So, for all you with bushing problems, don't reinstall factory bushing, you will just have the same issues. Contact Justin at Lucky8 and talk to him regarding the silicone bushings he has, they will perform much better and for longer.

 

I took it to 2 shops. One had no clue, the other put it on a special lift so they could get the wheels going while watching underneath. So, changed the control arm, because they had told me they felt the control arm hitting the mount and that the rear bushings were bad. After all the reading about those bushings being bad, I thought "awesome, that must be it!!" But, $225 and a smashed pinky later, and the clunk is still there. Ordered sway bar bushings and end links. Will be changing as soon as they come in. They both look very worn and I cant replicate the weight of the vehicle to see if it is them for sure, but seems to be the 2nd most common cause of this annoying clunk. Someone had mentioned violent braking at high speeds being cause by bad sway bar bushings and links. I finally drove it at high speed yesterday ,after this problem has been going on for a while, and it is pretty violent above 60. Will update.

 

sway arm noise will most likely be a side to side movement . you can always disconnect the links and drive it to see if it goes away. may i suggest checking the upper control arm bushings as well? they tend to be over looked.

 

Disconnected both sway bar end links, drove it, same clunk. Had an indy mechanic check the sway bar bushings, said they are good to go, they have no signs of wear or play. However, he doesnt know what could be causing the clunk either. I printed out the bulletin from the LR TOPIx site, talking about a "clunk" in the front when going over uneven roads, and coincidentally, lower control arm was first suggested change, then sway bar end links, then sway bar bushings. I'm growing tired of working on it myself, so probably be taking it to the LR dealer. Hopefully they know what it is or have heard it before and can fix it. I hate paying for someone else to do the work, but I'm lost on this one.

 

So, after another extensive search, because I'm cheap and stubborn, I read something on clunking/noises traveling through the chassis and possibly coming from a different location then what it sounds. I had the wife hop in the seat, put the truck in "high/offroad" mode (whatever its called, the highest setting) so that I could crawl underneath and watch/listen as she pulled forward slowly and hit the brakes to replicate the clunk. I held on to the LEFT lower control arm, on the rear mount/bushing, and you can feel it bang against the chassis when the brakes are applied hard. If you don't hold on to it, you probably won't figure out where the sound is coming from exactly. With movement of the suspension in mind, that makes sense why when I turn left and hit the driveway lip, it clunks. All the weight is shifted to the left, and the left control arm moves right, banging into the chassis. Then I had her get out and do it, even though she didnt want to, just to give me piece of mind. She felt/heard it also. I think the right was also bad, cause the guy at the alignment shop said he did the same thing, held the control arm and felt it hit. Wouldn't surprise me if they were both bad.

A common thing I have noticed is that people are reporting this clunk after new brake installation. I think that is because the old "soft" brakes didnt stop the vehicle as well as the new ones. Not to mention, if you bleed them correctly, they'll be tighter than before, causing things to jerk harder. That and I'm not trying to "test" my old brakes by hitting them hard, but I did do it after I put the new pads on. Which is when I recall first noticing it.


So, left lower control arm on order, since they come with all the bushings and ball joint pre-installed. Going on vacation, will install when I get back and update after test drive. Hope this helps someone else who is driving themselves nuts trying to find that friggin clunk.

 

Make sure you order new bolts - people often need to cut them off as they are siezed up.

Oh and make sure the shop that does the alignment (suggest dealer) has the correct computer to put the vehicle into tight tolerance mode to make sure the air suspension doesn't move during the alignment

 

C2C let me know what you come up with I have the same problem...

 

Ok...here is one more to look into. I was having a clunking sound from my right rear and took it in to check, fearing time for replacements again. This time, it was as simple as tightening the bolt that holds the bushing. It had worked itself a little loose, enough to allow play that was causing the clunking going in and out of my driveway. Easy fix.

 

I changed the left lower control arm, got it aligned at NTB, and we are now good to go! No clunk! It'd be a good idea to do them both even if one isn't bad (yet). But if you are looking to do just one, make sure you do the method I described in a previous post to figure out which one it is, left or right. Just cause it sounds like right side, doesn't mean it is. Good luck!

 

How hard was it to change the whole control arm??