Whats That Noise?

[btug]

04 ram 1500 AWD....just got new lower ball joints,front shocks, new front hub assemblies,clutch fan and a couple of worn brake lines oh, and an alignment.....now after driving it a few miles, i hear a clanging going over bumps....sounds like chains rattling together????...cant tell which end or which side....doesnt do it all the time...but most....

FNG here....help.....sway bar links?

 

[bigbadram1500]

Yep, it's the sway bar links. That's exactly how I described that noise when I heard it on my truck. On mine, it just happened to be the passenger side I heard it from.

 

[btug]

Yep, it's the sway bar links. That's exactly how I described that noise when I heard it on my truck. On mine, it just happened to be the passenger side I heard it from.

THANKS.....looks like just the 2.....seem easy to change out...not to expensive either.....Should i need to put it up on stands?,,,or just do it like it sits...Any crucial measurements when installing the new ones? should i change out anything else since im headed up to the parts store in the am?

 

[bigbadram1500]

I had it done at a shop, so I'm not sure of the specifics on it. Sounds like you've replaced most of what I had replaced on mine. I had most of my front end rebuilt a little over a year ago. The swaybar links were the last thing to be replaced. That chain-y noise drove me crazy LOL

 

[btug]

another question.....do i buy just the sway bar links,,,,or do i also need a kit?..you said you had it done at the shop...wondering if you or somebody else knows?....im hoping this will be the last thing im doing to it for a while! lol...still need to replace the rear shocks too....

 

[TexasRammer]

sounds like sway bar links but you can check them. get under it and try to move them. if you can youll likely see the washer moving around making that noise which they shouldnt. might as well replace both, and you can do it with the truck on the ground. Just remove both, push the sway bar up and out of the way, sit the new ones in the control arm and push the sway bar back on both of them. then tighten it all back up.

 

[TexasRammer]

another question.....do i buy just the sway bar links,,,,or do i also need a kit?..you said you had it done at the shop...wondering if you or somebody else knows?....im hoping this will be the last thing im doing to it for a while! lol...still need to replace the rear shocks too....

if theyve never been replaced before I would replace the whole thing - Moog K7422 - Sway Bar Link Kit | O'Reilly Auto Parts (doesnt have to be moog)

but if they have been replaced its likely just the link bushings are gone and you can buy just this Moog K7300 - Sway Bar Link Kit | O'Reilly Auto Parts

 

[btug]

i got to looking around and the links dont budge..but do look a little crooked...not bent.washers are tight...before i go get the parts, is there anything else that it could be?.....i replaced the front shocks myself...im sure i tightened up the top nuts as tight as i could...how tight should these be?..i will tighten more if need be....just dont want to over do it and screw up the bushings....they are Rancho shocks

 

[btug]

found the problem

well, lets see...ive been away for 2 weeks for work...woke early this morning and took off the sway bar links...one at a time...drove around the block,,,,same sound!!!!!!!!!!.....jacked it up, took off the front driver side tire...pulled and wiggled everything...hmmmm...thinking back, i replaced my front shocks...sound appears shortly after...i remember dropping the old top washer and would pick it up after i pulled the truck out of the garage....but i didnt.....it had fallen into a void in the lower control arm...mental note...not only do all tools need to be accounted for when finishing a repair....but also the old parts!!!!!

 

[TexasRammer]

haha didnt think of that. I once had a socket sitting in my control arm for a couple months, never made a noise though