Trying to track down a clunk in the front end

[Forum Crawler]

Yeah, tie rods and drag link do rotate just a bit. They need to.

All good, but they shouldn’t be noisy AF when they do.

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[Itzzchrisss]

Did any of you figure out the issue lol. My jeep started doing this

 

[Forum Crawler]

So I think I figured mine out. Local Jeep shop I trust says JK and JL track bars infamous for getting loose and noisy. Recommends more than the 110 ft lbs OEM recommends so took it up to 120.

All suspension re-torqued. Impeccable, nearly new Icon suspension.

Still a noise. Slow speeds only it seems.

Then the ah-ha moment. Seems the passenger side tie rod end clunks when you grab and twist it. Defective as it’s all torque to spec. Same thing, same side for drag link. More torque won’t fix that, it’s defective.

Going to dealer for new parts. Will report back.

And now this is a STAR case. We’ll see what happens next.

 

[Forum Crawler]

So per the Jeep engineers, the tie rod and drag link “flop” noise is... normal and working as it should.

Looks like that particular portion of my front end noise may need an aftermarket solution.

 

[Nicepackage]

So per the Jeep engineers, the tie rod and drag link “flop” noise is... normal and working as it should.

Looks like that particular portion of my front end noise may need an aftermarket solution.

Purchased the metalcloak tierod and drag link, unfortunately it still does it, Ahhhh!

 

[hjdca]

Make sure it is not the End Links. If the sway bar is bound up, they may seem tight, but, are not. On the Rubicon, Disconnect the sway bar first, then, check the end link play - grab it and shake it.

 

[Renegade]

I just ordered a set of these, to see if it prevents the metal on metal flop. I’ll report back whether it works.
https://www.stinkyfab.com/collections/steering/products/sfr-roll-stopper-tie-rod-end-boot

 

[ChaosActual]

I just ordered a set of these, to see if it prevents the metal on metal flop. I’ll report back whether it works.
https://www.stinkyfab.com/collections/steering/products/sfr-roll-stopper-tie-rod-end-boot

Did it help? My wife's started clunking

 

[Nicepackage]

So I believe I have tracked down the clunk with the help of my brotheren law. Seems I can recreate the sound coming off my front driveway curb so we would go forward and then backup over the curb with someone outside listening for the clunk. After multiple times doing this we thought it might becoming from the sway bar so we tried an experiment and we disconnect the electronic sway bar and drove over the hump, no clunk reconnected the sway bar and drove over the hump and it reappeared, seem to think that it is coming from inside the electronic motor/gear assembly. So long story short I have ordered parts to switch over to a manual sway bar and quick disconnects and be done with this electronic one and we will see if I have gone the right route.

 

[Renegade]

Did it help? My wife's started clunking

Sorry, I forgot to respond. No, they didn’t fit.

 

[wakeup2river]

For what its worth my JKU rubicon did it and I never figured it out. Now first time off road in the JT Rubicon and the familiar sound is there too

LOL screw it, its a jeep as long as nothing falls off Im ignoring it.

 

[yoda13]

I believe mine is doing it too. I have only noticed it since I had my new disconnects put on and my rock hard control arm skids. It didn’t do it right away. I only notice at low speeds over rough roads or my driveway. I have a Mojave, so no electronic sway bar for me. No bolts are obviously loose. I really would rather fix this myself than go to the dealer. Anyone have any new ideas as to what I should check, or did I miss that it’s been figured out?

 

[Renegade]

Just to update on my prior posts in this thread, it turns out that my noise issue was the frame-end joint on my Rough Country lower control arms. They were worn out after 15k miles. They don't offer rebuild kits yet for the JL/JT lower arms, so those have gone into the scrap pile. The new Clayton Overland Plus arms solved my issue completely.

 

[Clayton Off Road]

Happy to hear our product solved your issue!

 

[Glad-inator]

Just installed my Metalcloak Game Changer. Same issue. It was the sway bar links on mine. I had to push that rubber boot back on the one end and torque that to spec. I noticed the sound rocking the Jeep pretty hard from side to side. It stopped.

Now I’ve got some rattling in the back going on. I’m gonna print all of the torque specs out and go over all of the parts I installed just for peace of mind.


Then to the alignment shop.

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