[juma1998]

cowli4nia, on Feb 2 2007, 10:39 PM, said:

My wifes PAC is aproaching 70,000 miles. If I turn the wheels left-to-right continously I can here a clunking noise. Its the same noise I hear when, lets say, pulling out of my drive way while steering to the right. I've had it in the shop before and they said they replaced control arm. :( Does this make sense?

Has anyone had this same problem?? Is it a Easy fix???

Its doing this while its driving? If so sounds like a CV Joint. Not a huge deal.

[NYBo]

I'm getting a clunk in my '05 with 30K miles. It sounds like anti-sway bar bushings or end links. (I've owned four Chryco minivans, so I'm familiar with the sound :huh: ) Since the Pacifica is an evolution of the minivan platform, I wonder if it has the same problems with these parts.

[skidsmadawg96]

If you were a registered user, you would not be seeing this!

Crap, Mine did that, and it was fixed...I totally forgot what was replaced. I think it was the sway bar bushings though.

[dbatt005]

I had the sway bar end links replace and the clunk stopped buyt noe I have a new one on the right side when I turn the well. The end links took care of the noise I got when going over bumps. I have 31,000 miles on my Pacifica.

[dbatt005]

My Pacifica has retunred from the dealership. The clunking noise is gone. I also had a popping or clicking noise when going from reverse to drive. I thought it was a motor mount. The suspension/steering/ trans noises were all fixed with TSB 03-022-06. I was unable to find what this tsb was actually for but it fixed the problems. I did find numerous other TSBs about suspension noise while doing the search.

[chuckt]

The title of your thread caught my attention since my 89 Caravan (187,000 miles) gave out a huge clunk when I turned the steering wheel all the way to the right when pulling into a parking space, today. After I pulled out, I basically made it to work with no occurrence but it happened again when pulling out of the parking space and turning left. I know the ball joints and other lube fitting are not dry since I lubed them myself about 2-3 monts ago. It has done this previously and I have been trying to avoid the hard turns until I can nail down the cause. I did the ball joint test by grabbing the lube fitting of each joint and trying to wiggle them and noticed no looseness and my Haynes manual does not offer any tips. I have had the CV joints (outer) replacedabout 6 months ago. In a straight line, the van shows no signs of anything wrong which makes me return to ball joints since the tires and steering knuckles see more stress as the camber changes in a turn. Do you have any leads?

[dfab]

Hi that sounds like the cv joint if it does it when turning , if it clunkes when hitting bumps going strate its eather the front swaybar links or bushings

[chuckt]

With the CV joints being relaced 6 months ago, I think it is elsewhere. The CV joints were replaced because they were worn and the noise was entirely different. It sounded like I had 2 flat tires but it was worse in the turns though. The second time it happened 2 days ago, the steering wheel did not want to return to the full straight position w/o help from my hand. After a while, it did which makes me wonder about a ball joint or tie rod. Since I had to work late the past days, I have not been able to tackle it. Thanks for your comment though; it makes me look at a new approach for analysis. This weekend, I will again do the ball joint test then look at the struts since they are linked to the steering operation. In other auto links, the writers suggest looking at the spring saddles and the struts mounting to the body.

[dfab]

chuckt, on 14 October 2009 - 08:55 PM, said:

With the CV joints being relaced 6 months ago, I think it is elsewhere. The CV joints were replaced because they were worn and the noise was entirely different. It sounded like I had 2 flat tires but it was worse in the turns though. The second time it happened 2 days ago, the steering wheel did not want to return to the full straight position w/o help from my hand. After a while, it did which makes me wonder about a ball joint or tie rod. Since I had to work late the past days, I have not been able to tackle it. Thanks for your comment though; it makes me look at a new approach for analysis. This weekend, I will again do the ball joint test then look at the struts since they are linked to the steering operation. In other auto links, the writers suggest looking at the spring saddles and the struts mounting to the body.

Hi a trick I do on truck is to disconnect the tyrod ends with the front end off the ground grab the tire and turn it full left and right that will help narrow things down the wheel should move freely if you feal aney thing binding its eather the ball joint or the strut bearing/bushings. if nothing is found you might be looking at the rack. good luck that sounds like it might get scarey while driving.

[chuckt]

I was able to isolate the clunk with the help of my daughter. As she slowly turned the steering wheel, I could see the large coil spring wind up then suddenly release the torsional stress. This happened on the driver's side so I turned to the passenger's side to see how a functioning strut should perform. The upper base for the spring turns with the lower base so there is no twisting of the spring. On the driver's side, that upper base is reluctant to turn and rotates only grudgingly consequently torquing the spring to the point where the spring finally jumps in rotation making the big clunking sound. Now, I must determine why the upper portion is not moving freely and correct it. The easiest way is new struts but I plan to keep the van for another winter and spring tops. The rust on the doors is bad enough to see the window mechanism and new tires will be in order. From what I see in the papers and internet, a 5 year old Caravan usually goes for around $6,000. Ah, who knows, maybe the old jalopy will be kept (at least I know my wheel won't fall off).

[00Molavi]

chuckt, on 16 October 2009 - 04:42 PM, said:

I was able to isolate the clunk with the help of my daughter. As she slowly turned the steering wheel, I could see the large coil spring wind up then suddenly release the torsional stress. This happened on the driver's side so I turned to the passenger's side to see how a functioning strut should perform. The upper base for the spring turns with the lower base so there is no twisting of the spring. On the driver's side, that upper base is reluctant to turn and rotates only grudgingly consequently torquing the spring to the point where the spring finally jumps in rotation making the big clunking sound. Now, I must determine why the upper portion is not moving freely and correct it. The easiest way is new struts but I plan to keep the van for another winter and spring tops. The rust on the doors is bad enough to see the window mechanism and new tires will be in order. From what I see in the papers and internet, a 5 year old Caravan usually goes for around $6,000. Ah, who knows, maybe the old jalopy will be kept (at least I know my wheel won't fall off).

That is very interesting. Mine make a noise when I turn (Well my wife's..). Everything checks out fine. It is only one noise per turn and it sounds like a gear slipping over the other. I was thinking to look into the mounts or the springs but haven't had the time yet. Keep me posted.

[68RT]

dbatt005, on 02 June 2007 - 06:12 PM, said:

My Pacifica has retunred from the dealership. The clunking noise is gone. I also had a popping or clicking noise when going from reverse to drive. I thought it was a motor mount. The suspension/steering/ trans noises were all fixed with TSB 03-022-06. I was unable to find what this tsb was actually for but it fixed the problems. I did find numerous other TSBs about suspension noise while doing the search.

I believe that the correct TSB was 03-002-06 for your problem. Describes your problem to a tee.

[chuckt]

The upper mount for the strut is really a 2-piece assembly. The upper mount is tied to the body via the towers built into the body so this portion of the upper mount doesn't turn. Then, the lower portion ofthe upper mount can rotate because it either has a bushing or a bearing assembly which is where the spring's holder is fastened. In a properly functioning strut the upper and lower bases for the spring rotate in unison and everybody is happy. When the bearings (or bushing) wear, rust or whatever, thetop resists the rotation and the spring undergoes a torsional strain. When it is great enough,the spring jumps causing the clunk.
Because the upper mount is installed from underneath the vehicle, the only way to make a repair is to remove the strut in its entirety and bench repair it (about $25 for a mount kit)or replace the strut. And this means getting a spring compressor and hopefully not having it shoot off into space.

[00Molavi]

chuckt, on 17 October 2009 - 05:51 PM, said:

Because the upper mount is installed from underneath the vehicle, the only way to make a repair is to remove the strut in its entirety and bench repair it (about $25 for a mount kit)or replace the strut. And this means getting a spring compressor and hopefully not having it shoot off into space.

I won't mind the shot in space, I just don't like it on me!!

[chuckt]

Here's my thoughts to get the van through the winter months. If I could tell how the upper mount assembly looks inside, I could drill a small hole into the chamber and inject grease to free up the binding. It would seem an easy task from above and the only thing to be concerned about is having a chip enter the chamber and foul the bearing or bushing. It would be a bigger pain to try entry from below (means I go through the wheel well side)and the lubricant may have a tendency to run if I do not seal the hole. Sounds interesting enough (and feasible) to try. I only need a cross section of what the strut looks like.

[letsgododge]

chuckt, on 22 October 2009 - 08:24 AM, said:

Here's my thoughts to get the van through the winter months. If I could tell how the upper mount assembly looks inside, I could drill a small hole into the chamber and inject grease to free up the binding. It would seem an easy task from above and the only thing to be concerned about is having a chip enter the chamber and foul the bearing or bushing. It would be a bigger pain to try entry from below (means I go through the wheel well side)and the lubricant may have a tendency to run if I do not seal the hole. Sounds interesting enough (and feasible) to try. I only need a cross section of what the strut looks like.

Hello,Here are a few ideas ,I just replaced the struts on my 01 caraqvan ,The upper mounts ,well actually the bearing was done,Total piece of junk,a bearing mounted between two pieces of plastic ,,now how could this take all the beatings from the road ????? plus the road salt and other foreging stuff gets caked up there ,so i packed them with grease all around ,its way better now ,but not a 100 percent ...if you need any more info ,e-mail me
thanks

[cass]

letsgododge, on 18 November 2009 - 09:19 PM, said:

I just replaced the struts on my 01 caraqvan ,The upper mounts ,well actually the bearing was done,Total piece of junk,a bearing mounted between two pieces of plastic ,,now how could this take all the beatings from the road ?????

The plastic rings supporiting the bearing are made of a very tough engineering plastic that's used to help absorb road shocks. They're more than up to the job of handling the suspension loads. I've changed lots of front struts and have never seen any problem with the plastic bearing supports. In your case, I suspect that the failure of the bearing itself could have damaged the plastic supports.