I have a 1999 Dodge Ram Van 1500 conversion, and after a lot of work it is running beautifully now and a joy to drive. However it has a new problem and I need help trying to diagnose it.
I have a soft single thud on the front passenger side that sometimes happens when I turn hard or brake hard. I don't really need to brake or turn hard often so I don't have a lot of data, and it doesn't happen every time but most of the time. It may be possible it is just the cord connector from the corner light shifting since I recently changed that corner light assembly, and it would be difficult to check that since I glued it on since it kept popping out just like the old one 😂, but I am worried this sound may be the start of something more serious. Maybe ball joint or wheel bearings from what I have read? I am new to these kinds of repairs so I don't know what to look for.

Back in December, it had major work done at a shop when a control arm came very loose and there was excessive play in turning. According to the invoice, it had both control arms replaced, both ball joints replaced, all tie rods replaced, both idler arms and the drag link replaced - but I think the strut and bearings were only replaced on one side and it doesn't say which.

This is what behind that passenger wheel looks like now. I can take more specific pictures from different angles if helpful:


Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Might wanna try and experiment a bit, and see if you can figure out under what conditions you can consistently get it to make the noise.

 

Does it make a difference which way you are turning when you hear the thud? You didn't forget to strap the baby seat down did you?

 

Haha! My kids are all teenagers, no baby seats here.

I rarely need to turn hard so I think its both directions, but I need to confirm. But it makes the same noise when I brake hard suddenly, which is also not often. Usually only going down steep hills when someone in front of me is going too slow or swerves to not hit something. I tried to test yesterday on a big hill in while in stop and go traffic but there was a muscle car next to me that wanted everyone's attention the entire ten mile stretch, so I gave up since I couldn't hear.

I guess I need to go drive around making hard turns and slamming on the brakes close to home in case something snaps. It's definitely coming from the passenger front wheel area but again not necessarily every time. I guess I should check under the hood on that side too, just in case something got loose, but it sounds more mechanical than something flopping or sliding around.

 

Are your ball joints and such greaseable? If so, give everything a couple pumps, and see if it quiets down.

 

So I hadn't been able to drive the van much lately and thus couldn't really listen for the thud. But when I did get to drive it, I couldn't replicate it, so yesterday I took it out on a long errand. Wound up stalling out on a steep freeway overpass but it restarted fine, so I started back home on gentle surface roads going no more that 50mph, still everything fine and still no thud.

Then my family asked me to pick up drive thru food, which required a number of sharp turns through a narrow congested lot. The van started making creaky noises when turning in either direction that got louder as I went home. It's now going to rain here all week so I can't physically look at it, but I have time to research how to fix what it could be in my service manual and online. Any suggestions?

 

Creaking on turns and bumps is generally dry ball joints. If yours are greaseable, grease 'em. If they aren't, think about replacing them.

 

Thank you. I will look up how to do that and what grease to use. I had suspension work done almost a year ago and if memory serves from the paperwork, they did one side only. I probably should have caught that in real time and made them do both. But if grease doesn't work I will know what's next.

 

Before you do anything, lift the front up and put both sides on a stand.
See if your radius arm busing nuts are loose. I believe it is a 15/16th nut. I have had to torque mine down tight before when I was getting popping tings from the suspension.
You may have bad bushings too.
Just a thought

 

OK thanks. Just so I am clear on which nut that is, do you mean this one:

It is still raining today so I can't look right now, but I want to be sure to check and tighten the right ones.