Greetings all:

I've been having the loud clunk under the drivers side floor, that many others have as well. Did many hours of research and replaced the sway bar end links. Napa only had the left side in stock so I did it first last weekend and did the right side this weekend. One thing I noticed when doing the right side was the hole in the frame was all wallowed out. Drilled out the bushing in the upper end link and used a bigger bolt to fill the gap up. went for a drive and the clunk was way worse than it ever was still on the left side. So I took off the left one and went for a drive. Sure enough no clunk, the left one was wallowed out as well. So I did the same thing on that side and the evil clunk is finally gone. I did read of this in one of the threads I researched here that one of the senior memebers did with his X. Just thought I would throw that out to you guys that may have a clunk after replacing the end links, Check the upper holes. Thanks for all your great advice, you guys are fantastic. Thanks Again

 

Good to know as I'll be doing mine soon.

 

x2

 

There's a lot of this going around. After $2K of tires, ball joints and tie-rod ends it seems silly not to complete the trifecta.

 

Great to know, I have had that noise also. Did the ball joints, tie rods etc also, now just need to find bushings worth a damn. Read here that there was a new OEM part for these but they are around $100.00 each side.

 

If a 4x4, tighten those front U-bolts, they can get loose and cause a racket under the front end - loud clunks too.

 

Thanks for the tip, I will check them.

 

I read through a bunch of post here and was able to take care of most of my steering, swaying and clunking issues on my '01 4x PS Xurs.

I had replaced my ball joints about a year ago because the front end had started making a lot of noise. This took care of a lot of things, my drivers side ball joint was seriously worn out. I still had a rattle so I went ahead and did the tie rods also, that helped tighten things up but still had the rattle and a large clunk every once in a while.

My rattle was the front sway bar bushings, they looked fine but after unbolted the links the slop was very evident. The new ones from Energy Suspension took out the rattle I had when driving over small bumps or through gravel. I went ahead and pushed out the factory sway bar link ends and replaced with Energy Suspension parts also, I am not 100 % convinced on them, may buck up to the $200.00 factory upgrades from the originals. After seeing how the factory ones are made I think that would have less slop than the urethane.

The loud clunk was the upper sway bar link bolt on one side as mentioned earlier in this thread. I used a spacer behind the cast steel frame stiffener to take out the slop, but it cam back after a short time. I still need to address this with the larger bolt fix.

A new Belstein steering stabilizer was a huge help, my stock one had a large free area in it, this was way overdue.

The last thing I did was the steering box adjustment, I ended up turning the adjuster in 1-1/4 turns. Taking that play out made it possible to tow my camper without it being such a pain in the a$$. I think I may take it in just a bit more as it still seams to have a bit of play.

I have air springs in the back and I think I need to take a look at how they have the solenoid valve installed. I think that if air can travel from one side to the other that it can not help with the sway problem. If the rig leans over onto on airbag it would increase the pressure on the opposite side making the roll worse. I love having the airbags for leveling but I think I need to put an isolation valve in.

Just wanted to post my results, there is a ton of great information posted by a lot of helpful people. Thanks to everyone who have taken the time to help others.

 

All of this is very helpful information. I would like to add a few things that may not have been mentioned. The anti clatter (rattle) teflon pads in the front leaf springs, located at each end of the spring between the leafs, can also cause wierd noises, rattles and squeeks. Especially after a rain as the springs rust rapidly. They are relatively inexpensive but seldom stocked.

Also, quite some time ago, I realized that even though the lockout hubs were in the automatic position, the front drive shaft still rotates. To cure this, I remove the steel gear inside of each hub assembly. This virtually turns the truck into a 2 wheel drive. Not only did a lot of noise and vibration go away, but I swear I get an extra 1.5 to 2 MPG. These gears are easy to remove and reinstall when necessary. I carry them with me along with a pliars and small screw driver. Simply remove the hub cap, pop out the large retaining snap ring, pull out the lockout assembly, remove the inner snap ring pop out the inner assembly and remove the steel gear, reassemble. It takes about 5 minutes for each wheel to remove or install each wheel. This works well for me as most of my miles on on the highway. When I need the 4X4, such as lauching the boat, I install the gears.

Just my opinion here, these are great trucks but the front ends need a lot of attention. I have 325k on my 99 SD and it's still going as good as new. But I've been into the front end a bit more than I care to.

 

This was my fix to the problems you mentioned (wallowed hole...etc);

Enjoy! Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Single Post - Excursion, Under Driver and Passenger, *CLUNK* or *POP* sound. HELP!!

 

I bought poly's from rock auto for the front of my 4x4 X, for like under $30.

 

Anyone have a fix like above for the moog links? Mine clunk bc the hole in the frame is larger than the bolt on the link.

 

After reading the "clunk" threads, I disconnected the front sway bar end links and went for a test drive. Still clunked. Got under the truck while my son rocked it side to side hard enough to make the noise. Finally, we found the passenger side front shock bushing was completely gone. I can't believe I didn't notice it just walking around the vehicle. Anyway, here's something else to consider if you can't find the source of the clunk.





(Replaced the fronts with some Ranchos and have some on order for the back. At 120,000 miles I guess it's probably time anyway)

 

kudos for finding this thread after sitting idle for 6 months!

 

Here's a picture of my similar problem:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...your-feet.html