That annoying 'CLUNK'
Submitted: Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:02
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Willem
I first heard the CLUNK last year after shuddering along the Talawana Track.
I removed the stabiliser bars but the clunk was still there. Put them back on again
Then it would be quiet for a while and as soon as there was wetness around, CLUNK!
Sounded like it was coming from the front of the truck.
Have checked the body mounts. They are as tight as the proberbial. Have looked and looked and tried to move them, but to no avail. The ribbers are in good nick.
Then I thought AHA!
Suspension bushes are shot. So while in
Melbourne in October I got real assistance from EO Member Crazie when he pulled the
suspension down for me, but no, after 300,000km the bushes were in excellent shape.
Then for a while the noise went away. But now it is back with a vengeance...CLUNK!!
I have checked all the steering gear and it is in good shape as
well. The front wheel bearings are tight as
well.
Took the OME shocks off today and they are still very good. Bushes all in top condition and plenty of gas in the canisters.
I have not pulled the carpet up to see if there are cracks in the firewall or footwell (a Nissan failing) but from underneath the truck I can see no cracks.
So, anywhere else I should look LOL
Cheers
CLUNK!!!
Reply By: Footloose - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:09
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:09
Willem, I don't know missans but it may
well be that you need to supply more info. Assume you were in 4wd at the time ? Or only hubs? Was the clunk intermittent or constant ? You could hear it or just feel it ?
Just trying to help :))
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:43
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:43
Footloose
CLUNK is mainly audible where traversing a bump with or withou 4x4 mode. No, cannot feel it. It is intermittent.
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:51
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:51
Silly suggestion, but what about engine mounts ?
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:59
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:59
Hmmmm but engine mount would then make same noise when starting or cutting the engine. Does not do that.
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Follow Up By: Member - Glenn D (NSW) - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 17:14
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 17:14
Had the same thing , and was the engine mount .
Got hammered after having the gearbox out twice , damn 5th gear
It was the left side and didnt make any noise on startup .
Let go about 150km west of
Esperance .
Had a bit of a funny design , you couldnt tell it was broken by trying to jack the engine , or roll in the dirt repeatedly.
Glenn
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Reply By: Alloy c/t - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:48
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:48
Could it be time for a hip replacement ??
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:57
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:57
Hahahahahahahahaha
No, hips are in good shape.
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Reply By: MAVERICK(WA) - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:55
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 18:55
check the body mounts................seems like about the only thing left - I remember there was some stuff about them going 'clunk' in one the 4wd mags a while ago. I have Maverick that exhibiteed the same thing but after trying to operate it with its wheels in the air the subsequent repairs replaced amongst other things the body mounts........that was a few years ago and no clunk yet but as I am just about to start a 6mth cruise around and through this great land I guess I may have a clunk for company in the end. Anyway with all the other rattles from frames etc a clunk is the least of the noises i've got. rgds
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:01
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:01
All body mounts are OK.
Have not looked under carpet yet. Will do so tomorrow. Bugger of a job..lol
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Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 19:14
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 19:14
Willie,
All body mounts may be okay, BUT, they could have compressed by the proverbial gnat's whisker, which could mean the body is occasionally hitting on the chassis. There is bugga all clearance between the chassis and body at some points, especially above the rear coil spring mounting plate.
Cheers
Roachie
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Reply By: OLDMAGPIE - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:01
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:01
do you have a second battery in the cab?
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:51
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:51
No. But have one in the engine bay.
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Reply By: Member No 1- Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:11
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:11
steering components?
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:51
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:51
Checked that. Seem OK
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Reply By: Tonbo - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:21
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 19:21
Exhaust hitting somewhere from worn exhaust mount ?? I have seen and heard that before on a toyota, it drove me crazy just when you thought jeez havent heard that for a while... clunk...
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:53
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:53
No. But I bought the vehicle with that 'clunk'. A new bracket fixed the problem
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Reply By: Patrolman Pat - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 20:16
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 20:16
I had a similar problem in a Magna many years ago which nearly drove me mad. Turned out to be something rolling around under the passenger
seat. Just a thought.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:55
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:55
Hahahahahaha
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Reply By: Member - Luxoluk - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 20:22
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 20:22
Hi Willem
A friend of mine with the same model Patrol had the same problem. He went spare trying to track it down removing the front end etc etc. I referred him to an article re this problem on Trucksters website.......sure enough he had cracks in the floor which had to be welded up. End of problem!! He also mentioned that the body mounts can appear to be ok visually but not is all as it would seem...he ended up changing these too. Vehicle has done less than 100k but nearly all desert and HC work. Good luck tomorrow. Cheers
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Follow Up By: geocacher (djcache) - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 00:30
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 00:30
Gee I wonder who that could be....?
I'm guessing my navvy for the next trip...
BYO Mechanic. What's your navvy good for? Oh that's right he's an ace
cook.
Think we've got the essentials covered!
Dave
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Reply By: musso - Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 20:46
Saturday, Feb 18, 2006 at 20:46
WIllem hi i had same problem with my gu its that rubber above the front springs NISSAN CHANGED AND PROBLEM IS GONE
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:54
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:54
Thanks Musso, will go have a look. It is the area the noise is emanting from.
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 19:03
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 19:03
Had a clunking problem with my skyline that ended up being
the springs shifting over speed bumps
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Reply By: Pneumatic - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 00:33
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 00:33
my CLUNK was a split brake pad bolt. Never made noise when brakes where in use (forward bolt), only a clunk on unbraked front end drop...the pad was bighting into the disk and rotational momentim was forcing the pad to pivot the existing bolt and CLUNK!
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:57
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 06:57
Thanks Pneumatic,
Will check it out
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Reply By: Darian (SA) - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 03:12
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 03:12
Don't know the cause but I know someone with the same vehicle and it has the "frightening" clunk ! In certain circumstances, sounds like one side of the front end is about to come adrift and end up on the
roadside. Don't know if he can hear it - I don't ride in the car these days ................
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 07:10
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 07:10
When I bought the wagon it was in a good condition showing 265,000 on the clock. I spoke with the previous owner, a nurse, who drove it to work and back 95% bitumen every day. She said the clutch had been replaced at one stage.
Subsequently I found out that the clutch had been burnt and that the flywheel had been overheated and that it was out of balance. That has been remedied. Then the left hand rear axle had the backing plate missing when I bought the wagon. I could not see any damage but have since had that replaced by the dealer and have had the rear caliper seals replaced and two axle seals. I have not been able to ascertain what kind of damage had been incurred before purchase.
The front end seemed good. I had a 50mm ARB lift kit fitted and the 'CLUNK' has emerged after that but also after some hard yakka over rough Flinders Tracks and zillions of corrugations out in the
Western Deserts. I might drop the truck in to Fitzy at
Port Augusta and ask him what the problem could be(he has the same model GQ but runs Toyotas for his business...lol)
Anyway I have been given some more pointers to check out.
Cheers
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Reply By: rv129 - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 09:29
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 09:29
Willem
Have heard somewhere that the body mounts can cause this problem. Not the rubbers but the steel spacers inside them. Maybe pull one out and check the spacer. Is the noise coming from under your feet??
Cheers Matt.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 09:39
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 09:39
Matt
No the noise is coming more forward in the engine compartment.
I would say most likely the steel spacers on the front mounts near the bullbar.
I have tried to undo the front body mounts but to no avail. If I use a breaker bar it might work. Then again, I might break something...lol
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Reply By: Darian (SA) - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 09:59
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 09:59
Further to my comment above - I'd liken the noise I heard as something heavy slapping the underside of the body - a "heavy hammering". My guess is something that moves off during certain movements and then slaps back with purpose !
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Reply By: David - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 10:16
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 10:16
Hi Willem, My mate had same problem with his 93 GQ patrol, it was the body mount bolts, they all seemed tight but when they where taken off all the tread on the bolt was used, so
the nut could not tighten any more. Put extra spacers in so nut could be tightened up more ,fixed his clunk. his clunk sounded like it was front right hand wheel and felt it trough the floor when going in rought conditions. Did this and no more clunking any more, he was very relieved to get rid of it.
hope this helps. David
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Reply By: Patrol22 - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 14:16
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 14:16
Yep Willem - reckon its the body mounts. Had a similar problem with my GU and the guys at Monaro Off Road retorqued all the body mounts and the noise stopped.
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Reply By: brd - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 15:02
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 15:02
Willem
I once had a clunk i an old Range Rover, evident going over speed bumps and the like. I found a crack developing in the front spring mount. Wasn't all the way through, and didn't think that could explain it, but welded it up, and solved the problem. Easy enough to check it out.
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Reply By: Willem - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 17:05
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 17:05
Thanks everyone for all your replies and suggestions.
I took the truck for a run today and filled up the 6x4 trailer with some river sand. At first there was no clunks but the with a heavy load on the trailer I heard the definite CLUNK again. It does sound like it is somewhere in the vicinity of the front spring but I will take the truck to my mechanic to see if he has a long socket with which I can loosen the body mounts. I have been unable to move them. I will have some spacers fitted and hopefully that will cure the problem
Cheers
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Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 22:03
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 22:03
Panhard bushes. Have had similar.
Control Arm Bushes too.
I would still bet on it being body mounts. Rip em out, and see if the metal tube down the middle is actually longer than the rubber, even if not, grind away a few mm to make sure.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 08:33
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 08:33
Panhard bushes and control arm bushes were replaced last October
Rip em out!!!? I cannot loosen the plurry things. I had better eat more weetbix ...lol
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 19:26
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 19:26
Trucky
I took the RH front one off today everything seemed OK but now that you mention it I did not think of shortening the metal tube. Will do so next. The CLUNK however is still heard on the RH side and when I take the spring out I will see if there is a problem there.
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Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Tuesday, Feb 21, 2006 at 00:03
Tuesday, Feb 21, 2006 at 00:03
Check if there is a rubber thing on top of the springs.> They are a noise damper thingy..
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Reply By: 120scruiser - Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 22:06
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006 at 22:06
Take the springs out and grind the daggy ends down to a taper and re-install springs.
The dag on the end of the springs clunks as they move in the spring seat. It is common on Nissans using King Springs (which is what ARB springs are).
See how you go then.
120scruiser
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 08:35
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 08:35
Thanks mate...will try that
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Reply By: Richard Kovac - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 00:51
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 00:51
Hi Willem
what prize do we get if we get it right?
LOL
Richard
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 08:36
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 08:36
First prize is a week's holiday at Cocklebiddy
Second Prize is two weeks holiday at Cocklebiddy
:o)
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Reply By: Redback - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 09:02
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 09:02
Control arm bushes, only thing that wasn't mentioned so i thought i'd mention it can't hurt, also just because something is tight doesn't mean it isn't loose, if you get my drift, so maybe the body mounts could be loose.
Baz.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 09:08
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 09:08
Baz
"just because something is tight doesn't mean it isn't loose"
LOL
This must be the quote of the year. Can I use it next to my Rig Pic? :o)
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Follow Up By: Redback - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 11:08
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 11:08
Oo right ahead, thought it might tickle your fancy, LOL.
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Reply By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 09:23
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 09:23
After all this, I got to have a go too.
I had a clunk for a long time.
Found it was the door adjustment.
Lifted the door stop and the clunk went away.
Happened with body flex over sharp bumps.
I know, it is a pajero.
But it does sound like yours is more front
suspension some where.
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Reply By: Wombat - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 11:07
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 11:07
"as soon as there was wetness around, CLUNK!"
It sounds very much to me that it could be the movement of the individual leaves in your springs. Just add water to lubricate them and CLUNK!
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Follow Up By: Mad Dog (Australia) - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 19:39
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 19:39
Yes, I get that at times in the Lux when it rains but doesn't Willem's bus have coils
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Reply By: DesC - Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 19:05
Monday, Feb 20, 2006 at 19:05
Willem,
I had a 92 gq TD42 wagon and did 350 000 very hard km's. And had the same problem as you when it rained. It was the cab mounts like truckster said.
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