Would bad body bushings explain this?

[ozzyleven]

Recently my 94 has developed a clunk that I can't hunt down going over bumps, big and small. It seems to be coming from the front end. I got it up in the air the other day and checked out the ball joints/steering stuff and that all seems good. Everything on the front end has less than 10k on it, except the upper ball joints and CVs. Those came with the truck, but the boots aren't torn. The tire push/pull test didn't show any slop and the clunk is present w/ and w/o the hubs locked. I've also checked all torques and stupid stuff like skidplate, battery, etc.

Other than the clunk, the truck has been riding a little weird almost like I've got beat shocks, sort of wavy I guess, but those are less than 10k also. They are KYB Gas-a-justs if it matters. Someone suggested to look at the body bushings and I did. They are all there but show some cracking/dry rot. I imagine they are not performing at peak being nearly 20 years old.

So, I know they are probably worn, but would they be responsible for the sound and weird ride? Reading 4crawlers write up, it seems like it is a pain to replace them and if I don't have to do it at this moment, I'd rather not. Not really sure if I'm hunting in the right direction for the problem

 

[BucknutBob]

I doubt your body mounts are causing any noise like you're describing--even worn, they really don't get enough space to "clunk". I would suspect something in the suspension still, some sneaky thing that got missed, like sway bar end links, etc.. There's always the chance you had a shock blow out, even at low miles--you can get a bad one of just about anything. Can you get it up on a lift and take the weight off of it? That's the best way to check the suspension pieces. It would be a good idea to change out your mounts, though, as they can cause excess sway when cornering--I changed out mine on my '95, and while a bit annoying at times, it's certainly doable without any fancy garage or special tools. Just one thought--are your shock mounts still tight?

 

[Lil Red Yarder]

The sway bar would make a clunking noise if a holding bracket got loose somehow or broke. They make kits with longer bolts to fix it, if you just cant tighten them up.

 

[HellRazur]

My first guess is sway bar end links.

 

[fourwd1]

Bad bushings on the sway bar, sway bar links, or shocks would do it.

 

[helo-mech]

Bad bushings on the sway bar, sway bar links, or shocks would do it.

Yeah take your sway bar off and drive it a little while to see if it stops. Not a big deal to not have it installed.

 

[ozzyleven]

The sway bar links are new as of last summer and I just finally got new bar to frame bushings the other day so I don't really suspect that. I was able to tighten up the nut on the bottom of one a little tonight so I'll see if anything changes. Unfortunately I don't have access to a lift so I only put the front on jack stands when I checked it out. Maybe I wasn't prying hard enough on the tires. Any definitive test for shocks other than trying to push the bumpers down and checking for bounce? All the mounts look good too. This has got me baffled. Usually I just replace things when the boots go bad and it's usually pretty obvious where the problem is. I guess if all else fails I'll take it to my mechanic for the 100 point or whatever inspection they do.

 

[CAN-03runner]

Bad bushings on the sway bar, sway bar links, or shocks would do it.

If you just changed your shocks, the bolts that hold them on could have gotten loose. Seen that on my 4Runner and an FJ after the shocks were changed it made a clunk and needed to be tightened down again.

Also on my 4th Gen the bolt that holds the front lower control arm gets loose and makes a clunk. Once tightened up clunk stops. I've tightened it twice so far.

 

[RiFF RaFF]

A solid THUNK/CLUNK could also be one of the following --

A motor mount
A transmission mount

Tracking down a thunk/clunk is not fun - good luck with your mission.

:fishing:

 

[SV_Dude]

Also take a look at your control arm bushings.

As for your body mount bushings, they shouldn't take any more than 30 minutes or so to swap out. I put some energy suspension bushings on mine when I took off the 3" body lift from the P/O and it didn't take that long.

 

[Euston]

A solid THUNK/CLUNK could also be one of the following --

A motor mount
A transmission mount

Tracking down a thunk/clunk is not fun - good luck with your mission.

:fishing:

Resurrecting a really old thread...
I've got a 94 4Runner and I was having ALOT of play which came from the rear axle. I changed out the front and rear SwayBar mounts and end links and it made a YUUGE difference for the better, Then i changed the bushings in the rear trac bars and torsion bars and any other 'bar' thats back there, I dont know all the names. That also made a YUUUUGE difference but now I'm at the front control arms, I dont think I can tackle this in my garage so I'll take it in.

I bought a kit from 'Energy Suspension' Poly bushings/mounts in red.

I have thunk/clunk too in the rear and I'm wondering if the Old Man Emu springs are too strong and spring back hard and cause the shock to over extend? They are new Bilstein shocks.

The spare wheel has a liiiiiiitle play in its holder and I cant tighten it up anymore.

My tires are also shot. dry rotted out badly and when I push on the side of the truck it wobbles like a belly full of jelly as the sidewalls are sooooo soft! I'm hoping that'll minimize the wobble when I get new tires (just shopping from some wheels before i get tires)