To the point, when I broke a driver's rear upper control arm (at the fwd bushing) I had a clunk similar to what you're describing. Of course, I noticed it in high range as once it failed it was pretty obvious.

(would post a pic, but photobucket is being a b!tch again)

 

How the heck did THAT happen?

 

I have mad skilz.






Actually I suspect it went something like this: Last year on Deer Valley I broke a front strut. (I've written about that before - Arnott part that has since been redesigned). I imagine that and some other rock crawling trails stressed it pretty good. Then when I went to Sedona for the WNLRR I took the Back way to Crown King trail and since I wasn't traveling alone this time I took all the hard lines for fun. I believe this probably cracked it but didn't cause total failure. On the drive from the trail to camp outside Sedona I flat towed another Rover w/trailer maybe 5 miles as well - more stress. Then the next morning heading from camp to Jerome for some trail time I ran a lot of washboard that probably vibrated the crack into complete separation. At least that's when I started hearing the clunk. It only took a few minutes of inspection to find the problem. I eased it back to camp and arranged to have a new stock control arm brought up from the dealer in Scottsdale by an AZLO member who was coming through and replaced it later than night so I only lost one day on the trail.








And no, I don't think the poly-bushings caused it.

 

Wow! First I've heard of something like that, but it sounds like there was a lot of contributing factors. I failed a front (passenger side) shock myself, while on a trail, about 3 years ago. I tip-toed out of the forest, pulled fuses because I was getting cross-articulation faults, and got 'er home. Seems like a similar tact could have helped you avoid some downstream failures.

As it were, I had my own issues that day. Because I didn't recognize what was happening in time, I managed to shear my sway bar end link in half, and tear up my height sensor wiring bracket (32" tires) and also I think bent the bracket holding the passenger side front height sensor probably from the upper control arm coming down farther than normal due to the shock no longer limiting travel.

Live and learn I guess....

 

When I broke the front strut there was no pulling fuses or other work-around. I sheared the bottom eye off the strut and it simply dropped through the lower arm almost onto the ground. Only the bottom of the bag not fitting through the opening kept it from spearing into the dirt. Long story on that one over at ExPo.

I've also broken the sway bar end links before, first time was some unintended air from a way-too-slick hill decent. Amazingly despite running 32 and now 33" tires I've never torn up a height sensor on the trail. Lucky maybe.

 

Well when I tore up my height sensor wiring it was before my stubborn-*** had moved them above the frame rail. My shock failure was slow onset and I should have recognized it....but the failure of the swaybar end link sort of masked it. You see, the control arm was hitting on the shock making a "clank" sound but I didn't know what it was. It was only after my end link failed did I pay enough attention to that corner to see the marks on the airbag....but I thought it was due to the failure of the end link instead of the fact that the airshock was ****, which I'd read only months before as a failure mode.

My fault, really.

 

Volkov has an ARB front installed

 

Or so he says.....

 

Hahahahaha, Don!

Seems like a front locker would be kind of a waste on an HD-LR3 at least. I mean rear locker + 4ETC has got to get you pretty darn close to what front/rear locker are capable of doing.

 

Well I like to slow crawl the difficult sections of trail. Momentum is not a tool I pull out of the box very often. That being said I always attempt an obstacle without the locker and if I lose traction midway I then engage the front and that has allowed me to complete the climb/obstacle. Zelatore witnessed that first hand the other week. I was trying to climb a steep muddy hill and I lost traction half way up, he gets on the radio and as smug as he could be says "fail" at this moment I engage my front and successfully continue the climb.