The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Is This a Ball stud problem?

Today I heard/felt a "clunk" sound in the front end when I began to accelerate from a full stop. I noticed it again when I drove over my garage entrance .."clunk".

I checked out the shocks and leaf springs, and my tranny felt fine, drive shaft solid, etc. Could this be symptomatic of worn ball joint (or is it ball studs)? Any other thoughts / possibilities before I make an appointment with my mechanic?

I kind of like to knowing something before I pay him a visit, to sort of narrow down the possibilites.

Any input appreciated.
Thanks,
Bart

Edit addition: it's a '51 chevy 1/2 ton

What year truck?

Oh..sorry.. '51 chevy 1/2 ton.

No ball joints if your truck is original. If original, it has king pins. I would first look at spring bushings and U-bolts, then the spring tie bolts (front and rear for all those). The tie bolts are hard to check, but if one is broken, sometimes the spring leaves move out of their normal location. Next, check the king pins and engine mounts. Loose or sagging engine mounts might let the engine move enough to let the exhaust pipe clunk into something, depending on the exhaust pipe/tail pipe routing. Do you notice anything when braking? A loose backing plate will clunk with brake application, forward, then reverse.

Harvester

you might read this tech tip if you replace them:
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/tie_rod_replacement.html
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/draglink_adjustable.html
when ever anyone has issues w/ front ends i try and at least show them this tip.

Harvester,
its original...i have, what... drag links and ball studs? Those could be the problem, yes?

I don't remember feeling/ hearing anything when braking, but it only happened toward the end of my errands today. I'll check it out tomorrow.

I'll print out all your suggestions and bring them to my mechanic. Hopefully he'll hear it during a test drive (I hate it when they don't)but this will certainly give him a menu of possibilities.
Thanks very much.

thks caroline trucks..i'll show those to my mechanic.

Bart,

The drag link has a ball and socket pivot on each end (I think). I don't recall those making a clunk when the suspension flexes as you describe, but I suppose that could happen. Usually loosness in the drag link causes looseness in the steering, noticable by slack in the steering wheel. You can also see movement in the socket(s) if someone moves the steering wheel left and right a little while you watch. Drag links have a large slotted plug that can be adjusted to tighten the joint if necessary, and the parts are not worn excessively. After tightening the plug, you secure it with a cotter pin.

Harvester

Thanks Harvester.
Today i drove to the garage, and took my mechanic for a quick drive. I steped o the brake and WOW..CLuNK!! He was busy and his bays were full, but he jacked up the front end and the left front wheal had about three inches of play in it...the bearing is shot.

He thinks that will do it. we are replacing both bearings with the new rotary replacemnt ones, new seals, etc.

Youre right, he said the drag links and ball studs are fine.

Do you think that much play in the wheels could make that noise? I'm hoping thats the whole problem, but wont know till the parts get here next week and he gets it up on the lift.

Bart

bart
my original ball joynts were egg shaped and two had a big gouge in them from running w/o lubrication for years. my king pins were also shot. that's when i came up w/ the adjustable arm idea. you could center the wheel which you could not b4 cause of the single piece drag link. yes it costs a couple dollars more to re-do it this tip way and those costs are up to what you want out of your truck. she'll work either way you go.
and w/ extremely loose bearings anything bad could happen. the noise is the simple one.
good luck w/ it

Thanks...

Bart,

If the wheel bearings are as bad as you say, yes, you have to take care of those first. And I might say that you were fortunate that you made it to a shop without losing that wheel- based on you description of the looseness. That loose wheel bearing could be the cause of your noise, but there may be something else to look into. With a loose wheel bearing as you describe, I would have expected to feel something in the steering wheel, or maybe a sudden pull in one direction when you apply the brakes. It sounds like you are going in a good direction so far.

Harvester

Thanks Harvester.
The parts will be in tuesday from Classic car parts...I went with the rotary not ball wheel bearings, etc. Installation on it weds.
I taped this whole posting to the dashboard, which prompted my mechanic ( and friend) to laugh in my face since he's been working on older cars for 20 years.

He promised to check out everything under the truck. I'll check back and let everyone know the results.

Rotary bearings? Could you be referring to roller bearings or is there something new?

sorry.., yes, roller type vs the old ball type that were on my truck.

Well, surprise.
My ball studs et al were fine. But one wheel bearing completely disintegrated...into pieces. Turned out they even caused my brake shoe to deform.
New roller bearings (vs old ball) installed, new brake shoes, no noise, running great.

Thanks for everyone's in put

I love a happy ending. Thanks for the report. Its nice to hear when an issue is resolved, it may help someone in the future. Some threads only deal with the problem and you never get to hear what happened.