kflash

Have read other posts on same problem, but I needed to be a little more specific. I have had a front end clunk that I have isolated to the sway bar. I have an 08 2dr. Rubicon with elec sway bar. Over major bumps in the road I get a loud clunk. Sounds horrible. I disconnected the sway bar end links and zip tied them to the bar. NO CLUNK at all. Greased everything up and reconnected and the clunk remains.

I drove into a field and put it in 4H and disconnected the sway bar using the inside button. NO CLUNK with it disconnected. As soon as I hit the button again and reconnected, the clunk returned.

I feel that the end link bushings are loose or worn - but only some play. Can some play cause such a large clunk? The sway bar bushings to the frame are solid. I am basically trying to decide whether to replace the end links or take it into the dealership to diagnose an electronic sway bar problem (although it seems to connect and reconnect fine).
Any thoughts. My front links came with my 3" Teraflex lift.

EzK

Is it possible that it shifted to one side and now maybe contacts the frame?

kflash

It seems to be centered. I am having Teraflex send me a set of replacement bushings for the endlinks. I'll start with that and maybe get lucky.

mechano

even minor play in sway bar links can make certain vehicles feel like their suspension is gonna fall off I think u r going in the right direction by replacing the end link bushings first. good luck, keep us updated.

SiliconTi

Just for fun, disconnect the drivers side link and see if the bar is solid when it is locked (trying to move it by hand). If it is, then you are probably correct in suspecting the link ends. If it is loose, it may be the collar inside wearing. Mine cluck and squaks, but only when disconnected.

AFGuardianAngel

Have a buddy, wife, gf, etc. rock the car back and forth while you're underneath. Listen for where the noise is coming from so you can isolate. Make sure when it's connected that all the connection points are solid. If anything is lose, you'll get a pretty noticeable clunk. I've had the same problem.

kflash

Well, nothing is as easy as you want it to be. Received the replacement bushings for my swaybar end links today. Had all four in the front changed out in a out 20 minutes. Guess what! Clunk still there.

Laying underneath the Jeep, I had my wife roll back and front hitting the brakes in each direction (hey, she had her chance!). By just rocking the Jeep, I couldn't see that that the upper control arms at the frame end were totally slopping back and forth (the flex joint). Back to the drawing board. Folks at Teraflex have already hooked me up with two rebuild kits and the rebuilt tool they supply to make the job easy!

So, waiting on the UPS man! JEEP down for a few days. Should take less than 30 minutes to change once the parts arrive. Knock on wood.

There is an awesome Youtube video by this hilarious dude Dennis from Teraflex with a step by step demo.

kflash

Received the flex arm rebuild kits this evening. Jeeps been down for a week waiting on parts from Utah. Hope it all goes well in AM

kflash

Update

Woke up at 5am and started pulling the front upper control arms. Off in a few minutes. The rebuild kit "tool" that Teraflex sent with the rebuild kits worked great. Simply some machined sleeves that help seat and compress the bushings and washers to allow the snap rings to find their groove.

What I found upon disassembly were completely crumbled bushings. The chrome ball was simply floating between the washers inside the joint. No wonder the front end was clunking! Don't know if this is a sign of things to come for the other joints, but all others seem to be OK at this point. All have been regularly greased!

Anyone think that the upper fronts take more wear than others?

Overall time for each joint was literally 10-15 minutes. There is a great Youtube video posted by Teraflex on the rebuild.