I'm hearing a Loud "Clunking" Noise from my Passenger Front End when going over Bumps. I'm thinking it's my Ball Joint from everything I've read on here so far, but I'm not getting any Squeaking or Grinding while Turning my Wheels at all. Could it just be Bad Shocks or something? The Car has 171k Miles on the Body, so I'm not exactly Shocked that there are Problems. Thanks in Advance Guys.

check the joints and the control arm bushings, bad bushings will thunk really loudly but won't grind or squeak when you turn the wheel.

could be a dead strut too.

Ok, I know how to check the Ball Joints, there shouldn't be any Vertical Play, Correct? How would I go about checking the Control Arm Bushings?

get a pry bar and see if you can move them more than a MM or 2 if they shift considerably they're probably hitting.

to test the struts push down hard on that corner of the car and see if it doesn't come back up and just stay in place. if it seems even the slightest bit bouncy your strut is probably gone. look for signs of oil leaking from the strut piston seal

Also, something else for you to check is your rear transmission mount.

Mine did the same thing on bumps and I could never figure out what it is until it did it one day while letting the clutch out.

That could be a very possible problem now that I think about it. When I had my Transmission Re-Built last year, they said they has only Replaced one of the Mounts because the other wasn't necessary, my Car used to jerk really badly upon acceleration and while stopping, and it sort of jerks now when I accelerate and then let off the gas quickly, so I'm definitely gonna' have to get that checked out.

Originally posted by stillettoDSM
When I had my Transmission Re-Built last year, they said they has only Replaced one of the Mounts because the other wasn't necessary..

I came across the Invoice from when I had my Transmission Re-Built, and they had actually Replaced BOTH Transmission Mounts, so could it be my Passenger Side Engine Mount that's giving me this Problem? It's right above the Alternator right? Thanks.

Check you curved lower control arm. The bushing is probably bad on it.

The my curved control arm on my drivers side was making a loud clunk when I some times started or stopped at low speeds. Once I changed that all I had was the vibration from the passenger side one.

Ok every one of these suggestions are the best you can get for what your talking about... now....


I had the same exact problem two weeks ago and wht you have to do is going to suck bt it worked for me.

The way i found out that my balljoint was messed up ws when i was replacing my tire and while tightening the lug nuts, thr rim pushed foward. I though t i had something wrong with my fork to my shocks/sruts in the front. So i took the tire off again and looked just to find all was good. I put the im back on and it did the same thing again. So i figured i would take it to the shop in town and i didnt even make it out my drivway. The lateral control arm separated form the ball joing and shoved mt passenger side tire backwards into my fender and ripping out my axel and breaking it. DON'T DRIVE THE CAR!!! If your going down the road over 40 mph, you will total your car by flipping it










sorry the pics are so big and it was my driver side but you get the point of whats going to happ;en if you keep driving it

Classic lower balljoint failure there.

Yep. The same happened to me except the self locking nut decided to break off the lateral arm which caused my axel to snap. I was not a pretty sight.

Clunking usually points to bad bushings/ball joints. Replacing the whole arm is easier. And not much more expensive.

Ok now I'm scared after seeing that. How can i tell if mine are bad? which one usually goes since there are 2 connecting to the knuckle.
my car sometimes squeeks when turning really slow and i hear weird noises when breaking sometimes. at 60 mph the car shakes at 65 its bad. i swear i hear a wheel bearing but it doesnt go bump bump its just noisey spining sound. After i saw that pic i realized i need to hurry up and solve my issues.

Originally posted by thakid22
Clunking usually points to bad bushings/ball joints. Replacing the whole arm is easier. And not much more expensive.

is it even possible to replace the lower balljoints without a new arm?
In the carnage pics he must have ripped both lower ball joints out right?

Usually when there is a clunk when going over bumps it's a stabilizer linkage. A way to check it is to put you hand on the fender near your tire and pull up and down. If the clunking happens then that's what it probably is.