Intermittent clunk/clank over bumps

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zach1288

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I've had this sound for about a year and it hasn't got any worse but it's annoying.

It sounds like a clanking sound more than a clunk. It sounds like metal on metal and only happens over potholes or rough road. To replicate the sound you need to "jar" the front end. It wont happen over smooth bumps if that makes any sense and it doesn't always happen. I believe you can only hear it with the window down.

I have replaced the following:

All 4 ball joints
Sway bar bushings
Both axles
Inner/outer tie-rods

Any ideas on what to try next would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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Some late night reading last night found a thread that talked about greasing the steering stops. Mine is happening only in turns so I”m going to hit them with some grease today and see if that helps.

I’m not getting a.clunk otherwise driving down the road.

Are skid plates good and tight? How are the rubber pieces on top and bottom of the coil springs?
 
lonkelm said:
Some late night reading last night found a thread that talked about greasing the steering stops. Mine is happening only in turns so I”m going to hit them with some grease today and see if that helps.

I’m not getting a.clunk otherwise driving down the road.

Are skid plates good and tight? How are the rubber pieces on top and bottom of the coil springs?
Click to expand...

Rubber pieces look good.

Skid plates seem tight.
 
I would have laid money on the sway bar bushings but no luck there. I get a "ping" a lot from debris being kicked up on the smaller "skid plate". I thought my suspension was in pretty good shape until we hit some washboard road at low speed with the windows down a month back. It was a chorus of squeaks, creaks, and clanks.

Roll up the windows and put on some music.....

If you've really got something that's rubbing/hitting it should have the paint rubbed off (a shiny spot). Maybe get under the front end with a good flashlight and do a lot of looking around.
 
Oddly enough, I've had that same mystery lately. It seems to be coming from the cargo area, like the jack handles were banging together or a stack of hubcaps were rattling. I've cleared out everything from the cargo area but still no job. It's a very "light" noise as opposed to two heavy things banging together.
 
Montego Murph said:
Oddly enough, I've had that same mystery lately. It seems to be coming from the cargo area, like the jack handles were banging together or a stack of hubcaps were rattling. I've cleared out everything from the cargo area but still no job. It's a very "light" noise as opposed to two heavy things banging together.
Click to expand...

Mine is definitely coming from the front of the truck.
 
zach1288 said:
I've had this sound for about a year and it hasn't got any worse but it's annoying.

It sounds like a clanking sound more than a clunk. It sounds like metal on metal and only happens over potholes or rough road. To replicate the sound you need to "jar" the front end. It wont happen over smooth bumps if that makes any sense and it doesn't always happen. I believe you can only hear it with the window down.

I have replaced the following:

All 4 ball joints
Sway bar bushings
Both axles
Inner/outer tie-rods

Any ideas on what to try next would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Click to expand...



Long shot, but you covered all the first suspects.. check the exhaust, I chased this noise for about 2 years before i was able to figure out exactly where it was coming from when it eventually got worse.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/256594-exhaust-flange-part-number-help.html
 
I had what appears to be a similar problem last year (or was it two years ago now?). It took forever to find, but there was a rock about 0.25-0.5 in in diameter stuck in the frame (sort of behind and next to the mud guard, not sure how to explain and don't the vehicle with me to take a pic of the spot) and it kept making an annoying noise at certain bumps making me think something is definitely going to fall off at some point but everything seemed tight. I could not believe that was the problem, to be honest. It was stuck pretty good there with no chance of coming out on its own.
 
For front noises, on either side of the engine there's an exhaust manifold bracket , 2 bolts secure this bracket to the engine block and one bolt on the bottom to the exhaust directly below it. The bracket gets rusted at the bottom, breaks apart around the single bolt and will start to rattle during turns, bumps or just idling sometimes.


For noises in the rear you want to also check the gas tank straps and the "guide" that goes in front of the spare tire carrier.
 
zach1288 said:
I've had this sound for about a year and it hasn't got any worse but it's annoying.

It sounds like a clanking sound more than a clunk. It sounds like metal on metal and only happens over potholes or rough road. To replicate the sound you need to "jar" the front end. It wont happen over smooth bumps if that makes any sense and it doesn't always happen. I believe you can only hear it with the window down.

I have replaced the following:

All 4 ball joints
Sway bar bushings
Both axles
Inner/outer tie-rods

Any ideas on what to try next would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I had a sound that was similar. Started out as a squeak and eventually was metal on metal clunking sound. Turns out after I got my front end alignged the shop I took it to didn't properly torque down my LCA camber bolts. Torqued them properly and my noises went away. Heres the thread I started about it. Hope that helps.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/259560-front-suspension-noises-after-lift-solved.html
 
I recently had similar noises on my GX470, I jacked up the front and slid underneath with a rubber mallet and started banging on stuff.

I found the rear skidplate had one of the bolt heads break off which allowed it to clang over bumps, so I removed the skidplate. It was better, but there was still noise. UCA's clanged when you hit them, so I replaced those, much better. Still something over large bumps, I'm wondering if it's the LCA's. It's going to be all new by the time I'm done here, lol.

Swaybar endlinks are new last year, I could probably stand to do the swaybar bushings though.
 
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