I have a strange clunky rattling inthe right front end. I have checked the ball joints and tie rod ends - they seem fine, the car just passed inspection. I thought it might be the sway bar bushings or links so I also checked them. The only play I can find is in the upper control arm bushings. If I grab the arm with Visegrips I can "wiggle" the arm some. If these bushings are tired could this be making the noise. The car has 87K on it. Are these bushings replacable or do I have to change the whole upper control arm?? Any help or thoughts appreciated

 

I would suspect the sway bar bushings where the sway bar joins the wheel knuckle. These wear and will make a clunk sound when you hit a bump while turning. They are easy to replace. I don't think you can simulate the looseness due to stiffness of sway bar, but look closely at the end bushings. They may be loose or severely worn.

good luck

 

Thanks for the info. The sway bar has a link which connects the bar to the lower control arm The link has two ball and socket type connections. I did suspect that connection but it is held on by a bolt with a 5 mm socket head. Looks like I would need a special tool to grab the nut and turn the bolt from inside or vice versa. I did not have the appropriate tools so I checked its tightness by prying on it. I t seems like it is under tension so perhaps my test was incorrect. Any thoughts?????

 

Have the identical problem on a 99 Accord LX with 65K. The clunking/rattling noise only occurs over rough patches of road (small pot holes or pavement imperfections); otherwise, no noise at all.

The car drives fine and shows no signs of inner/outer tie rod end or ball joint wear. I've inspected the suspension for loose parts (looking for spots where dirt has been worn away from parts rubbing together), but nothing obvious turns up.

If worn sway bar end links are the problem, I suspect the car needs to be on a hydraulic lift (all fours off ground) to properly diagnose this.
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