Clunking noise front right side

[Jcode68]

Hi everyone,
Just purchased a 2003 Liberty Limited for my daughter (her first car) and there is a clunking noise in the front right wheel that occurs when hitting bumps. I checked with a local dealer to make sure the lower ball joint recall was performed on this vehicle and they confirmed it was taken care of in 2007. I jacked the front up and tried to check the ball joints by moving the wheel back & forth, up & down etc, but it feels pretty tight. Doing a visual inspection, I suspect the bushings on the strut fork where it bolts to the lower control arm. Does this sound logical to any of you KJ experienced folks? I did a search, but could not find anything on replacement of these bushings. Are they tough to replace? Available only from the dealer? Thanks and look forward to learning from this forum

 

[twack]

Well looks like your in my boat, i got te exact same issue and ive checked all the stuff and cant find my clunk. look at the last thread i made and follow along and do whats suggested, theres a lot of things to check in there

 

[LibertyOrDeath]

Check the tie rod ends.

 

[Jcode68]

Thanks for the responses. I found your post on the same subject Twack and will verify the items suggested. It definately sounds like a bushing to me. If it were tie rod ends or ball joints, I would expect to feel it in the steering responsiveness or control. The steering is actually perfect - no drifting, pulling or vibrating at any speed. This is why I am focused on the strut fork bushing, plus it just looks suspect. Anyone ever replace this bushing? Is this a dealer only part? I could not find it on Advanced Auto or Autozone, so I assume it is.

 

[twack]

wouldnt that just be the lower control arm complete

 

[Jcode68]

I'm not sure, do the bushings only come with the lower control arm, or can they be purchased and installed seperately? I found this photo in another KJ thream on this forum which shows it pretty well:

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[twack]

do all the ball joint feel like they are full of grease or do some feel like they are dry/almost dry? Do some feel different then others not talking about play

 

[Jcode68]

I will have to check again tomorrow. My understanding is when a ball joint goes bad, all the grease in the world won't help it since there is play in the joint. My point is regardless if the joint had grease, it would exhibit play and when I checked, they seemed tight. The recall for the lower ball joints were done in 2007, but since they are press in units, I assume the dealer did not install the whole lower arms, hence the 95,000 mile bushings where the strut fork connects. Can these bushings be replaced without doing the entire arm?
BTW, I just realized I posted this in the CRD section and mine is not a diesel. Mods, feel free to move to the correct forum if needed.

 

[twack]

i figured you were a gas, i would look at like napa or even the dealer and see if you can find a part number for te bushing or see if you can only find the lower arm

 

[kj924]

Jcode, did you check the up/down play in the ball joints? This is not as easy to find by "steering wheel feel" when driving.
Jack up one side and brace it with jack stand, then put a bar under the tire usually from the front of the vehicle so you can see, and pull up with a bit of force and if there is play you will feel and see it. This could be a cause of the clunk sound.

I have seen many ball joints that had no side play at all, but the up/down play would scare the @#$% out of you.

 

[Mangate]

Yes, you can replace the bushing, it's called a Pivot bushing, Part No. 52088746AA for a 2003.

 

[Jcode68]

Thanks for the responses guys. I will jack the front up and check the ball joints real well using a 2x4 or something for leverage. Also good to know the part number for the "pivot bushing" replacement. Hopefully will get to this in the next couple of days and will report back.

 

[twack]

if ever thing is taken apart and nothing is holding the ball joints would you be able to feel that bad play?

 

[outerealm]

I realize this thread is old but since I just went through this torture and finally finding what the solution was, I figured I would post it here seeing nobody else seemed to discover what it was or never bothered posting. But either way I'm sure others ended up here as I did - in search of answers.

My 2006 liberty had that clunk up front, passenger side that you can't seem to find. I have the proper tools to go after front end issues but the Jeep actually forced me to upgrade to truck level tooling for the bushings. I replaced ALL the bushings up front - lower control arms, sway bar and linkage too. The upper arms were replaced last year along with new upper and lower greaseable ball joints. This was done in a step by step process to eliminate items as possible suspects. Nothing seemed to work and while the entire lower arm was removed the struts were the obvious next suspect. The local store actually had them in stock so I grabbed a pair. The passenger strut came out with only 4 bolts and what I saw shocked me. Actually it was a little dangerous time bomb of sorts. It rotted so bad that the bottom plate was coming off the strut shock and the spring was bowed badly. These will take your head clear off if given the chance. The issue is you can't tell the are bad unless they are removed from the vehicle since they are under compression while installed. It was making a serious clunk while the suspension was flexing. Once they were swapped out the problem was gone and the car was sent for a front end alignment. I'll post pictures for clarity. Be careful with struts and best of luck to ya!