Sway bars - not again...

[monkeywrench06]

Ahh, the sound of silence. Just replaced the sway bar bushings and end-links on my '96 Grand Voyager last week, and was enjoying the like-new quiet ride.

And then, last night, the noises are back. Sort of. It's not the same clunking noise the sway bar was making before I did the bushings, but a "clicking" sort of noise, a bit like a CV joint going bad, but I pretty sure it's not a CV joint - the "clicks" happen even when driving straight whenever you hit any minor bump, and when turning - i.e. it seems like it's likely related to the sway bars again. Darn, darn, darn - I had hope to be done working on this beast, at least until next Spring...

The replacement sway bar end links I used were cheapo Autozone Duralast ones - was this a mistake? Could one of them have failed already? Has anyone had issues with these? Guess I gotta get down under it again tonight to take a look. Any tips or advice on what to look for would be appreciated. Thanks again (gotten a lot of useful advice on this board in the 3+ months I've owned this van),

-Daire

[monkeywrench06]

p.s. Has anybody run one of these vans with the sway bar removed altogether? How much of a difference did it make - i.e was the handling just a little worse, or horribly worse...

[auto_mran]

I, too, have a 96, but it's a Grand Voyager (same difference). And I also had the sway bar end links replaced this past summer. And I also hear all sorts of noises, especially going over speed bumps. I've noticed the noises are more prominent during the cold months, when everything is stiff and brittle. Come spring/summer, everything seems to loosen up and quiet returns! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[martinv]

Could one of them have failed already? I would doubt it unless they are made of cardboard.

I had a bad ball joint cause your symptoms on my 1992. How many miles are on your ball joints?

[monkeywrench06]

I would doubt it unless they are made of cardboard.

I had a bad ball joint cause your symptoms on my 1992. How many miles are on your ball joints?

I don't really know, but I wouldn't be surprised if the ball joints were original - i.e. about 144k miles. I'll check them out. Thanks.

[davet]

If your end links have rubber boots on the ends like my 2000 and 2001 then try using a needle fitting and pumping some heavy grease into the boot.

[monkeywrench06]

Found the problem - one of the new end-link nuts had loosened a wee bit and was banging back and forth against the sway bar. Dropped a little locktite on the threads and cranked it down good-n-tight - Nice and quiet again - We'll see how long this lasts... :)

Thanks again all, -Daire

[dadvango]

want to hear something really weird? my "94" grand caravan had a broken sway bar for several years. it broke right in one of the rubber bushings so it was hard/impossible to see. i finally saw it when i parked on a slanted curb and the bar end came out. yikes ! of course the mechanic at the garage said "i've never seen that before" after it was replaced it steered and drove like it was on rails! still does. from that and some other things i figured our van mustof been in a front end collision prior to our purchase of it in "95".
2 cents worth :) dadvango!

[tobybul]

96 Grand Caravan 135k

Typically, you start with sway bar links when clunking when heating bumps happens. I've replaced mine twice already. They are not hard to do if u have the right tools. Not sure what the ave life of ball joints are and not sure if mine needs to be replaced.