Got some clunking behind the tire on my Ford Flex whenever the steering wheel is turned. Seems logical that it is the outer tie rod end, no?

When Advanced Auto announced they were closing I went down and bought full sets of brakes and shocks and such for my vehicles (95% off!)... I also got a pair of the outer tie rods for the Flex (again 95% off!).

Watching a video on youtube and it looks about as easy as it gets. Any pitfalls to look out for besides county the revolutions of the part as it comes off?

Outer tie rod ends are easy on a rack & pinion gear, the inners are more difficult. Have you verified which, and that it isn't the ball joint, or even something else altogether?

It's pretty easy, you might want to check out the front end ball joints, and depending on the miles replace them as well.

Could be ball joints making the noise, and if it's been a while, replace the brake pads since you are in there at that time.

Then get the front end aligned.

I wouldn't count the rotations. Measure or make a template out of a piece of wood from the center of the mounting stud to a paint mark on the shaft of the inner. Threads can start anywhere on the replacement, you can count them but unless it OEM parts, anything can happen.

Yes. It's easy.

And what HRK said.

If you have someone move the steering wheel back and forth, without the engine running, with it on the ground, wheels turned if you need more room to see/feel what's going on.

Super easy when I did my Midget.
Agreed on not relying on counting the rotation. I marked the inboard bit with painter's tape & eyeballed that the new ends were about the same length as the old ones & threaded them to the same spot +/-

Could it also be a CV joint? If bad also makes a clunk when turning. Does the boot look intact?

Worn End Links on Ant-Sway Bars can also be perceived as 'clunking', as can worn Ball Joints and Control Arm Bushings. Depending on the suspension design, and circumstance(s) that produce the 'clunk', there can be lots of components you'll need to check/rule out as the cause of your 'clunking'.

Well, the parts I have are not OEM but given the discount they were bought at it and the relative ease to change them, no reason not to thrown them on, it seems.

I don't think it is the pads, I changed those out about 15 months ago (with new OEM rotors too) and they have plenty of life left.

What is the correct way to confirm the status of the ball joints themselves? Since I already have replacement out tie rods for both sides I'll just count on changing them, but how do I verify the ball joint? Suppose Youtube can show me the way

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Worn End Links on Ant-Sway Bars can also be perceived as 'clunking', as can worn Ball Joints and Control Arm Bushings. Depending on the suspension design, and circumstance(s) that produce the 'clunk', there can be lots of components you'll need to check/rule out as the cause of your 'clunking'.

Darn, so much for counting on an easy fix. Maybe I'll get lucky.

On strut suspension, you can spot 99% of ball joints and tie rods by jacking the car so the wheels hang free, grasping the tire at 3:00 and 9:00, and giving it a good shake. You should not feel any play anywhere. A helper (for either shaking or spotting) is useful.

The sway bar links were mentioned. These usually clunk or clank when driving over small sharp bumps. Sometimes they are hard to spot because they get put in tension when the car is jacked. You usually hear this more from the dashboard area, but steering intermediate (between the steering column and gear) shafts can clunk.

You need enough room underneath to swing a BFH. As far as ruling out other suspension parts, some shops will let you pay a nominal fee to put the car up on a lift. One or more of the guys there will probably come over and help you check out the front end.

Depends who you talk to. I can turn any ‘easy’ one out project into an all day affair…

Haha... nothing is ever 'easy', but we persevere.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
Well, the parts I have are not OEM but given the discount they were bought at it and the relative ease to change them, no reason not to thrown them on, it seems.

I don't think it is the pads, I changed those out about 15 months ago (with new OEM rotors too) and they have plenty of life left.

What is the correct way to confirm the status of the ball joints themselves? Since I already have replacement out tie rods for both sides I'll just count on changing them, but how do I verify the ball joint? Suppose Youtube can show me the way

I don’t believe the above poster was saying there was anything wrong with non-oem tie rods, just that you don’t want to assume that counting the number of threads (I had to unscrew it 37 turns to get the old one out, so I’ll screw the new one in 37 turns) was a good strategy for non-oem parts and that you should measure distance instead. Frankly, I might count threads on an OEM part out of curiosity, but I’d measure too. And when done I’d take it in for alignment.

As far as the pads comment, I think that poster was trying to say that since you’re already in there anyway, if it’s been a while you might want to replace the pads while you’re there, not because it is causing the noise, but because it may save you some work. If you need or are close to needing pads, It should save you some time since some of the disassembly is already done. This is a good point, but rather than time I’d check the thickness of the installed pads while there and compare that to the thickness of the replacements. If they have a “screamer” (little metal tab that makes a horrible noise when it starts rubbing on the rotor to give you a warning before you get down to the rivets and do real damage), you can look at how far the screamer is away from the rotor as another indication of remaining life on the pads. I always look at the condition of the pads rather than time (When rotating tires is an excellent time to check) as the amount of time or miles varies greatly depending on driving style. Ricky Racer who is alway hard into the gas pedal, braking aggressively, etc will go through pads much more quickly than Suzy Slowpoke who leaves lots of room, plans ahead, and accomplishes by lifting off the gas pedal at an appropriate time for circumstances where Ricky would be standing the brakes. All that said if you installed new rotors and pads 15 months ago you are unlikely to need pads unless you drive a ton or are Ricky Racer’s more aggressive cousin.

Whoops, typed way too slow. egregore and TMats better answered your third paragraph while I was typing.

The lazy way to see what you need is to take into a good front end shop, tell them you have the noise and want a quote to fix it and do a front end alignment. If you have a good relationship with your alignment shop maybe they’ll do the diagnosis for you as a favor knowing you’re going to do the work and then bring it to them for the alignment. I always prefer to be upfront and sometimes if the relationship is there folks are happy to give you five or ten minutes of diagnosis.

YouTube might be a good resource. From (old, foggy) memory, some things you can better identify with the wheels on the ground (Ideally on tracks over a pit so you can stand up relatively normally and move around comfortably), and some things are easier with the car jacked up and supported such that the wheels are hanging free (ideally on a lift with the four swing arms with adjustable pads so you can stand up normally under the car). What you are looking for is slop. You may need to pry a bit, but you aren’t looking to Man Mountain Dean it, maybe just overcome the weight of the parts to see if you can move it much. A possible “clue” is that the alignment shop at our local tire store has a pit with tracks and not a lift.

quote:

Depends who you talk to. I can turn any ‘easy’ one out project into an all day affair…

Been There, Done That. I have become okay with that when it is a learning experience. While it sucks if the job takes three times as long as “it should”, when considered learning how to do the job *and* doing the job, it is less painful. Besides, it will be quicker next time (unless it is so long until next time that I’ve forgotten and have to learn it again, grrrr. )

Counting turns, measuring with a tape, etc. still does not preclude the need for an alignment afterwards. As little as a quarter turn (one quarter of the distance between threads) makes a significant difference. This is just to get "close enough" to get you to the shop without fighting the steering and the tires howling on the way there.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Counting turns, measuring with a tape, etc. still does not preclude the need for an alignment afterwards. As little as a quarter turn (one quarter of the distance between threads) makes a significant difference. This is just to get "close enough" to get you to the shop without fighting the steering and the tires howling on the way there.

Agreed, which is why I said,

“but I’d measure too. And when done I’d take it in for alignment”

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Counting turns, measuring with a tape, etc. still does not preclude the need for an alignment afterwards. As little as a quarter turn (one quarter of the distance between threads) makes a significant difference. This is just to get "close enough" to get you to the shop without fighting the steering and the tires howling on the way there.

Good to know. I've delayed doing the work until I know I have time to follow-up with the alignment. I'm also about due for tires, so going to wait for that to happen as well.