2004 Dodge Durango Thumping/Clunking Noise When Driving

Tiny
REALWOMAN4U2015
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 DODGE DURANGO
  • 3.7L
  • V8
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 105,655 MILES
A few days ago I began to notice each time I go over a bump in the road my truck is making a thumping/clunking noise on the front driver side. It seems to be getting worse now each time I drive it now.

When I went to the dealer in April for an oil change I was told that both outboard tie rod end boots were cracked almost completely through. Just wanted to know if this would be the cause of this noise that I am hearing now or could it be something else?
Sunday, June 14th, 2015 AT 2:37 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
ED-WEEZY21
  • MECHANIC
  • 248 POSTS
I would have to agree on starting there first. The outer tie rod ends can make a clunking noise if they're really bad. You do not want these to break since they are what controls your steering.
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Sunday, June 14th, 2015 AT 5:10 PM
Tiny
LOU P
  • MECHANIC
  • 118 POSTS
I partially agree with the other comment however tie rods rarely make a clunk noise, with it being a dodge I would have to say have your ball joints and sway bar links checked for noise. We use really big channel locks pliers and squeeze the joints to check for movement. Any movement is bad. Hope this information helps
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Sunday, June 14th, 2015 AT 5:41 PM
Tiny
REALWOMAN4U2015
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
Yes, this definitely helps thanks. I took my truck to 3 places today and was told 3 different things. One mechanic who charged me $50 to look at it told me that he did not hear anything when he drove it and did not find anything wrong when he checked it out. Another mechanic told me that the noise that he heard was coming from the rear driver side wheel and said that it was my sway bar link and suggested that I have both sides fixed instead of the one that is bad which was going to cost me $150, but he did not charge me to take a look at it. The 3rd mechanic who did not charge to look at it told me that he did hear that same noise that I was hearing coming from the front. He said that I need a front Control Arm Assembly and Lower Ball Joint along with a wheel alignment which is going to cost me $1066.50 to fix this.

It's hard to find a mechanic these days that you can trust that will provide you with the correct information. I don't know much about cars/trucks to determine who is telling me the truth, so I really don't know what to do in this case. Just wanted to pass this information along to let you both know what I had found out about the noise. Thanks again!
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Monday, June 15th, 2015 AT 1:08 PM

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