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Gjac's avatar
Gjac
Explorer III
May 10, 2017

Banging noise in front end

I have a 1995 P30 chassis and when going over bumps or pot holes I get a banging noise in the left side about where the tire is. I found a loose nut on the upper shock and tightened that. Thought for sure that would fix it it did not. The noise seemed to go away when I applied the brakes and hit the pot holes so I thought maybe it was in the brake calipers. I then removed the left front tire and noticed a slight play in wheel bearing repacked and tighten it. Also noticed a lot of movement in the brake caliper, so I removed the lower slide and noticed the spring clip which is suppose to have a slight arch it it was almost flat so I reshaped the spring and inserted it back in the caliper and it became tight again. Took it for a test ride and that noise is still there. My front end was rebuilt 2 years ago all new upper and lower ball joints and lower arms. Anyone have any other ideas to check? How would one check for engine mounts?

36 Replies

  • Trackrig wrote:
    I'd take the shock off and go for another test drive.

    I know you said it sounds like right where the wheel is, but do you have a sway bar that can be loose or broken on the left side, or the sway bar's rubber on the left side has worn out?

    Bill


    Taking shocks off would prove that theory! I like this idea. Also the sway bar links sometimes break at attachment points, maybe a closer look at these. Hard to tell if they are broke sometimes.
    Brian
  • Check to see if your mother in law is still in the front compartment. Bumps are hard when you're stuffed in there....:)...Dennis
  • Did you check the bell crank for worn bearing. Nothing loose when you had that side jack up an inch off the ground.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    I know loose shock mount can cause clunking when hitting pot hole. Can worn shocks cause this noise also? Sway bar has fairly new poly urethane bushings that are good.
  • I'd take the shock off and go for another test drive.

    I know you said it sounds like right where the wheel is, but do you have a sway bar that can be loose or broken on the left side, or the sway bar's rubber on the left side has worn out?

    Bill