Hi everyone. This is my first post here... I found the forums while searching for a fix to a problem I'm having with my truck. I just bought this Dakota a few weeks ago. It's my first one so I don't know too much about the vehicle yet...

I'm experiencing a clunking sound on turns. Definitely sounds like a steering system issue. It doesn't happen when driving straight, or on bumps, etc. Usually in a turn while decelerating or taking it a little sharp.

From searching this forum, it sounds like it could be either ball joint/tie rod/ sway bar/ or rack & pinion. Are there any other options? It sounds like the ball joints or tie rods are fairly easy to diagnose (jack up and check wheel play up/down and left/right). How about diagnosing the others?

2004 Dakota 2WD Club Cab with approx 82,000 miles.

Cheers

 

Sounds like that about covers it. And yes, it's pretty easy to check all of those. Good luck and congrats on the truck.

 

Thanks. Can you point me in the right direction for diagnosing the sway bar or rack & pinion? Like I mentioned, I know how to check the ball joints & tie rods but not these other components. Especially the rack & pinion.
(e.g. should there be play in the sway bar & how much? and should there be any play in the rack & pinion & how to check for this?)

 

I had a similar problem with my truck, clunking from the front end when turning hard, usually happened in reverse like when backing out of my driveway or a parking space, it also happened on sharp turns while moving forward. It was hard to find the problem but it turned out to be a bad stabilizer bar end link (sway bar link).

Jimmy

 

That sounds very similar to what I'm experiencing. How did you diagnose the swaybar link in the end? Was it just visual? thx

 

Same sound experienced in my truck. Turned out to be upper ball joint.

 

The boot on the stud end was split, that was the only thing wrong I could see, so I replaced the link and the clunk has not come back since. I also replaced the sway bar bushings first but that did not fix the problem. I replaced all 4 ball joints about a year before that, so I ruled those out easily. There was no play in the wheels when I rocked the tires back and forth at the 9 and 6:00 positions. The ball joints being in good shape was one of the reasons it was hard to diagnose the bad sway bar link. That and the split in the boot was right up against the stud end and was very hard to see. I think these are the third set of sway bar links I have put on my truck, they do not seem to last much longer than 30,000 miles.

Jimmy

 

Well I did a quick check this afternoon... inconclusive. Jacked up the front end from under the control arms and wiggled left/right and up/down. There doesn't seem to be any obvious play but I only had 15 minutes to check.

If I wiggle left/right back and forth quickly there seems to be some play... I'll have to spend some more time on the weekend to do a more thorough check.

I'd like to check the rack & pinion while I have it in the garage and up. Can anyone walk me through the steps? thx

 

The sway bars and end links usually give a creaking or groaning sound. But just look at the bar and see if there is any gap between the bar and the bushings. If you can fit anything between the bar and bushing replace them.
You can't check ball joints just by wiggling the wheel. You have to jack the vehicle up and use a pry/crowbar under the spindle to see if you get any movement.
The OEM ball joints are non greasable and notorious for going bad early and with 82K I would be very suspect of the ball joints.
Good luck

 

Ok, got the truck up and wheels off this afternoon. I need some help diagnosing. In the past on former vehicles I've always noticed movement in ball joints/tie rods just by moving the wheel back/forth and feeling the movement with my fingers. This does not happen on my Dakota.

The sound seems to be coming from driver side on turns. It's not a single clunk, but I hear 2 or 3 clunks through the turn. Only on turns, and only on harder turns. If I slow to min speed and take the turn there is no sound.

So here's where I am:
- Upper ball joint seems tight with no movement. It is overflowing grease everywhere but it is brand new. Was installed when I bought the truck 4 weeks back as part of the safety.
- lower ball joint is original but seems tight with no movement.
- the sway bar links seems tight and solid with no movement.
- the left outer tie rod looks ok and it doesn't move.
- the left inner tie rod doesn't look great. Bellows boot is ripped and I feel play at the 3/9 oclock wheel positions. But the whole steering column moves with the play (video here: ) as well as other wheel so I'm not sure what the deal is.