help finding a clunking sound

[92ranger92]

alright i have a 1992 4x4 auto ranger with the 2.9 in it. this problem happened over night, when i got in my truck this morning i made it out of my street and it started making a clunking sound from the right front. at first it almost sounded like a loose wheel or bearings but i brought it back home and found no slop in anything.

it clunks as the suspension cycles and like i said wheel bearings tie rods and ball joints don,t seem to have any slop. i know the twin i beams are know for bad ball joints but has anyone had any experience with them making noise but having no slop?

i messed with it for as long as i could but 10 degrees and 18 mph wind get old quick. i can get it to a heated shop friday.

any ideas would be awesome

 

[Tedybear]

Other then something inside the wheel kicking around the brake system? Lug nuts torqued down right?

S-

 

[92ranger92]

lugs tight

something in the brakes came in mind but it seems to happen with suspension travel. i can jump on the bottom of the door jam and make it clunk but like i said no play in anything

 

[Tedybear]

lugs tight

something in the brakes came in mind but it seems to happen with suspension travel. i can jump on the bottom of the door jam and make it clunk but like i said no play in anything

That's interesting. You might have a mount or bushing that is getting ready to let go. Body mount or maybe sway bar...arm bushing.... Have someone jump on the door jam and you poke your head under the truck. You should be able to follow the sound.

I was a bit confused with how you described the clunk. I thought it was a rotational clunk. If it's doing it at a stand still---and you're jumping on the door jam? I'd check the rubber mounts on that side really close.

S-

 

[Scrambler82]

I had an ’88 STX 4x that had a clunk or thump when I hit bumps.
I replace the radius arm bushing thinking.. bumps… noise, but it ended up being the transmission mount, go figure.

Replaced that and wham bam got it done, no more noise.

Might be something to check out.

 

[92ranger92]

i took the wheel of today to give it a once over in the cold it all seemed to be good i drove it around for a little to see if i could tell where it is coming from. i will see if the sound can show up on video.

its not like one loud clunk like a ball joint would do but almost like a boiling sound, it speeds up as the car goes fast but i think that is because the suspension is cycling more frequently.

 

[Tedybear]

I'm confused. You can reproduce the sound of the clunk by jumping on the door jam?

If so...Then just get a helper to jump on the door jam while you check for the clunk's location.

S-

 

[IslandFord]

I once lived in Michigan on the Canada border. What you are describing may be frozen tires. They freeze flat on the bottom and have a definite sound and feel to them until they warm up (a few miles down the road). Good luck.

 

[70roadrunner]

check the shock bushings

 

[locked ranger]

check the sway bar, i had a bolt come loose and make that sound back before i took the thing off. lol