Clunky on every crack in the road.

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michael mehle

Funky Clunky Liberty
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I bought a used 07 Liberty from Florida, I'm Minnesota 170,000 miles. Appears to have been partially submerged. Needed lots of cleaning...
Any how, while riding down any road it clunks pretty good on every crack in the road. Mostly front. Some rt rear. Nothing while turning tho.Just while going straight. Shocks? Mechanic says looks good...please help. I bought just after a head-on crash. TBI caused me to miss so much. Took months after to focus on the water damage...
 

Johnny O

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If it was submerged, I’d go over it with a fine tooth comb. Good news is parts are cheap. The greasable moog ball joints are a nice cheap upgrade for us Salt Belt folks.

another suggestion is to look up your VIN on the National recall site. You can get a free set of rear lower control arms installed at the dealership, which trust me, you gonna need if it hasn’t been done already.
 

tommudd

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At 170,000 miles springs and shocks have been owrn out over 100,000 miles and now bouncing on the bumpstops on every bump

On level ground measure left front , middle of the wheel ( hub area ) to bottom of the flare and report back what you have, if below 18 then new springs and shocks are needed all around
Have seen them roll into my place 1.5 inches lower than that at 75-80,000 miles
 

michael mehle

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Thanx. I'll check soon. Much appreciated.
At 170,000 miles springs and shocks have been owrn out over 100,000 miles and now bouncing on the bumpstops on every bump

On level ground measure left front , middle of the wheel ( hub area ) to bottom of the flare and report back what you have, if below 18 then new springs and shocks are needed all around
Have seen them roll into my place 1.5 inches lower than that at 75-80,000 miles
 

michael mehle

Funky Clunky Liberty
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If it was submerged, I’d go over it with a fine tooth comb. Good news is parts are cheap. The greasable moog ball joints are a nice cheap upgrade for us Salt Belt folks.

another suggestion is to look up your VIN on the National recall site. You can get a free set of rear lower control arms installed at the dealership, which trust me, you gonna need if it hasn’t been done already.
I did strip , clean and inspect all body stuff. The parts in question is next. Thanx for input!
 

michael mehle

Funky Clunky Liberty
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At 170,000 miles springs and shocks have been owrn out over 100,000 miles and now bouncing on the bumpstops on every bump

On level ground measure left front , middle of the wheel ( hub area ) to bottom of the flare and report back what you have, if below 18 then new springs and shocks are needed all around
Have seen them roll into my place 1.5 inches lower than that at 75-80,000 miles
It does normally ride great. It's the constant rapping on every crack except while cornering. Altho the other day I was rushing thru an intersection, down a hill to an acute angled flat and thought the front end was going to slam into the pavement.
 

tommudd

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It does normally ride great. It's the constant rapping on every crack except while cornering. Altho the other day I was rushing thru an intersection, down a hill to an acute angled flat and thought the front end was going to slam into the pavement.
Heard that 10000s of times over the years, oh it rides great, when you do not really know what a a suspension should feel like on the ride you have
Libertys came from the factory with bad/ weak suspensions in my book
 

dallas6099

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If you haven't already, I strongly suggest you check the recalls. My '03 had a recall on the ball joints that I didn't know about until too late.
Fortunately, my wife was on a side street at low speed when it broke.
Dealership replaced upper control arms, knuckles, ball joints, and an axle at no charge.
(Also addressed other recalls including adding a trailer hitch to protect the fuel tank.)
 

dallas6099

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If you haven't already, I strongly suggest you check the recalls. My '03 had a recall on the ball joints that I didn't know about until too late.
Fortunately, my wife was on a side street at low speed when it broke.
Dealership replaced upper control arms, knuckles, ball joints, and an axle at no charge.
(Also addressed other recalls including adding a trailer hitch to protect the fuel tank.)


Oops, I have a Liberty KJ. May not apply.
And I couldn't figure out how to delete my post.
 
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