Hello all--I'm trying to find the cause of some increasingly frequent noise from the front end of my PV--a sharp clunk, usually upon braking but occasionally while parking, steering sharply or generally wrestling the wheel around. Something's clearly amiss and I'd like to pin it down before using the car again:

I've inspected the front end as thoroughly as I know how, did not detect any slop in the kingpins (grabbed steering arms and checked for fore-and-aft wobble) or in the threaded bushings where the steering knuckle joins the A-arms (checked this by grabbing the roadwheel at 12 and 6, shaking, etc).

No sign of slop in the idler arm or steering box.

The only thing which seems out of the ordinary is the state of the tie rod ends, and I'm not familiar enough with healthy ones to know how far gone these are. The steering rod ends seem to move smoothly, though they're quite stiff. But the tie rod ends move notchily and are extremely stiff...would these alone be enough to cause the noises on braking?

Any thoughts on the subject would be much appreciated--as well as other suggestions on how to inspect the PV's front end.

Best--Nathan

It,s only with drum brakes that backing plate clunks when loose. Shoes are attached to drum and move plate on loose bolts eventually elongating holes, noise gets worse over time. That may have been your problem John Mc.

I didn't notice anything amiss when I took them off. I --probably-- would have noticed something if they had been loose but then again, I sometimes am not the most observant person around.

Check your sway bar mounts, end links, and the lower A arm mounts as the noise seems to happen when turning the wheel.
my two cents.
-erik

Check backing plate studs for tightness, if loose it will clunk when braking forward and in reverse. Not a common problem but i have seen some cases where all else fails to find cause of noise.

This may seem like a silly question, but did you take all of the weight off of the front end or jack it up? You can then experience any loose movement, especially vertical movement with the kingpins. Leave the tire on the car and try rocking the wheels back and forth, grasping the tire with both hands - 12 o'clock/6 o'clock position, then 9/3 position. Also move the steering wheel to where you hear the clunk. This may show wear in the steering box, idler arm, tie rods or kingpins - there's not much else left. One last thing, make sure the stabilizer bar ends are not broken or loose where they mount to the frame.
--
Cam a.k.a. CVOLVO.COM

Jacking the wheel up with a jack on the lower arm underneath the spring will take the stress off the lower/outer pivot as well. With the wheel off the ground it bears the weight of the car, and jacked out it is held in tension by the topped out spring.

My front drum brakes used to make odd clunks. I took the drum off several times to see if anything was wrong, but everything always looked A-OK inside. Finally losts the clunks when I put some discs on.

Thanks all for the quick responses. I think I'll replace the tie rod ends and then see how things sound.

The front brakes on this PV are discs, so I don't think they're to blame; however I've heard such noises from drums, too--probably shouldn't rule out the possibility that I'm hearing this from my rear brakes.

Will check backing plates, sure hope they're not loose!

Anybody got a hot source for 544 rod ends?

All best--Nathan

Went deeper into the front end this morning and found that many, in fact most of the lower inner A-arm mounts were looser than they should have been. Boston streets. Upon tightening, noises are gone. No rod ends will be replaced at this time. Thanks again for the consultation! Best--Nathan

Good to hear that's all it was... but why did those bolts come loose? Don't they have castle nuts and cotter pins?

If they did they should be replaced. If they didn't a PO may have not been able to find castle nuts and used regular. If so, find new castle nuts or new locknuts. Re-used locknuts of the plastic insert type can be "unfaithful," especially in a hot environment (like near the exhaust) and should be replaced.

Mike!

These were stop nuts and, I confess, were re-used when I changed x-members. I think I'm finally learning Not To Reuse Locking Hardware! Ever! --N