Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension Front and Rear Clunk... AGGHH!!

I am at a loss w/ this one. Anytime I drive over the slightest of bumps in the road or over uneven pavement, there is a nasty cluncking noise coming from the front pass side and also from both sides on the back. It sounds like something is loose but I have checked, had it checked, rechecked and everything is tight, nothing is loose or worn, all the sway bar mounts are tightly in place. I've checked the front linkage, balljoints and everything is nice and tight. As far as I can tell, the springs appear to be in good shape. I've gotten under there to look at them up in the strut towers and they appear to be fine, no rust or anything. The car is not sagging (I'd know w/ the massive wheel gap I got ) and when hitting larger bumps it hits hard w/ a bang yet the ride isn't bouncy like it would be w/ worn struts. The struts aren't showing any visible signs of leaking. I'm sure they are bad and need replacement they've got many miles on them. I'm going to replace the suspension in oct and I don't want this clunking noise to be lurking around after I change out everything. Does anybody just thing this nasty clunk could be due to the fact that the springs and struts have.. Oh.. around 110k!!! and they are just flat out shot?? Because everything else like I said seems to check out in the clear...

I know this might sound very abvious, but have you checked your bumper supports? When I got my car out the shop the last time, I noticed a lot of this from the front and after looking several times, it was only while under the car changing oil that I noticed that one of the braces for the right front bumper was missing. VERY NOTICALBE once spotted! I resecured it with a nut and bolt and all was well. After the car exited the shop for another go around, I noticed the sound. I found this time that the support was completely missing. Very nasty sound!!

Check those bumper cover supports!!

My guess is control arm bushings. Same thing that's causing the obnoxious sound in my car.

I had the same problem on the back of both my contour and my mystique. Even a slight bump in the road made the car bang and clang like crazy. Sounded like something was falling off of the car. New struts solved the problem on both cars. The cars had somewhere around 80-90K when I replaced the struts.

Hrmmm... I don't know about the bushings. I'm sure after this many miles they aren't in the greatest shape anymore. Although all the reading I've done on control arm bushings usually have inner tire wear assiciatied w/ them being worn out. This has been going on for a while now, and I've made 2 trips back and forth to Phoenix in the past 4 months and after 4K+ miles w/ this symptom, the tires are still worn evenly. But I'm planning on getting new suspension components because it is needed anyways, and I suppose that should help the situation a little bit, maybe... I just don't want to spend $600+ and still go clunk down the road...

There's a metal plate on each rear strut, which fits above a matching metal plate on the rear subframe. I suppose these plates are supposed to keep the car from completely bottoming out. Normally, there should be maybe 2-4 inches of clearance between the plates. My struts were so worn out that the wheels were hopping wildly, and the metal plates were banging against each other. I suppose that was what was making the noise on both of my cars.

] I have the same noise on my 2.0L contour it's a 1998 and the front makes the clangy noise and the back seems to clunk. I believe this is probably due to either worn bushings i.e:control arms, anti rollbar,trailing arms, ect.
or the struts are shot.

Soooooo many possiblilties... I guess when it rains it pours... Guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and see what happens. Struts and springs first as handling has drastically deminished, then go from there. Suppose after 110K miles I shouldn't be complaining... Now I know what things to look at next if the last thing done doesn't fix it. Thanks.

I had a clunking in my front drivers side suspension for a few months. I figured the struts were gone. Got it checked out the other day and it turned out to be the sway bar link was worn. Got a new one put on, and no more clunking noise. Only costed $20, which is a far cry from $650 for struts/springs. Plus the cars seems to handle better because of it.