Drivers side clunking

[Chuckstruck78]

I have searched through the threads, and havent found a solution to my issue. 2011 KK, Jet edition. The jeep has alot of loose/clunking noise from the drivers side floorboard area, only off road/gravel dirt road, or when hitting a pothole or driving on rough roads. On good blacktop/smooth roads, it rides great without noises.

What has been done/ replaced:
Lower ball joints both sides
Upper control arms and ball joints both sides
Outer tie rod ends both sides
Loaded struts both sides.

I just purchased this Jeep, and all of this work was done previously(like a month ago). The drivers strut was faulty(lower rubber coil spring spacer was squished out and the coil spring was bound up). I put a new loaded strut in last night and it didnt solve the clunking. I have checked the sway bar endlinks and made sure they were tight. The crossbushings seem okay, and no metal to metal contact. Everything that I have checked seems to be tight. I havent tried to see if the upper control arm bolts are tight yet.
The upper control arms seem to only be about 1" from the bump stops. Is this normal?

Has anyone had similar issues. The clunking feels like its right in the drivers floor board, or atleast thats where the sound radiates from.

 

[Kawika]

I had a mysterious clunk that turned out to be the motor mounts.
Not what I thought at first but putting it up and getting under it and to those mounts takes a little work but dang....it worked.

 

[Chuckstruck78]

I had a mysterious clunk that turned out to be the motor mounts.
Not what I thought at first but putting it up and getting under it and to those mounts takes a little work but dang....it worked.

I will have someone put it in gear with their foot on the brake and see if it moves around. Motor mounts and transmission mounts are on the list to check if nothing else works.

Thanks!

 

[Kawika]

Cheers Mine would only make the clunk when driving at an angle to a curb or apron.Left or right but not straight.
Drove me nuts.

 

[Chuckstruck78]

I took the sway bar end link off to see if that was the noise, didnt fix it.
Checked the motor mounts. I cant see anywhere that they are making metal to metal contact, or able to move enough to cause the continuous clunking when driving on a rough road.
The CV axel has a slight amount of play to it, but it doesnt have the normal bad cv axle symptoms, and the boots are perfect.
I pried on the upper control arm to see if I could get any metal to metal noises out of it, seems to be fine. I am going to try and tighten the bolts today.
I removed the bumpstops to make sure that the control arm wasnt bottoming out. Still no change.
I engaged 4wd to see if I could change the noise, still no change.

Frustrated!

 

[lfhoward]

Hmmm. Ball joints wearing out? With the Jeep jacked up put a crowbar under the front tire & lift— any movement at the LBJ? Grab the tire at 12:00 and 6:00 and try to shake— any movement at the UBJ?

 

[Chuckstruck78]

I have grabbed the drivers wheel and tried to see if there was any play in the ball joints. All is tight. The ball joints are all new( replaced prior to me buying the Jeep last week).
Im going to drive it over something I can put some leverage under the tire tonight and see if I can get it to jounce around.

 

[turblediesel]

Confirm you have the v6? The CRD motor mounts can look perfect and rattle like nuts in a tin can when bad.

 

[Chuckstruck78]

Confirm you have the v6? The CRD motor mounts can look perfect and rattle like nuts in a tin can when bad.

Yes this is the 3.7l V6.

 

[Jeremy-WI]

Upper control arm bolts might not be torqued enough, the rear ones aren't the easiest to get to

Whoops, didn't realize this was on a KK, I have only worked on KJ UCA's

 

[lfhoward]

Upper control arm bolts might not be torqued enough, the rear ones aren't the easiest to get to

Whoops, didn't realize this was on a KK, I have only worked on KJ UCA's

Still the case on the KK. The drivers side UCA bolts are not easy to get to at all because they're under the battery tray and TIPM. I have a clunk on mine also on certain bumps, drivers side, that has been driving me nuts. I have tightened up the sway bar, ball joints and the clevis bolt on the LCA. All that's left are the top plate nuts and the UCA bolts. Need to set aside some time for the dissection...

 

[johngregory]

I have searched through the threads, and havent found a solution to my issue. 2011 KK, Jet edition. The jeep has alot of loose/clunking noise from the drivers side floorboard area, only off road/gravel dirt road, or when hitting a pothole or driving on rough roads. On good blacktop/smooth roads, it rides great without noises.

What has been done/ replaced:
Lower ball joints both sides
Upper control arms and ball joints both sides
Outer tie rod ends both sides
Loaded struts both sides.

I just purchased this Jeep, and all of this work was done previously(like a month ago). The drivers strut was faulty(lower rubber coil spring spacer was squished out and the coil spring was bound up). I put a new loaded strut in last night and it didnt solve the clunking. I have checked the sway bar endlinks and made sure they were tight. The crossbushings seem okay, and no metal to metal contact. Everything that I have checked seems to be tight. I havent tried to see if the upper control arm bolts are tight yet.
The upper control arms seem to only be about 1" from the bump stops. Is this normal?

Has anyone had similar issues. The clunking feels like its right in the drivers floor board, or atleast thats where the sound radiates from.

I have the exact same problem. The only difference is I'm driving a 2003 Jeep Liberty. I read through the message thread and what you describe and the problem you are having is exactly the same thing I am experiencing on a 2003 Jeep Liberty sport two wheel drive.

 

[Chuckstruck78]

Still the case on the KK. The drivers side UCA bolts are not easy to get to at all because they're under the battery tray and TIPM. I have a clunk on mine also on certain bumps, drivers side, that has been driving me nuts. I have tightened up the sway bar, ball joints and the clevis bolt on the LCA. All that's left are the top plate nuts and the UCA bolts. Need to set aside some time for the dissection...

Fixed......for now.

All front suspension and steering bolts have been re-torqued to spec. No real smoking guns, but the death clunk is gone now. The rack and pinion was the loosest of all fasteners.

 

[lfhoward]

Wow, rack & pinion. I will have to check that. Still have the death clunk 3 months after doing my front shocks and springs.

 

[KJowner]

Mine was the rear upper arm bolt, it was finger tight! The arms had been done before I bought the car.
There's an annoying clonk from the left hand brake when it's applied, looks like cheap loose pads so my next job is to stick some decent ones on & replace all the pad guides. On a plus side if the radio is on I can't hear it!

 

[jibjab90]

Fixed......for now.

All front suspension and steering bolts have been re-torqued to spec. No real smoking guns, but the death clunk is gone now. The rack and pinion was the loosest of all fasteners.

Keep an eye on those rack and pinion bushings. Usually the driver side wears quicker because it gets hit with oil when the oil filter is removed. The fact that it went away when you tightened those bolts up makes me think they could be getting worn. If they're completely worn then you can usually see an up and down movement of the entire rack assembly when moving the wheel left and right. They can be replaced with the rack on the vehicle (I have done it) but it's not for the faint of heart!

 

[lfhoward]

Keep an eye on those rack and pinion bushings. Usually the driver side wears quicker because it gets hit with oil when the oil filter is removed. The fact that it went away when you tightened those bolts up makes me think they could be getting worn. If they're completely worn then you can usually see an up and down movement of the entire rack assembly when moving the wheel left and right. They can be replaced with the rack on the vehicle (I have done it) but it's not for the faint of heart!

Do you recommend OEM or poly bushings like this?

You must be registered for see images attach

08-12 Jeep Liberty (KK) Polyurethane Steering Rack Bushings (52125364AB)

Replace your worn or missing OEM Jeep rubber steering rack bushings (52125364AB) with our upgraded polyurethane bushings. Significant improvement on handling.

creative-steel.com

(They also have these for the KJ)

 

[jibjab90]

Do you recommend OEM or poly bushings like this?

You must be registered for see images attach

08-12 Jeep Liberty (KK) Polyurethane Steering Rack Bushings (52125364AB)

Replace your worn or missing OEM Jeep rubber steering rack bushings (52125364AB) with our upgraded polyurethane bushings. Significant improvement on handling.

creative-steel.com

(They also have these for the KJ)

I have used the poly bushings but never long enough to know how they hold up (the rack I put them on blew a seal not long after). They fit nicely and seemed solid so I imagine they would do just fine. You may get more vibration with them vs stock rubber but I feel like it would be negligible.