robert chilton

How much front to back movement should there be in the front ends of the 4x4s? I am talking about normal movent. My 95 under hard braking or in a braking turn, such as parking, I am getting a loud thunk sound on occasion. I think that it was the adjuster sleeve on the tie rod arm running from the steering box. The bolt had a mared end on it from contacting the engine crossmember and the steering stabilizer on the other end! This seems like alot of movement but all the steering linkages are pretty tight other than some slight wear in the track bar joint at the frame. weather permitting I am going to take another look in the morning but what else should I check other than the 4 link control arm bushings? This seems like excessive front to rear axle movement but my preliminary look shows everything in good shape.

thefermanator

Ball joints?

robert chilton

driverside are good but I need to check the passenger side. I dont think ball joints are it though. I am looking at the steering linkage or axle assembly moving front to rear under the truck so that they can bang together. Its strange. Any other ideas?

Cowhand

Try rotating the adjuster sleeve. Put a wrench on the CA bolts to make sure one of 'em ain't broke....

Clunk usually comes from the track bar or the steering column intermediate shaft.....

robert chilton

I had a bad tierod about a month ago and replaced it. It was the one that goes to the pass spindle. Earlier today I reset the tires (home alignment) as the tires were miscentered on the steering box and one was pointing out a little. This is when I found the adjuster sleeve was contacting the crosmember and the steering stabilizer. All the sleeves are now tight and I cant see any movement in the linkages other than the track bar. It has atmost an 1/8" of slop when the steering wheel is turned back and forth. Worn but not excessive. So now I have to figure out what was causing the flex allowing the adjuster sleeve to make contact.
My jack died so I borrowed another tonight and hope to check the pass ball joints, grease a sticking caliper bolt, and check the wheel bearing. I am just at a loss as everything looks preety solid so far under the truck. Even the control arm bushings look good visually. This just isnt adding up. Something has to be moving but there is no shimmy. The truck barely wanders a lick since I did the eyeball alognment today. I should also add that the steering feels good other than a little slop in the steering box that I also plan on adjusting in the morning. No pops or squeks.
If anyone has anymore ideas feel free to chime in. This is definatly a little strange to me. Thanks for the ideas so far.

haybaler

I have the same clunk on my 96 cummins 2500. i have no idea what it is. it's only when I brake hard and turning slightly at the same time.

phox_mulder

I had a clunk on mine as well.
It only happened when backing up and turning and applying the brakes.
(backing out of a parking space)

Turned out to be a loose trailing arm bolt, passenger side lower if I remember right.


phox

robert chilton

Thanks Phox. I will have to double check those tommorrow. Before buying this truck I drove a truck that was missing the bolt in the control arm. It really banged around, breaked funny, and made a good squal/thud under breaking and cornering. I crawled out from under mine tonight and all seems good. Ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, and all suspension seem to be good. Minimal wear in the steering box, steering arm, and idler arm. As I recall all bolts were there and appeared tight so I will have to put a wrench to them.
As of right now the banging noise is gone because I rotated the adjuster sleeve so it wouldnt make contact but I still have not found the culprit for whats allowing the axle or steering linkage move around under the truck. I got the steering box adjusted today also and what a difference it makes. Now I just need to figure out how to get the steering wheel rotated 180 degrees without adjusting the steering linkage as I would like to keep the steering box centered. It has been a productive weekend and I feel like I am driving a different truck! If I cant find any loose bolts I guess I will have to drive it for awhile and see if I can find any more clues to work with. Thanks guys.

Superc63

Hi,

If I had to bet, I'd say your sway bar needs new end links. Those balljoints in the sway bar end links go bad and actually fall apart(the ball comes right out of the socket). The easiest way to check this is, jack the front end up...but not by the axle and see if the sway bar end link balljoints fall apart.
Cheers,
Chris

robert chilton

Thanks Super C. You may be on to something there. The end links are worn but seem to be holding in place. They are definatly at an angle though. I never really considered the sway bar as a suspension peice (more for handling than actual critical part) but on this front end it does play atleast a small role in locating the axle. That is probably the culprit. Where is a good place to get new end links at? I have never seen a ball joint style end link on any other vehicle.

Superc63

Hi,

Not sure about getting the factory style ones. I know that Pep Boys and Auto zone sell the normal style end links for this truck. They work...but when you tighten everything down, the bushings look pretty crushed.

Cheers,
Chris