Hey everyone. Just looking for a little advice here. My '01 Caravan is yet again experiencing a bumpy/clunky noise in the front end when going over slight bumps. I had this problem when it was under warranty and one time they replaced the sway bar bushings, the next time they replaced the link ends. How do I determine which one it is now or should I just go on and replace both sets??
P.S. It's been about 2 years or so since last replacement.
Thanks again!!!
mfahey
12-21-2006, 06:17 PM
Welcome to the club as ours is going through the exact same situation. I'm going to first replace the bushings as they are way cheaper than the links but if that doesn't work, I'll do the links. I did notice in Consumer Reports that the suspension was rated as much worse than average, presumably due to this problem.
jeepme79
12-22-2006, 11:45 AM
Getting ready to change one link on my wife's van (it was only $17 for the part). To find the problem, pop the hood, then bend down by the front wheel, grab the top of the fender and rock the van up and down. You should be able to grab the link with your other hand and feel for the vibe. If you can reach the ends of the links, you should be able to feel if there is any movement.
I just changed the struts, but of course, didn't notice the bad links when I already had it apart.
dodges 3
12-27-2006, 02:03 AM
My old 2000 Caravan still had factory end links, which had no grease fittings. If you had Dodge replace them, did they put in links with fittings or without. When I replaced the links, the new aftermarket ones were tougher looking with grease fittings. You'd think Dodge would've had them to begin with, being like a tie-rod....
mfahey
12-27-2006, 11:27 AM
The odd thing about ours is that it is temperature related. That is, as the temperature goes down, the problem becomes much more noticeable and as it goes up near 50 degrees, you can't hear it at all.
tobybul
12-27-2006, 11:43 AM
Hey everyone. Just looking for a little advice here. My '01 Caravan is yet again experiencing a bumpy/clunky noise in the front end when going over slight bumps. I had this problem when it was under warranty and one time they replaced the sway bar bushings, the next time they replaced the link ends. How do I determine which one it is now or should I just go on and replace both sets??
P.S. It's been about 2 years or so since last replacement.
Thanks again!!!
Not sure what you meant as to which one. R u saying they did not replace both links? Typically, the links are the ones that go clunk at the front end when going over bumps. They are not that hard to replace. You can usually tell if they are loose. Thats when they make noise.
I don't know about the temperature effect.
RickMN
12-27-2006, 05:12 PM
Clunking more at lower temps would lead me to the stabilizer bushings, rather than the links. The bushings are cheap (<$10/set) and easy to replace. I'd start with those first because of the temp thing. If the bushings and links don't fix it, all that's left is the strut mount and the control arm bushings. The control arm bushings are a real pain to replace, although they are really cheap ($5 ea)
77Utiline
12-28-2006, 03:40 AM
Also the calipers and perches like to get a little loose after awhile so check those also.
davet
12-29-2006, 01:57 PM
Mine was the frame bushings. $11.00 at Napa. Each one only has 1 bolt holding each bracket on.
