Hello. Here's the problem: my 1998 Crown Vic recently started making a clunking sound. A mechanic suggested replacing upper ball joints and an alignment. Did that but clunk still happens, mostly when braking and when driving over a street with wavy bumps, also when driving over speed bumps at a diagonal approach to the speed bump. The sound is definitely in the front end. And it seems to be close to the fire wall. My mechanic and I put it up on the rack and looked around but didn't see anything unusual. This problem started suddenly. I first noticed it after having a new intake manifold installed but don't understand how that could be related to the clunk sound. Strangely enough, when you brake for the first time when driving, I hear the sound. Then, when I brake again immediately after, I don't hear it. Ugh. This is driving me nuts. Suggestions?

 

Nice mechanic. I would have gone straight to checking the sway bar end links as Ford uses non-greasable units and are normally plastic causing a short life span. These wear out and cause the exact problem that you are describing (front end clunking that resonates up thru the dash). Braking changes the torque applied to the end links causing the change you hear while braking. Anyways, give the end links a good wiggle test. You'll probably find the ball & socket worn.

 

Common Sense User,
What you suggest sounds exactly right. I'll bring the Crown Vic back to the mechanic and give it a closer look. Those sway bar links aren't too expensive, so I'll have him replace them anyway and see what happens.
Cheers,
Russ

 

Good luck on eliminating the noise. The sway bar end links are sealed units and wear out due to loss of lubricant. So...when you go over driving over a street with wavy bumps, or over speed bumps at a diagonal approach to the speed bump as you say, the sway bar twists and flexes causing the end links worn ball and socket joint to rattle around.

 

One thing to keep in mind; a sway bar link will usually make noise when the wheel is turned and going over a bump (speed bumps work very well for this). However, these ball joints (upper and lower) also had a habit of going bad.
Also look for noise comming from the idler arm, pitman arm, and tie rod ends (both inner and outer).
Just food for thought...

 

Yep...Just get the front-end up in the air. Since it's a "CLUNK", something is worn and should have some type of play in it. Just go over every point one at a time and then go over them again.