I own a 2002 Dodge Caravan SE. While driving over cracks and bumps in the road, the front right wheel sounds like it is bobbing up-down a little excessively as if it isn't bolted in tight enough. The front-left wheel feels /sounds solid as you'd expect when going over a bump. There are no driving issues besides the noise.

Can you help me diagnose this possible problem. A few other things i should mention. When going over some bumps at times there appears to be a creaking / squaking noise from the same front right wheel. Lastly, about 3 months ago i replaced the tie-rod-end on that wheel.

Thanks for any assistance.

 

I'm not a pro but it sounds like it could be a few things. I would check shocks, ball joint or control arm bushings. I'm sure someone else will chime in with more definate answers for you. lol

 

all the above! and add endlinks

 

Here are some current photos of my passenger side front wheel. The bouncing still occurs. On a quick visual inspection the shocks look fine. I lifted the boot and the strut(?) looks fine. It feels oily all the way down but this must be the standard lube. I will break out the service manual to locate the ball joint, control arm, and endlinks.

Feel free to point me in the right direction to determine the cause of the excessive wheel bounce. Again at times i can hear a crunch noise coming from the wheel when going over bumps. I can recreate the sound at PARK by pressing down on the hood.

 

how many miles on those shocks?

 

We bought the vehicle used but my guess is the shocks have never been replaced. Current mileage 131,000km

The wheel jounce and creaking noise occur when i go over bumps and is ONLY coming from the front right wheel. There is no loud knocking noise. All other wheels are fine.

 

You're right at the edge of useful life on struts--about 80,000 miles. The strut/shock dampens spring oscillations after you hit a bump. The noise during a bump can come from the ball joint, upper strut mount, stabilizer bar end links (very common on this vehicle), stabilizer bar bushings (also very common), and control arm bushings.

See this article on trouble spots on this van

http://www.ricksfreeautorepairadvice...nks-and-thumps

 

Im currently checking out the troubleshoot guide you provided. In the meantime i went back to the wheel and tried hand jiggling parts. It all seems stiff. Nothing obviously loose. I doubt this is a great test but was an FYI

 

Thanks for the troubleshooting guide. So to be clear i've taken some current photos of the suspension system. Can you confirm this is the: stabilizer bar, stabilizer link, ball joints, and stabilizer bar bushings --



I'm curious about Photo #1 with what i'm guessing is the stabilizer bar bushing. If you look closely there appears to be a gap between the bar and the rubber. Is this normal?

In Photo #3 the ball joint / bolt for the upper part of the stabilizer bar link connecting to the strut looks bent. Is this normal?

 

Yes, your photos are correct. As the stabilizer bar bushings wear, they do create a gap between the rubber and the bar. There are two types of replacement bushings--rubber and blue neoprene. The neoprene seems to last longer. The end links have little ball joints at the end--so no, they're not bent. They're designed to flex a bit and that's also they're main weakness. Most replacement units do NOT have grease fittings to lube the ball joint--so they wear out and make a ton of noise. MOOG makes replacement end links that have grease fittings and I've had much better luck with them--they last longer.