That control arm is definitely bent and that is usually caused by someone who doesn't know where to hook up a tow truck, but it's not the cause of your clunk.

I would check your wheel bearings like N3ON said, mine both went bad and 1 side made a clunk noise.

 

well i found out why the control arm is bent. The previous owner (who happens to be my brother) got stuck and had a friend pull him out, thus where it got bent (he should have had me do it cuz i would have hooked right LOL)

As for the wheel bearings, I've done most repairs to this car since it was bought, and it was about 6 months ago both rear hubs were replaced due to all the studs being snapped off, and i decided since i was taking it apart anyway to have my brother buy the whole hub assembly.

But how would i go about checking them anyway? i know with the seperate bearings and hubs like on my old explorer u could feel play, how about with these being a pressed together hub/bearing assembly.

 

You have to have the wheels on tight. Put one of your hands in the 6 o clock position on the tire and one on the 12 o clock and wiggle it up and down.

I'm sure there are youtube videos explaining how to check wheel bearing free play.

Another thing to look for is the struts themselves. Pull down your dust-boot on the strut and look for rust near the top of the strut rod, those make a lot of noise too.

 

so its the same procedure as with my old trucks bearings. and i will make sure to check the top of the strut tower under the dust boot next time i pull the tires off, thanks again everyone for the help and thanks in advance for any future help

 

seriously , why not check those struts? recommended replacement is every 60k , they make clunking noises all the time. sounds like your going off in the wrong direction , bounce the car and see if it makes noise and trace it.

 

do you happen to remember or know what the part number is for that bushing kit?

 

I'm directly copying and pasting from Prothane's website, so bear with any little bugs. I also have no idea why the years go to 2006. I'll add these to the parts numbers post in the maintenance thread too.

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
BUMP STOPS Year Kit Name Kit
01-06 Rear Bump Stop Kit 4-1301

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, FRONT Year Kit Name Kit
95-99 Front C-Arm Bushing Kit 4-209
00-06 Front C-Arm Bushing Kit 4-214
01-06 Front C-Arm Bushing Kit 4-214

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
END LINK BUSHINGS, FRONT & REAR Year Kit Name Kit
95-99 Front End Link Kit 4-401
95-99 Rear End Link Kit (sport package only) 4-402
00-06 Front End Link Kit 4-401
00-06 Rear End Link Kit 19-413
01-06 Front End Link Kit 4-401
01-06 Rear End Link Kit 4-403

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
SHIFTER BUSHINGS Year Kit Name Kit
95-06 Shifter Bushing Kit 4-1605
03-06 SRT-4 Shifter Bushing Kit 4-1606

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
SWAY BAR BUSHINGS. FRONT & REAR Year Kit Name Kit
95-06 Front Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 20mm Bar 4-1118
95-99 Front Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 22mm Bar 4-1119
00-06 Front Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 24mm Bar 4-1120
95-99 Rear Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 16mm Bar 4-1111
00-06 Rear Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 12mm Bar 4-1130
00-06 Rear Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 14mm Bar 4-1131
00-06 Rear Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 17mm Bar 4-1137
01-06 Front Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 22mm Bar 4-1119
01-06 Front Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 24mm Bar 4-1120
01-06 Rear Sway Bar Bushing Kit, 18mm 4-1136

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
TOTAL KITS Year Kit Name Kit
95-99 Total Kit (Includes Sport Package) 4-2002
00-06 Total Kit (Neon, SRT-4) 4-2007
01-06 Total Kit (Includes Touring Edition) 4-2006

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
COIL SPRING ISOLATORS Year Kit Name Kit
01-06 Front Coil Spring Isolator Kit, Lower 4-1704
01-06 Rear Coil Spring Isolator Kit, Upper & Lower 4-1705

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, REAR Year Kit Name Kit
95-99 Rear C-Arm Bushing Kit 4-301
00-06 Rear Trailing Arm Bushing Kit 4-304
01-06 Rear Trailing Arm Bushing Kit 4-302
01-06 Rear Watts Linkage Bushing Kit 4-303

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
MOTOR MOUNT INSERTS Year Kit Name Kit
95-99 Engine Mount Insert Kit, Front 4-501
95-99 Engine Mount Insert Kit, Right 4-502
95-99 Transmission Mount Insert Kit, Left 4-503
95-99 All 3 Mounts, Kit 4-1901
95-99 All 3 Mounts, Kit (Softer Street Style) 4-1902
00-06 Upper & Lower Mount Insert Kit (Race) 4-1905
00-06 Upper & Lower Mount Insert Kit (Street) 4-1906

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
STRUT ROD BUSHINGS Year Kit Name Kit
95-99 Rear Strut Rod Bushing Kit 4-1204
00-06 Rear Strut Rod Bushing Kit 4-1206

Chrysler Dodge/Plymouth/Neon, PT Cruiser
TIE ROD BOOTS Year Kit Name Kit
95-99 Tie Rod Boot Kit (2) 19-1711