OK guys, over the last 6 months, my 80 has developed clunks.
Not major, but relentless, and I can’t find the current fault. Before anyone starts, let me go through the process of elimination that stared with the first sound of it.
I wasn’t sure whether it was front or back, or maybe middle, so I started at the back.
First, all prop UJs checked and re-greased, all good (3 have been changed in the the last 12 months, the fourth about 2 years ago).
The prop sliders have been cleaned and greased, no excess play in them and certainly not over greased.
Rear axle mounts. Top arm bushings had excessive play, so they were changed. Lower arms had new bushings last year.
After changing, the clunks changed, or rather diminished. I suspect there was more than one going on, so maybe I cured one of them, but not all.
Rear swaybar bushes and ball joints (chassis mounts). Bushes good, and ball joints replaced (one had a fair bit of play in it). Slight change in the clunks, so I think that was contributing. Some progress, anyway.
OK, middle.
Gearbox mount, only 2 years old, cost an arm, leg and kidney, still intact and dry. All good.
Front.
All 6 axle mount bushes changed recently when I replaced the caster correction drop boxes, for correction plates. All good.
Front sway bar bushes. The rubber bushes mounting to the axle were shot, so they were replaced. Checked the ball joint mounts to the chassis and they were kinda ok, but some play, so they were replaced.
Clunks changed again, quite noticeably this time, for the better, but still there, or the ones that are left are.
I’ve checked all the springs, none are broken and there’s nothing to suggest any problems with their mountings, perches OK, no rust even, and the axle ends are secure and seated properly.
I’ve checked the steering arms to hub mounts (the infamous 4 studs) and they’re secure.
I’ve checked the steering box mounts, they’re tight and no more cracks in the chassis...
I’ve checked all 4 steering ball joints.
The steering damper has been renewed recently, it was leaking.
Now, because the clunks have been narrowed down a lot from when they started, it comes when doing any or all of the following:
Hardish braking;
Steering, but only sometimes, not always;
Gently climbing a kerb, for example. It’s odd, if the kerb is under the left wheel, then it clunks for certain. Under the right wheel, then sometimes.
It doesn’t clunk when driving normally, highway, or off-road, suspension undulations, don’t trigger it, only any or all of the above.
It now sounds (to me) as though the clunk is from the left side knuckle.
My thoughts... maybe it’s a top or bottom or both swivel bearing. Hard to test these I know because they’re concealed, but I can’t imagine it could be anything else.
Those bearings are loaded on braking, and loaded on steering. They would also be stressed when slowly mounting a kerb.
Has anyone had these bearings fail and could they share the symptoms please?
Otherwise, does anyone have any other ideas?
Im tired of scratching my head, and I don’t want to rebuild the knuckles if there’s nothing wrong with them.
