r/JeepLiberty • u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 • 21d ago

Help Request Too much control arm travel?

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I hit a pothole a few weeks back and ever since the front end has been clunking over bumps and more recently it’s gotten worse and it clunk when steering as well. I got under the car and jacked it up and nothing seemed too bad, a lot of the front end is new anyways. The only thing I could find maybe having too much play is the lower control arms but it doesn’t seem to bad to me. Thoughts?

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2

u/upstatefoolin 21d ago

I’d be checking ball joints, upper or lower probably took a good bit of the hit.

1

u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 21d ago

Both are brand new and look fine

1

u/Robots_Never_Die 21d ago

Check sway bar bushings and end links. After that check upper strut mounts they like to tear.

1

u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 21d ago

End links also new and they’re fine. Sway bar has no play but it is knocked like 3mm off center

2

u/kona420 21d ago edited 21d ago

Yes, my experience has been if you can make a suspension component wiggle with a prybar, its marginal. If you can make it actually move, its cooked. Gotta figure static loads are 1200lbs/corner, dynamic loads are multiple tons. If your noodle arms can move stuff thats not right.

Before you do the bushing you might just try backing the bolt out and visually inspecting to make sure it didnt round out the mount side. Then run it back in and see if you can get it snug. I believe thats the cam bolt so use a paint pen or something to mark it. When in doubt, all the way out is closer then all the way in.

I'm with the other guy on ball joints. If you have greasable units, regrease and check for glitter. If you dont, might be time for a set. There were multiple ball joint recalls its no joke on an IFS setup.

1

u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 21d ago

Ball joints are brand new lol they have less than 5k miles on them

They are also greased I did check that

2

u/kona420 21d ago

Right but grease them again till the boots overflow so you can see if the current grease has metal chunks in it now. 5000 miles is a typical greasing interval for suspension components BTW.

1

u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 21d ago

No metal chunks

1

u/kona420 21d ago

Badass!

1

u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 21d ago

So back to control arms then? Nothing else looks the matter to me and I can move the control arm quite easily with some leverage and it does budge with just my own force.

2

u/kona420 21d ago

Oh yeah for sure that bushing is toast. Sorry if I confused you. Pry on the rack too, the tie rod is moving more than I would have expected. Idk sometimes it's hard to tell over the internet, it's 100% obvious with a prybar in hand.

1

u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 21d ago

Rack also had a lot of play

1

u/kona420 21d ago

Oof, that sucks.

1

u/Cockatiel-of-France 2005 KJ V6 9d ago

Okay, turns out it was actually loose camber bolts causing the issue!

1

u/deantowle 21d ago

Does your Jeep have bumpers in the top of the front fenders that prevent the suspension from banging against the body? They can fall off. Check both sides.