This front end clunk is driving me nuts

Ever since I did the clutch job, I have been chasing a clunk that arises somewhere in the front of the car, likely near the footwell.

What I had disconnected: Front subframe, transmission, all steering, swaybar

Related items I changes in the process: Both front lower control arms, including ball joints and associated bushings.

What I have changed since: Front sway bar end links, front sway bar bushings, rear sway bar end links, rear bushings, all motor mounts, all brake pads/rotors (needed them anyway).

Symptoms: On acceleration/decelleration, I hear one loud clunk as I change motion. So, as I accelerate from a stop, but now while accelerating, or when I begin braking, but not while I am braking. Stop and go, every time I press the gas, I hear the clunk. It is really loud and repetitive when I go over poorly paved roads. On a washboard dirt road, it about sounded like the car was going to fall apart.

At a stop, with the car in idle, if I jerk the wheel from side to side, I hear and feel the same clunk slightly fainter, but a few times in succession (this is a recent observation).

I may have weaseled my way into lift access. What should I replace or bang on with a hammer first? A few months back, I tightened down anything that I removed during the overhaul. Still no luck.

Long shot but I would make sure the exhaust doesn't have a broken hanger or torn mount. If it runs very close to any of those components and is loose anywhere it may bang on accel/decell and over bumps.

Nick_Comstock wrote: Long shot but I would make sure the exhaust doesn't have a broken hanger or torn mount. If it runs very close to any of those components and is loose anywhere it may bang on accel/decell and over bumps.

I had a broken mount where then cat met the block, but having it welded back together didn't make any audible difference.

In reply to Mitchell:

Long shot here too but did you tear the rubber isolator in your rear motor mount by getting a bit too frisky with it? If it's not all wallered out that would explain why it only occurs when changing motion.

Rear transmission mount?

Get a longer wrench and retorque the subframe and control arm bolts.

I used to get a transitional clunk from the sway bar bolts on my WRX. I traced it to a few stripped threads on the aftermarket end link bolts. They looked fine until I removed them. Even after replacing them with new Grade 8 parts, it would happen again in less than a year.

It was very aggravating until I figured out the source of the noise. I was pretty sure that it was the exhaust hitting something, but new bushings and hangers made no difference. Maybe you have something similar going on.

Mitchell wrote:

Nick_Comstock wrote: Long shot but I would make sure the exhaust doesn't have a broken hanger or torn mount. If it runs very close to any of those components and is loose anywhere it may bang on accel/decell and over bumps.

I had a broken mount where then cat met the block, but having it welded back together didn't make any audible difference.

Is it a possibility that the broken mount allowed the exhaust to be misaligned and it was welded back into a position that let the exhaust not have enough clearance somewhere?

Can you replicate it by power braking it or by rocking it going from reverse to drive while on the brakes while feeding it power?

Check the ball joints! I just fixed mine where the bolts holding the ball joint to the lower arm had loosened. When I first noticed it while driving, I could not find it by wiggling the wheel by hand...it was still rather tight, but the power of a whole car slamming back and forth would move it. This is the Focus isn't it?

My mind went right where Woody's went. Imagine that. Pretty sure I dealt with some loose bolts on the Escort's upper sway bar.

What front sway bar and what bushings are you using? The stock front bar has a section milled square where the bushings fit and the stock bushings are made to fit this recess. This is to keep the bar from shifting sideways and most aftermarket bushings do not have the "square" section, just a round hole thru them.

When I put an Eibach front bar and their bushings on my Focus I found that the bar could move sideways (to drivers side) and bump into the frame. This gave me a "clunk" every time the suspension was loaded/unloaded. I had to make a collar to put on the bar to keep in from shifting. I will look to see if I still have pictures, it was back in 2002 and I put the stock bar back in in 2004.

X3 Sway bar bushing, bolts, mounts, or end links. Went through the same thing with my Mustang, seems that there was a TSB covering it and the upgrade. Might be the same with your Ford. Just coincidence that it all happened at once.

what kind of a car is this?

I have had a clunk in my expedition. Similar description to yours. It was the upper ball joint. Replaced it today and the truck drives so much better. And no more clunk.

This is my '03 SVT Focus with about 133k mi on the clock. It hates surface streets, but is really well behaved on the freeway, and practically a dream on canyon roads.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Rear transmission mount?

Already changed it out.

The0retical wrote: In reply to Mitchell: Long shot here too but did you tear the rubber isolator in your rear motor mount by getting a bit too frisky with it? If it's not all wallered out that would explain why it only occurs when changing motion.

I have replaced the rear mount bushings. I vaguely remember it being quieter when I changed it at first, but maybe I was imagining things?

EastCoastMojo wrote: Rear transmission mount?

Woody wrote: It was very aggravating until I figured out the source of the noise. I was pretty sure that it was the exhaust hitting something, but new bushings and hangers made no difference. Maybe you have something similar going on.

The clunk occurred both before and after changing out the Ford end links for some beefier and cheaper MOOG units.

Nick_Comstock wrote:

Mitchell wrote:

Nick_Comstock wrote: Long shot but I would make sure the exhaust doesn't have a broken hanger or torn mount. If it runs very close to any of those components and is loose anywhere it may bang on accel/decell and over bumps.

I had a broken mount where then cat met the block, but having it welded back together didn't make any audible difference.

Is it a possibility that the broken mount allowed the exhaust to be misaligned and it was welded back into a position that let the exhaust not have enough clearance somewhere? Can you replicate it by power braking it or by rocking it going from reverse to drive while on the brakes while feeding it power?

Yes, the clunk occurs in any harsh transition behavior. This problem did not exist prior to changing out the clutch and all the subframe. Who knows how long the mount was broken, but repairing it did not change the problem.

egnorant wrote: Check the ball joints! I just fixed mine where the bolts holding the ball joint to the lower arm had loosened. When I first noticed it while driving, I could not find it by wiggling the wheel by hand...it was still rather tight, but the power of a whole car slamming back and forth would move it. This is the Focus isn't it?

The ball joints are new, but that could easily mean that one or both is defective. If I can get it on a lift, I will check them out from underneath.

Hal wrote: What front sway bar and what bushings are you using? The stock front bar has a section milled square where the bushings fit and the stock bushings are made to fit this recess. This is to keep the bar from shifting sideways and most aftermarket bushings do not have the "square" section, just a round hole thru them.

This is the stock SVT bar with MOOG bushings. I changed them out almost to the T per the factory service manual, making sure that the notches lined up with the cutouts. Again, the problem occurred with both new and old bushings, front and rear.

Have you retorqued the subframe bolts yet?

I tested them all about a month after the issue arose to the FSM specs. It's a 3/4" HF wrench I was using, so who knows how accurate it was, but it was at least accurate compared to the 3/8" HF torque wrench I tested (torqued something down to an overlap with one, tested with the other, then reversed the process).

I think what you need to do is get under the car and have an assistant rock the wheels to replicate the sound. (while the car is very secure) and see if you can locate it. With all the new parts you have put on this Focus, I am thinking it is either a wrong part or you have some hidden body damage (tear) that you just cannot see

balljoint(s)

I had the same thing going on with my Trooper, the lowers were totally worn out and would clunk whenever fore aft momentum changed.

even though yours are new maybe one is defective. get the front in the air and use a pry bar to try and move stuff to find the slop.

How in the world do you do the multiquotes on this forum?!?!

If I'm replying to several different people in one thread, I hit the quote button under the person's post, grab all the text that populates the edit box, and paste it in notepad, repeat as necessary, with my repkies after the /blockquote> text, and then copy the finished result into a new add post edit box. Harder to do on a phone, but then, isn't everything?

Nick_Comstock wrote: How in the world do you do the multiquotes on this forum?!?!

I opened an extra tab; copied text from one to the other.