Clunk sound hunting - after some wheeling

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harman5

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So I recently got a lift installed by a fairly reputable shop. For the front they did new lower BJs, new inner control arm bushes, new UCAs and BJs, coils and struts.

No issues initially, no sounds etc, until I went on a wheeling trip, and got up into some sand tracks that put some twist on the suspension...as in, left front at full compression, right front in the hole etc. I got some fairly concerning noises at the time. I don't think the sounds were from rubbing the frame as the Jeep sits reasonably high and it was soft sand underneath.

Anyway fast forward to now and recently the Jeep has developed a single metal heavy 'clunk' when the weight shifts from one side to another in turns. Even slow speed turns, if the turn is sharp enough, I will pretty certainly get an audible 'clunk' from the front end.

If I do two left turns, no clunk until I do a right turn, and vice versa.

My question is (and before I go through the annoyance of taking it back to the shop), could the sway bar end link bolt be a cause? I found last night that the bolt highlighted below was reasonably loose..as in, I could tap it and begin to turn it looser with a short wrench by knocking it with my palm

I believe that bolt is meant to be at 75ft lbs? Can't quite get my long torque wrench on it due to clearance issues lol. Should I just try cranking it tight with my wrench?

Edit: control arm bolts seem right as do other bolts on the front end from what I've checked so far. I guess I could invest in some ramps to drive up to give me extra clearance to get my torque wrench in there if the short wrench won't do...


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Johnny O

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Did you check your torque values while it was on the ground or on lift/Jack stands? I had similar mystery clunks recently and learned from the gang here that certain components, like rear LCAs, torque better if you leave it on the ground, loosen them, then retorque them.
I used this technique on a bunch of the new steering and suspension stuff I’ve put in recently, and now Bert is so quiet it freaks me out a bit.
 

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