in2pro

For about the past 4 days I started hearing a faint metal clank tap sound. At first I thought it might be my receiver hitch ( I don't leave my shine banger installed when not in use ) that was sitting in the rear cargo area being occasionally tapped or banged against some bungee's I had sitting back there with it... But I noticed it seem to happen more then not when I was turning left and when the suspension was unloaded on the drivers side...
After verifying my receiver was in fact sitting on the garage floor and not in the back of the truck and the newly discovered sound, only happens when turning left and suspension unloads, I started thinking front hubs...I'm at 111,000 miles hubs are very plausible but no rough sounds though only the clank every now and then....
well after a few road humps this morning it got more pronounced, I got home and checked underneath to see what I could see... low and behold the top end link bushing is missing and the bottom one split....

A quick navigation over to Amazon and a new ACDelco Professional Front Suspension Stabilizer Bar Link Kit will be at my door tomorrow
I ordered bar bushings also, they are Moog as I could not easily find the ACDelco equivalent ....the bar measures 36mm so 1-1/4 (32mm) bushings will work just fine...

mulmur1

It is better being the end link bushing than the hub. It is good that you were able to figure this out without too much trouble.

I had a C5 Corvette recently that we test drove with a similar sound and after pushing and pulling on all of the suspension components, we found that one of the front end links was totally worn. It can be fun trying to find these problems.

in2pro

Absolutely ! I have to give some credit to my 16 yo step-son for his opinion on thinking it was suspension , he was thinking shock or strut... but we were both in the right neighborhood

in2pro

Got my part in and installed this evening....
Pretty easy job, remove the tire, remove the old end link, install new...
I had to use the floor jack to manipulate the free end of the sway bar to get the new parts installed.
The kit includes both sides and it's a good thing, the passenger side was shot as well...
The new bushings are nylon or polyurethane not rubber.
The best part was seeing the Made In U.S.A on them

magician

Just wanted to say I heard the same noise today on a trip to Md. When I looked under I saw exactly the same thing you posted. Two of the bushings were missing on each side. Picked up my parts from NAPA and hope to have it done tomorrow morning...

Thanks for posting this, I had heard that noise for some time but never took a look under till today.

in2pro

Excellent! Thanks for following up and do let us know how your repair goes and any tips or tricks you may find along the way...

magician

I got both changed out yesterday with little or no problems. Mine were of course stuck in place and room is minimal at best since I didn't take the wheel and tire off. I cut the remaining rubber bushings off with a knife and put large adjustable wrench on the bottom bolt snugged it up against the shank and pounded it out.
Install was easy, I just used an old bottle jack to raise the front end up a few inches and everything slid together fine. I also changed the mount bushings as well. I got all my parts from the local NAPA for less than $40.

You might ask why I did this the way I did but I'm at my fathers house and he has absolutely zero metric tools, no ramps or anything to work on anything other than the house. Had I been home with all my tools this would've been a 30 minute job.