Front suspension clunk when braking or decelerating at slow speeds

[Bob98SR5]

Gents,

This one is stumping me: whenever I am slowing down, there is a noticeable clunk sound from the front right suspension area. i've narrowed it down as a clunk that is generated by the shift of momentum and force from back (accelerating) to front (decelerating). i can duplicate this sound when, at a stop light, i somewhat strongly accelerate and then let go of the gas. the shift in momentum, weight, force, etc will cause that sound, so its definitely something that is consistent (thank goodness).

Any guesses? And yes, i am 100% sure that the noise is not from the driveshaft but from the front passenger area.

I've changed out my sway bar bushings and steering rod bushings. could those be culprits?

thanks,
bob

[BruceTS]

check for a loose suspension link, front and back

[Cebby]

Have your ball joints or TRE's ever been changed?

[Bob98SR5]

bruce,

any specific one that comes to mind?

mike: ball joints = no. tie rod ends = no

ill check the tighteness hopefully tonite

bob

[BruceTS]

the clunk could come from any of the 4 rear links or a loose adjuster bolt on the front lower A-Arms. The bolt on the front A-Arms is 22mm, I usually double wrench them and tighten them as tight as I can pull. Also check the top nut on the rear shocks.....

[MTL_4runner]

Bob, have you tried getting under and hit the suspect items with a dead blow mallet? Often something that is loose enough to "clunk" will make a similar sound when hit. You'll have all sorts of possibilities like ball joints, tie rods, sway bar links, strut mounts/top bolt, A-arm bushings, etc. It's very hard to pinpoint without getting under having a look in person.

[Bob98SR5]

mmm...the misses made a killer ribeye + potataaaas! :D

getting ready to see if i can find the sound. moving it into the garage now.

[ecchamberlin]

Bob
what kind of coils do you have in front? My Saw's rotate forward when coming to a stop to the point that it clunks and has indented the lower shock body.

Just an idea since I don't know what you are running up front.

[slosurfer]

Bob, just get under there and hit everything with a frozen churro. You'll find it! :flipoff:

[Bob98SR5]

Bob
what kind of coils do you have in front? My Saw's rotate forward when coming to a stop to the point that it clunks and has indented the lower shock body.

Just an idea since I don't know what you are running up front.


eric, et al:

just finished. i tightened everything that could be tightened. all seemed very tight to begin with. eric, i have PP coils. do your coils do that on both sides? it would seem odd if it just happened on one side. the only thing up front looked abnormal was that one of the mount bushings that hold the front axle to the cross member (whatever thats called) is torn. ill call evan at northridge toyota for a replacement

the other thing that i saw that was unusual was that i freakin' broke my wheel stud off >:| yeah, i broke it, i saw it!





Bob, just get under there and hit everything with a frozen churro. You'll find it! :flipoff:


hardy har har :drool:

[reggie 00]

Bob, just get under there and hit everything with a frozen churro. You'll find it! :flipoff:


hardy har har :drool:


So the churro didn't work?
but you did manage to break a wheel stud with it?

[Bob98SR5]

here's a pic of what i think is the problem:

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w177/bob98sr5/4Runner/torn-bushing.jpg

i believe there is metal to metal contact when the weight shifts from back to front becasue of the worn bushing. we'll see when i replace it.

oh chris and reg, i couldn't get the churros to fix the problem. maybe you can try to figure out why the churro tool didn't work?



























































http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w177/bob98sr5/4Runner/churrosalute.jpg

:king:

[slosurfer]

:spit: That's funny!


That doesn't look too easy to swap out. :(

[bamachem]

i seriously doubt that's it, bobert.

[Bighead]

Bob, when I installed my new front diff I got the same sound when braking but that was due to both of the front diff mounts being loose. I thought I had tightened both up enough but apparently was wrong. When re-tightened the sound went away. I don't know if the diff would have enough play to make a sound if only one bushing is bad and only one point of contact can move. I also had a bit more play in mine than your pic shows when I looked at it again.

[ecchamberlin]

Bob
yeah I should have looked up your having PP springs. Would have eliminated it as a pos cause. But yes they both do it when coming to a stop.

[Bob98SR5]

bighead,

thats encouraging to know that i *may* be on the right track. thanks for sharing your experience

bob

[EWAYota]

I'll have to check my bushings as well. I, too, get a clunk when coming to a stop. Next few days, if I'm off work before the sun goes down, I'll have to shimmy under the truck and take a look at the bushings. Need to lube the fittings anyways under there.

[GOH10 Runner]

Have you checked your saw bar links?....mine was clunking when my weight shifted and that was the problem.