Chrysler 300M still clunks

[Art]

So I've been trying to get the clunks out of my 300M for months now so I can
give the car to my in-laws. First under the extended warranty. Now its on
my nickel. Front struts were replaced. So was steering rack and some other
odd pieces. At that point clunks became unpredictably intermittent and no
amount of jostling the car or moving things underneath could duplicate them.
On my nickel the bottom half of the steering column was replaced and the
front struts were replaced again along with the bearing plates they sit on.
Now the clunk is even rarer but still happens. The annoying thing about it
is each time I remind the dealer not to overtighten the screws for the wiper
trim but they always ruin the plastic blocks they screw into. Also each
time the steering wheel is crooked when I pick up the car. I just left them
the car to fix those 2 issues again. I will be giving up on the clunk and
with the purchase of 2 Honda's, that will be it for Chrysler for a while.

[Bill Putney]

> If it's end links, they are about $70 per side and they, too, can be
> replaced with simple handtools. The only unique too you might need would be
> a joint seperator to pop the ends loose.

You can find the OEM TRW brand ones in aftermarket for under $40. No
separator needed - not a taepred joint - just remove the nuts and they
come right out.

I would have suggested this too, but Art was very insistent that the
problem could not be duplicated - only occurred once in a blue moon or
something like that. Usually the sway bar bushing/end link problem is
easily duplicated.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

[Bill Putney]

> If it were those bushings, would it explain a clunk that happens only once
> or twice in a 20 mile drive despite numerous stop and goes and turns, and
> with no regularity whatsoever?

A very easy way to prove once and for all if it's either the sway bar
bushings or end links is to completely remove one end link. If the
noise doesn't recur with that off, then the problem is the sway bar
bushings and/or end links. If the noise still recurs (how ever often
you're experiencing it) with the end link removed, then the problem is
elsewhere. Driving without the end link installed just means the sway
bar will not be doing anything - no risk of damage or a safety concern
driving with the end link removed.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

[Bill Putney]

> Art,
>
> I'm not at all surprised. The bushings cannot, I repeat, cannot be
> diagnosed by looking at them on a rack.

However, as I pointed out earlier, you can rule sway bar bushings and
end links in or out as the cause with 100% certainty by simply removing
one end link from the vehicle (i.e., totally unloading the sway bar) and
seeing if the noise stays or goes away when you drive it.

If the noise does not occur with the one end link removed, then that
proves that one or more bushings and or end links are bad. If the noise
still happens with the end link removed, then the noise is elsewhere.

And yes - to pay a shop to do that experiment is just going to add to
the total cost of getting to a solution - unless it proves that the
bushings/end links are the problem, and it might be a good idea at that
point to have them just replace them (except, again, paying a shop to do
it with their greatly inflated parts costs is liable to cost an
additional couple of hundred dollars instead of the well-under-$100 and
1 or 2 hours that it would cost to DIY).

If it solves the problem, then it will have been worth it. If it
doesn't, you still have the problem, but you at least have ruled those
parts out.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

[Art]

There was a time that I used to do this stuff myself but I kind of gave that
up. I also used to have a riding lawn mower. I pay a lawn service now.
Just a question of priorities as you age.

"Bill Putney" <bptn@kinez.net> wrote in message
news:dslc6k$m5a$1@news.isdn.net...
> RCSnyder wrote:
>> Art,
>>
>> I'm not at all surprised. The bushings cannot, I repeat, cannot be
>> diagnosed by looking at them on a rack.
>
> However, as I pointed out earlier, you can rule sway bar bushings and end
> links in or out as the cause with 100% certainty by simply removing one
> end link from the vehicle (i.e., totally unloading the sway bar) and
> seeing if the noise stays or goes away when you drive it.
>
> If the noise does not occur with the one end link removed, then that
> proves that one or more bushings and or end links are bad. If the noise
> still happens with the end link removed, then the noise is elsewhere.
>
> And yes - to pay a shop to do that experiment is just going to add to the
> total cost of getting to a solution - unless it proves that the
> bushings/end links are the problem, and it might be a good idea at that
> point to have them just replace them (except, again, paying a shop to do
> it with their greatly inflated parts costs is liable to cost an additional
> couple of hundred dollars instead of the well-under-$100 and 1 or 2 hours
> that it would cost to DIY).
>
> If it solves the problem, then it will have been worth it. If it doesn't,
> you still have the problem, but you at least have ruled those parts out.
>
> Bill Putney
> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address
> with the letter 'x')

[philthy]

that particular app. would actually cause the sway bar to klunk more
hitting other stuff while it was disconnected
u did hit the nail on the head was the owner willing to pay for the time
spent on the vehicle?

Bill Putney wrote:

> RCSnyder wrote:
> > Art,
> >
> > I'm not at all surprised. The bushings cannot, I repeat, cannot be
> > diagnosed by looking at them on a rack.
>
> However, as I pointed out earlier, you can rule sway bar bushings and
> end links in or out as the cause with 100% certainty by simply removing
> one end link from the vehicle (i.e., totally unloading the sway bar) and
> seeing if the noise stays or goes away when you drive it.
>
> If the noise does not occur with the one end link removed, then that
> proves that one or more bushings and or end links are bad. If the noise
> still happens with the end link removed, then the noise is elsewhere.
>
> And yes - to pay a shop to do that experiment is just going to add to
> the total cost of getting to a solution - unless it proves that the
> bushings/end links are the problem, and it might be a good idea at that
> point to have them just replace them (except, again, paying a shop to do
> it with their greatly inflated parts costs is liable to cost an
> additional couple of hundred dollars instead of the well-under-$100 and
> 1 or 2 hours that it would cost to DIY).
>
> If it solves the problem, then it will have been worth it. If it
> doesn't, you still have the problem, but you at least have ruled those
> parts out.
>
> Bill Putney
> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
> address with the letter 'x')

[Art]

> that particular app. would actually cause the sway bar to klunk more
> hitting other stuff while it was disconnected
> u did hit the nail on the head was the owner willing to pay for the time
> spent on the vehicle?

I spent about $900 at Chrysler and I told the Dodge dealer I will cover
diagnosis time. If I was keeping the car, I would just be driving it until
the clunk got bad enuf to be easy to diagnose but we are giving it to my
in-laws, hopefully troube free.


>
> Bill Putney wrote:
>
>> RCSnyder wrote:
>> > Art,
>> >
>> > I'm not at all surprised. The bushings cannot, I repeat, cannot be
>> > diagnosed by looking at them on a rack.
>>
>> However, as I pointed out earlier, you can rule sway bar bushings and
>> end links in or out as the cause with 100% certainty by simply removing
>> one end link from the vehicle (i.e., totally unloading the sway bar) and
>> seeing if the noise stays or goes away when you drive it.
>>
>> If the noise does not occur with the one end link removed, then that
>> proves that one or more bushings and or end links are bad. If the noise
>> still happens with the end link removed, then the noise is elsewhere.
>>
>> And yes - to pay a shop to do that experiment is just going to add to
>> the total cost of getting to a solution - unless it proves that the
>> bushings/end links are the problem, and it might be a good idea at that
>> point to have them just replace them (except, again, paying a shop to do
>> it with their greatly inflated parts costs is liable to cost an
>> additional couple of hundred dollars instead of the well-under-$100 and
>> 1 or 2 hours that it would cost to DIY).
>>
>> If it solves the problem, then it will have been worth it. If it
>> doesn't, you still have the problem, but you at least have ruled those
>> parts out.
>>
>> Bill Putney
>> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
>> address with the letter 'x')
>

[Bill Putney]

You don't know what your talking about - you abviously haven't tried it
(and if you were uncertain about it, it was probably a good idea not
to). Absolutely nothing hits anything. It's a completely valid test
for an LH car.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

philthy wrote:

> that particular app. would actually cause the sway bar to klunk more
> hitting other stuff while it was disconnected
> u did hit the nail on the head was the owner willing to pay for the time
> spent on the vehicle?
>
> Bill Putney wrote:
>
>
>>RCSnyder wrote:
>>
>>>Art,
>>>
>>>I'm not at all surprised. The bushings cannot, I repeat, cannot be
>>>diagnosed by looking at them on a rack.
>>
>>However, as I pointed out earlier, you can rule sway bar bushings and
>>end links in or out as the cause with 100% certainty by simply removing
>>one end link from the vehicle (i.e., totally unloading the sway bar) and
>>seeing if the noise stays or goes away when you drive it.
>>
>>If the noise does not occur with the one end link removed, then that
>>proves that one or more bushings and or end links are bad. If the noise
>>still happens with the end link removed, then the noise is elsewhere.
>>
>>And yes - to pay a shop to do that experiment is just going to add to
>>the total cost of getting to a solution - unless it proves that the
>>bushings/end links are the problem, and it might be a good idea at that
>>point to have them just replace them (except, again, paying a shop to do
>>it with their greatly inflated parts costs is liable to cost an
>>additional couple of hundred dollars instead of the well-under-$100 and
>>1 or 2 hours that it would cost to DIY).
>>
>>If it solves the problem, then it will have been worth it. If it
>>doesn't, you still have the problem, but you at least have ruled those
>>parts out.
>>
>>Bill Putney
>>(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
>>address with the letter 'x')
>
>

[Daniel J. Stern]

> You don't know what your talking about

Welcome to Philthy's world!

[Steve]

> The Dodge dealer is trying to show up the Chrysler dealer 2 blocks away. I
> think they are really trying to solver the problem.
>

Have you considered that it may not be a "clunk" at all, but more of a
"pop" caused by rubber bushings adhering to the stabilizer bar and then
popping loose? I've had that happen a whole lot, more often with
polyeurethane bushings than rubber, but rubber isn't immune. Squirting
silicone lubricant or "graphite" powder lubricant (which is usually
molybdenum disulfide, not real graphite) into the area where the bushing
clamps around the bar usually stops it... at least for a while.