Floor Board "clunk" finally fixed

[Me78569]

Ever since I have owned my truck it has had this terrible "clunk" right under the drivers side foot rest.  Some days it made me mad enough to want to drive the truck off a cliff.

 

I have replaced EVERY part under the front of the truck more than once and I still have had this clunk.  I had all but given up hope of ever fixing it.  

 

When I first felt it I thought " must need control arms"  well I replaced them once, still had the issue, then I replaced them again " just because"  

 

Ball joints, steering etc etc etc........

 

 

Anyways fast forward to a month ago,  I noticed that the mounting holes for the control arms were ovaled out, so I welded in some washers to fix that issue.  As a result of that there as no longer any camber adjustment.  So high on my list was adjustable control arms.  

 

Thanks to Jacob at DAP I got some BD control arms with Poly bushings.  Normally I shy away from poly stuff, but I thought "heck couldn't make the POS truck any worse" 

 

Well much to my surprise after installing the control arms my clunk is gone!

 

I couldn't believe it.  Even OEM Mopar arms and bushing didn't fix the issue.  

 

Figured my issues might help someone else.  If you have a clunk in your front end, try poly bushings.

[Wild and Free]

^{After running  three 2nd gens another cause for a clunk under the driver side floor boards that all 3 developed was a dry automatic shift linkage ball socket  near the frame, need to pump grease into the ball socket every so often, took me forever to find that one on my 95 1/2 ton and then my 99 2500 V-10 and then my 02 cummins all did the same thing over time..................Man I love my 3rd and 4th gens now after looking back at all the work I put into the 2nd gens I had over the years.}

[Me78569]

I know just what you are talking about haha.  I did see that when I did a R&R on the tranny

[JOHNFAK]

Good tips.

Dont get the clunk but every now and then I get a vibration feel almost like the PS pump .....like a Humm

[JOHNFAK]

Man I love my 3rd and 4th gens now after looking back at all the work I put into the 2nd gens I had over the years.

Yes I wished I had bought that clean 3rd gen with built tranny instead of flying to pick up this 2nd gen....

Learned lots more though .... ha ha

[CSM]

Yes I wished I had bought that clean 3rd gen with built tranny instead of flying to pick up this 2nd gen....

Learned lots more though .... ha ha

 

Aint that the truth.  But, aside from the lack of 4 doors, I still really enjoy the truck.  

[dripley]

I just put new shocks on my truck about 6 weeks ago and mine started clunking. Everything on the shocks are tight. Hopefully the holes for the bolts are not to big. Cant seem to get a weekend home with good weather to check. Never thought about the control arms. They are still stock possibly gone. Just seemed weird that it started with the shock install. My track bar is gone and the new is in the back of the truck waiting to go on the front of the truck. Cant even get good weather at the job for laying on the ground;

[Marine]

Dave, after about a month went by after I replaced my shocks I had a clunk. I had the shock place send me new shocks under warranty and when I went to put them in, I noticed one of the 3 nuts that hold the shock tower on to the top of the spring was loose. It was on the inside of the engine compartment so I couldn't see it from looking from the tire side. Tightened it up and it has been good since.

I do have another rattle under the dash I still have to find, though....

[dripley]

i would like to think that i did check all of the bolts for tightness. I have looked a couple times and dont think that is the problem. Every bolt i checked was tight. I did notice a few days ago that the plastic rivet that holds the inner fender well on has pulled thru the inner fender and is loose. I bought some replacement rivets for this purpose. The fender well moves up and down and might be the source of the clunk since I only seem to hear the clunk at low speed on a bumpy surface. All I need now is some free time to replace them. I sure hope it is not a loose tower bolt, that would make me feel like this !!!!

[Marine]

i would like to think that i did check all of the bolts for tightness. I have looked a couple times and dont think that is the problem. Every bolt i checked was tight. I did notice a few days ago that the plastic rivet that holds the inner fender well on has pulled thru the inner fender and is loose. I bought some replacement rivets for this purpose. The fender well moves up and down and might be the source of the clunk since I only seem to hear the clunk at low speed on a bumpy surface. All I need now is some free time to replace them. I sure hope it is not a loose tower bolt, that would make me feel like this !!!!

That is a good idea; I will check my fender wells too, as I know one is loose. Thanks for that tip!

[CTcummins24V]

If you end up replacing your control arms, look here...http://www.topguncustomz.com/p-12502-2000-2002-dodge-ram-control-arms-for-25003500-00-01-ram-1500-4x4-0-2.aspx#.VijSgX6rSM9