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!!!!!Front end noise PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

17K views 23 replies 16 participants last post by  speedracer5151 
#1 ·
So a couple months back, i was getting ready for winter and bought a 2002 Taurus so I could put Charline, my mustang away for the winter. I'm very happy with the car my family has several Tauruses and they are great cars. The problem that I am having is some sort of clunking coming from my front end. When I first bought the car it made a slight clunking sound only when taking turns hard. So i crawled under the car to investigate. My sway bar end links looked trashed so i replaced them. Since replacing them the sound got much worse. At first I thought that maybe I just didn't have them tight enough, but I tightened them and its still not any better. All of my suspension components appear to be in good condition. When I jack up a wheel there isn't any play Left & Right of Up & Down. My struts and cv joints look fine as well. Nothing appears to be loose; However when i push down on the front end of the car I hear a slight squeaking sound, but it doesn't necessarily sound like the struts. Any ideas?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Ball joint noise.......... my old Tbird(not parents tbird) made this noise. Grease the fitting and all is well




Sway bar squeaking sounds very similar to that but less metallic. If I were you, get under the car and see if you have grease zerks on the balljoints. If you do(aftermarket as OEM are seales, non greasable) grease them up and see if the squeaking goes away. If not, throw some white lithium grease in the sway bar bushings, if they are in good condition of course, and see if the noise goes away. I had a 98 Altima that was notorius for the rear sway bar bushings to squeak like crazy in the winter.


Also, LOOKS fine and TESTED fine a 2 different things. Especially when it comes to suspension parts that have ball and socket joints in them. They can look fine externally, but if the joint internally is rusted(dry) or is worn, then it's a whole different story.
 
#7 ·
I jacked up one wheel at a time and checked for play in the 12 & 6 o'clock, and 9 & 3 o'clock positions. There was no play in either. I will check for vertical and horizontal play tomorrow. And the noise that i am hearing when I am driving is a loud metallic popping sound, it sounds terrible.
 
#9 ·
after the front end was jacked up i put a jack under the rotor and jacked it up and there was no play in the ball joint. Could my new front sway bar end links be bad or loose they don't move by hand. How tight are those bolts supposed to be? The noise sounds like something is going to fall off. Its just a terribly loud popping sound heard when taking turns mostly, but also heard when breaking or driving over bumpy roads and speed bumps. Please help.
 
#12 ·
Invest in a rubber mallet. With the car on the ground(or on ramps, either way with the car on the suspension) start tapping on things and listen for noise. The noise could also be bad strut mounts. Turn the wheel, and give the spring a yank. If you hear it, there's the problem.

Any way of getting a video of the problem? It's easier to diagnose a problem we can hear.
 
#14 ·
I had the same problem. It took me 7 months to find it. The heat shield on the cat rusted away from the attachment bolt. The bolts that held it to my engine where ok but the one on the back side near the fire wall was rusted away. I fixed that and I havent heard the clunk since.
 
#15 ·
???? Solved????

Well i think that i may have solved the problem. Lon story short, before I bought the car, the torque converter had been replaced ( torque converter failure is really common in these cars. In fact my brothers torque converter failed this year in his 2003 Taurus which only has 54,000 original miles.) The bolts that hold the sub-frame to the bottom of the car were loose (not Good). I tightened them up and the noise went away. But I cant help but wonder. Are Tauruses with the DOHC duratec engines supposed to have a front right engine mount. It appears as if there is supposed to be one right about where the starter is on the engine. There are bolt holes and nothing there. :huh:Any thoughts or Ideas? :huh:
 
#17 ·
There is an engine mount on the passenger side of the engine and there is a tranny mount on the drivers side. It just appears as if there should be an engine mount under the starter to match the front passenger side engine mount. There is a hole in the subframe like the passenger side, and there is a location on the engine/transmission for a bolt to run through. I just can't believe that ford would have designed these parts with holes there for no reason.
 
#18 ·
There is a motor mount up next to the AC Compressor on the DOHC, on the subframe rail. YOu must have missed it.

The other holes could be used for a Vulcan or for an air injection pump, or something else.
 
#19 ·
I know that there is a engine mount under the compressor. And one on the opposite side of the engine. Also the tranny mount is located in the drivers side wheel well. you are probably right about the holes not being used on this engine. I just can't believe that the mechanic that replaced the torque converter didn't torque down the subframe bolts when putting the car back together. That's just not safe for those to be loose.
 
#20 ·
Front end clunk sound could come from ... about anything. I can tell you of my experience.

1. Sway bar endlinks loose after they were replaced PROFESSIONALLY (these require using two wrenches.. very weird and inconvenient)
2. New AC condenser was banging against the car frame because one of the bolt holes did not line up with the one on frame. The clowns at the shop didn't bother to drill a matching hole (I fixed it).
3. The bolt at the top of the driver side strut not tightened enough making the big washer underneath clunk when car goes over pot holes. This is another case where you need two wrenches to tighten it sufficiently.
4. possibly other sources of noise that I can't remember right now.
 
#21 ·
Front end clunk sound could come from ... about anything. I can tell you of my experience.

1. Sway bar endlinks loose after they were replaced PROFESSIONALLY (these require using two wrenches.. very weird and inconvenient)
2. New AC condenser was banging against the car frame because one of the bolt holes did not line up with the one on frame. The clowns at the shop didn't bother to drill a matching hole (I fixed it).
3. The bolt at the top of the driver side strut not tightened enough making the big washer underneath clunk when car goes over pot holes. This is another case where you need two wrenches to tighten it sufficiently.
4. possibly other sources of noise that I can't remember right now.
Dang!

I will be checking these things on my car too. I also replaced my Sway bar endlinks and rechecked them (because i thought they were loose) it still made a clucking driving straight down the road.

At least this gives me some where else to look.

Thanks
 
#22 ·
You might want to check your sway bars,when I was driving my car I kept hearing a rattling cllunk sound and I thought it was my struts because where the noise was coming from but after watching a couple of videos "U""tube it started making sense so i checked again but tis time I used a long screwdriver and pushed up on the top of the sway bar that's conbected to the strut and foubd my rattle
 
#23 ·
Good advice and reminder to the OP since sway bars should be checked every 10 years.
 
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