & no vibrations at speed. It sounds to me like a strut or strut mount problem, or possibly ball joint(s).
The car was in for a routine trans service at my local Dodge dealer in Dec. 2009 & the mechanic said he inspected the front end (ball joints & tie rods) & he said everything looked good.
I want to determine at this point if there are inherent problems with the front suspension on these that would result in these symptoms. I called a local auto repair shop & the owner of the shop told me his wife has an '07 Charger also that developed a clunk & they cannot figure out what it is from. He said they replaced the struts & made sure the BJ's & Tie rod ends were good & everything looked tight. He also said there are 2 lower ball joints on these cars & one is serviced by the dealer only & is mega expensive - like in the $750.00 range. He has done several of these cars in service that had ball joints that were about to fall apart.
Anyway, let me know if y'all have any experience with this. I don't know whether to go to a Dodge dealer or a good front end shop to have whatever work done. It's my company car, so I don't wrench on it at all!
No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: Sunroofcuda]
#641948
03/16/10 05:35 PM
03/16/10 05:35 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 17,844 S.E. Michigan
ZIPPY
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Try riding the brake pedal slightly while hitting a small bump. If the noise disappears when the brakes are applied, then it probably needs a hardware kit for the front brake pads. Kit costs about 10 bucks at rock auto. It might not be the answer, but I've seen one do it at 65k miles so maybe that'll help. The metal loses it's 'spring' qualities after a bunch of hot/cold and being beat up over time
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: ZIPPY]
#641949
03/16/10 05:56 PM
03/16/10 05:56 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,395 Highland, MI.
Sunroofcuda
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Well, I'm going to take it to a front-end shop tomorrow morning. I called the place & they thought it might just be the sway bar link or bushings - I didn't think of that but it sounds feasible!
No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: Sunroofcuda]
#641950
03/16/10 06:13 PM
03/16/10 06:13 PM
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 15,995 RI Deep in the rust belt
chargervert
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I saw something on Challengertalk about the swaybar links needing a washer,when they start clunking,I believe Chargers use the same ones.
70 Charger R/T SE 472 Hemi
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69 Charger R/T SE Sunroofcar
68 Charger 383
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71 Cuda 340
09 Challenger R/T Classic
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: Sunroofcuda]
#641952
03/16/10 10:16 PM
03/16/10 10:16 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 163 Winnipeg, MB
sreinheimer
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My sway bar bushings wore out and clunked around like something was falling apart. The bushings themselves are cheap and they ware easy to do. And i am pretty sure moog makes the lower ball joints now. Cause the dealer wants you to replace the whole spindle just to do the ball joint. The sway bar bushings are fairly common to wear out on these cars.
69 Dodge Charger - first full resto
05 Dodge Magnum R/T
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: sreinheimer]
#641953
03/16/10 11:36 PM
03/16/10 11:36 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,395 Highland, MI.
Sunroofcuda
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Someone E-mailed me this tonight - hmmmmmmm:
I work for a city we have chargers in the fleet cop cars I have replaced just about every cars lower control arm for just the same rattle you are talking about from what i see on the charger cop cars the front susp. is junk and the dealers say sorry out of warranty Crown vics next year im thinking
Harold's Frame Shop tomorrow AM - I'll post what they find. If it is sway bar link/bushings, I'll probably replace them (myself if I have to) with poly bushings, unless Harold's has the poly bushings. If it needs lower control arms, I'm gonna be pi$$ed!
No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: pishta]
#641955
03/17/10 06:17 AM
03/17/10 06:17 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,176 Park Forest, IL
slantzilla
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G/F has an '06 Charger that makes a clunking noise. I told her from the start it was the brake calipers rattling. She had it to 2 dealers and 3 independents. They all told her the brakes are fine. Had sway bar bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. replaced. It still clunks. The noise goes away when you drag the brakes. IMHO, this front end design is a wad of crap. Way too many pieces in it for what it does.
"Everybody funny, now you funny too."
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: Sunroofcuda]
#641957
03/17/10 11:36 AM
03/17/10 11:36 AM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 420 Central Ohio
Ledman_70
mopar
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mopar
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Probably not the same issue, but a few month's ago my wife's 05 300C started rattling a little over some bumps. I got it up on the rack and discovered the brace that runs under the exhaust was only clearing the pipes by about 1/16", so I dropped it and slid a washer under each bolt. No rattle anymore. Of course, last year I had to replace both outer tie rod ends at 70k, so I agree with what was said earlier about the front ends being junk on these cars!
Jeff Adams
64 426 Polara
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: Sunroofcuda]
#641959
03/17/10 12:35 PM
03/17/10 12:35 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 46 Saskatchewan Canada
FrozenDuster
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Had the swaybar bushings and links replaced on my wifes 06 Magnum RT, also had the lower steering shaft replaced at the same time. This cleared up a lot of the clunking and rattling from the front end, and the steering became a bit tighter feeling. Also have had both tie rod ends changed previous to this. I haven't been under there to take a good look on how things are put together, but all these parts on a car with 60K KMs, (40k miles) and 99% highway use makes me wonder how many more times am I going to have to replace them.
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: FrozenDuster]
#641960
03/17/10 01:38 PM
03/17/10 01:38 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,395 Highland, MI.
Sunroofcuda
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OK, results are in - sort of. Harolds drove it - 2 different guys - one is the GM of the place. They both heard the noise plain as day, pulled the front wheels off & checked everything out thoroughly. Everything is tight. These guys have been doing front ends for over 20-30 years (each tech that looked at it) & they said the control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, susp. links, etc. are all tight as can be. The GM guy said there was a LITTLE play in the bottom strut mount MAYBE & that could cause some noise, but they were actually baffled. I just wanted to verify that I wasn't looking at a potential major component failure while going around a curve on the highway! Anyway, next it's my turn to pull the wheels off & take a look. I've been known to find stuff that other "experts" have missed!
I wonder if Dodge has a TSB on this complaint???
Thanks for the input guys.
-Eric
No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: Sunroofcuda]
#641961
03/17/10 02:20 PM
03/17/10 02:20 PM
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,601 Hatfield,Pa.
bigD
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Go here http://www.lxforums.com/ do a search for front end clunk & check the posts that come up,D
2015 Chrysler200s,2008 Charger R/T R&T,1999 Dakota R/T,1999 Viper ACR,1968 Charger R/T.
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: Sunroofcuda]
#641962
03/17/10 02:26 PM
03/17/10 02:26 PM
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 15,995 RI Deep in the rust belt
chargervert
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I Live Here
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RI Deep in the rust belt
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Check what I said earlier,on Challengertalk. All they did was add a washer,and the noise went away, There were pictures in the thread,of exactly what to do to fix it. The thread was a few months back,you may have to dig for it. I am going to do this fix to my wifes Challenger,before the noise starts.
70 Charger R/T SE 472 Hemi
70 Charger R/T convertible
70 Charger R/T V Code Sixpack
69 Charger R/T SE Sunroofcar
68 Charger 383
68 Charger 318
71 Charger R/T
70 Challenger convertible
71 Challenger convertible
71 Cuda 340
09 Challenger R/T Classic
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Re: Front End Rattle/Clunk 2007 Charger:
[Re: pro451bee]
#641965
11/09/14 06:50 PM
11/09/14 06:50 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,132 A Red State
SNK-EYZ
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I Live Here
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Check the bushings in the tension struts. They run from the lower ball joint area forward to the frame/crossmember. Odds are the rubber bushings are shot. Pics from online. On Kayse's car they were causing a rattle and shudder when the brakes were applied. Kayse's car the bushing were waaay worse than the ones in the pics (about 100k miles).
Kayse can't keep up at all now. lol
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