I have had a clunk in my '01 front end that's been driving me crazy. Pretty much everything is new (struts/mounts/balljoints/stabilizer links/bump stops), but it just wouldn't go away. Today I took the left link out and took it for a ride just to see if it was stabilizer related or not. Sure enough, noise gone.

Looking closer at the A arm stabilizer hole, I noticed it's oblong. If I put the link in there, it can move 1/8" in both directions. This can't be right.. right? Maybe the Nissan link has a matching protrusion? The aftermarket one doesn't. So I took a washer of the correct size and welded it over the hole. Noise seems to be gone. Just wondering if anyone else has seen this?

 

really difficult to imagine what u r talking about. the fact that it's monday doesn't help either. any pictures?

 

The oblong hole is oblong because it's worn, caused by the link stud/nut being loose at some time. It's important to really torque up this nut and the nut at the link to stab. bar. The stab. bar links can create quite a bit of noise and are often overlooked on troubleshooting front end noise.

 

I get what you are describing, I am now curious if my 02 might have the same issue because I've got the clunk. Did you have the clunk with the oem links though?

 

as it's been said above, the end links will clunk only if the nuts on them are loose. it's got nothing to do with the hole's shape and such. Well, the other reason i can think of... if the links itself are worn out, they will be clunking too.

 

My front end clunks over speed bumps drives me nuts. I don't hear any noises on highways becoz the concrete highway noise masks any suspension noises. I installed MOOG endlinks and it was fine for a few months and then the sounds came -- it was never there when I had OEM links. I am going to check them out this weekend.

Thanks for root causing the problem..,... Good job

 

You don't have to just have loose link attach nuts to have noise. It also doesn't take much wear in a link ball socket to generate an extremely annoying tapping/clunking.

 

Replied to another thread concerning this problem, but you may also want to consider that your wheel bearing(s) might be going out as well. If you get some slight to moderate steering wheel shimmying at low speeds, that could be a tell-tale sign.

 

I have the SAME clunk.

I tried a lot of things that were suggested on this forum, including....making sure that the strut mount nut is tight enough, FSTB is not touching the engine, strut mounts/bearings are new....etc. None of these is the reason for the clunk.

I did replace my OEM end links with MOOG end links.
When my OEM end links went bad i was getting very different type of noises. Now i have a "clunk" and this is why i am not suspecting the MOOG end links. Maybe i should replace them??? I had them for 12-13 months (20k miles).

 

What a coincidence, I too must have had the MOOGs for a yr and the clunks are all over the place. Gladly I have the OEM links in the garage, I will put them back on the vehicle. I don't mind having a non-firm ride, but I just cannot deal with clunks, it really bothers me.

 

Same clunk here in my Gen4. Replaces outer tierods, Did the Inner because I thought it was that and the balljoints. The balljoints were toast tho and those made a lot of noise go away but that stab link is def loose and making clunk sounds when I am slowing down or going over bumps. It is annoying as ****.

 

I just installed Moog links and Moog sway bar bushings over the weekend. I am pretty sure the oblong holes on the control arms are supposed to be that way. My OEM links were still connected to the arms very tightly. After removing the links I gave the sway bar a few good shakes. It had quite a bit of play and made the same noise I could hear while driving slowly over small bumps. I compared the worn bushings to the new ones; the hole on the worn bushings was probably 4mm larger than the hole in the new ones. If you have not replaced the bushings, I definitely recommend doing so. I suspect just replacing the bushings would have solved the noise.

 

I hope it's not Moog stuff.

I have a buddy that works for Moog and he was going to hook me up with every piece on the front end that Moog makes. As soon as it gets warm I was going to start replacing considering my 02 has 90K on it.

I've used lots of Moog on my Grand Cherokee and in every case it seems that it's better than stock. And most of their parts have grease fittings.

 

I've been having a similar problem for a few months so I went out to check my sway bar. I can't it with my hands (it's on ramps), but when I tap with a rubber mallet, it rattles.
I'm pretty sure I've got bad struts and mounts, but I figured replacing the endlinks at the same time would be a good idea. Well, It was, until I saw the price. $40 a piece for endlinks? Seriously?

 

I have similar issues with my front end so I thought I would check it out. My endlinks rattle a little when I tap them with a rubber mallet so I thought replacing them might be a good idea. I've got bad struts and mounts so I figured I would just do them all at the same time. Well, at least until I saw how much these stupid things cost.
$40 a piece for endlinks at Autozone? Serisously?

 

can someone please post a pic? thanks