I noticed that the passenger side sway bar link on my 06 quad cab was broken. I replaced both sides. Seemed like a simple enough task. When I got it done I noticed that the odd time I hit a bump or recovering from a right hand turn, I would hear a clunk. Not all the time. Usually from the drivers side, occasionally from the passenger side. I got back under the truck and noticed that the drivers side required a lot of tightening and the passenger side required a little tightening of the top nut. Initially I had tightened them till the felt 'tight'. When I retightened them I made sure to see the bushing bulge out a bit like they were under pressure. I am still hearing the odd clunk on bumps. Is there some trick to it that I'm missing, I noticed the sway bar bushings look kind of worn and I haven't changed them yet.
Also would the broken link throw the alignment out? I notice a mild pull to the left and the inside of my front passenger tire is worn. But this clunk is new since the replacement and wasnt there before.

 

2006 coil and link or independant front suspension?
broken sway bar link will not effect the alignment. the sway bar only transfer force during a sway condition and does nothing when the vehicle is level.
post a picture of the tire wear and i will tell you the cause.
pulls most often are caused by conical tires a ply condition you can't see, or alignment issues.
is the steering off-center or is it a pull...sometimes people confuse them.

if the sway bar are still clunking, they are still not tight. i strike them with a open palm...if they clunk, its either loose or worn. If they don't clunk, the problem is elsewhere.

 

Replace the sway bar bushings. They are cheap and easy to do and you need to do it anyway. I would be willing to bet that will take care of your problem. The "clunk" is the typical symptom of worn out sway bar bushings.

 

Sway bar bushing noise for sure! Just replaced mine and it got rid of the loud "clank" sound when you hit bumps. Rides nice and quiet!

 

easy to test...have someone rock the vehicle while you put your hand on the sway bar and feel for a binding from the bushings... remove the sway bar links from the bar and go for a test drive, if the noise is gone, replace bushing...or while the links are disconnected,move the bar up and down by hand and see if the noise is present.

 

would the isolates allow the cradle(s) to clunk if they went? I have the same problem going over bumps. I'll check sway bar bushings.
see Pic.

right isolator mount looks crooked right?



right isolator mount. looks crooked.

left isolator mount. looks straight here but it isn't. cam angle.