My 11 cc lb 4x4 6.2 has a clunking/loose sound coming from the front end. It is prominent when going over small/medium bumps but not so much large bumps. I have had my local dealer and a couple local shops look at it and they all say everything checks out. It definitely seems like something is loose in the front suspension. Anyone have any ideas? I just put new Gabriel max control shocks on all four corners. I have no play in wheel bearings or ball joints. Tie rod ends also look fine. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

You may have to re tighten the bolts on the shocks.

 

I agree, check all components for tightness/proper torque

 

Ok I will give it a try tomorrow thanks

 

So I checked all the bolts on the shocks and they were all tight. I did notice the tie rods had some back and forth rocking motion to them. Is this normal?

 

Could be considered normal.


to check the tie rods and the drag link put the truck on stands (front end) just high enough to lift the wheels off the ground.


Then use a pry bar under each wheel (one at a time) and lift the tire up while watching those tie rods. and the drag link.


If you see play then they need to be replaced.

 

I have a 04f-250, i ran into the same clunk back in 2007, chased it for a while. It turned out to be the sway bar end links. I replaced the with neoprene ones. Problem solved.. The factory ones are a heim joint set up and wear out fast..

 

Ok I will give it a try. Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

How can you tell if the sway bar end links are bad? Just looking at them they look fine.

 

You usually can't look at suspension parts and determine whether they are bad or not. You need to unload the pressure on them, possibly by taking them loose, and see what the bushings are like.
Did the noise start after you installed the shocks, or before? If after, they are highly suspect. You could have worn shock bolts, the sleeve could be too big for the bolt,etc.
How many miles on the truck?

 

The noise was there before I replaced the shocks. The truck has 41k miles on it.

 

I have the exact same noise and figure its the sway bar ends. They never look loose but you replace them and noise goes away. I have about 75000miles

 

Well I took the truck to a local shop and had them check the sway bar links and Trac bar. They said that everything was solid as can be. One tech did notice that the cheap rubber leveling kit looked a little squished. They think it is the culprit . they quoted me 160 dollars to remove the kit. The only problem is I have fairly new 35s on the truck and I'm not sure if they will clear without the leveling kit. Does anyone know if the 35s will clear?