My 2006 MCS is an amazing car and has been a ton of fun. When I purchased it used, I noticed a “clunk” coming from the front/right side while going over low speed bumps. Recently I have started chasing this clunk. To start, I replace all the struts with the orange Koni as well as the right front strut mount. While I was at it, I put in an Alta 22 sway bar on the rear. This did nothing for the clunk. After testing the lower control arm bushings and finding the right side was shot, I replaced both sides with power flex bushings. Thanks to Modmini for his great video on how to do them without dropping the subframe. Still the clunk remains..... Back under I went to shake everything I could get my hands on. There is a slight wiggle in the front sway bar, but no visible wear to the bushings. After some googling, I though that maybe the sway bar link could be the culprit. Yeah, that was not the source..... Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Systematically re-torque all of your front suspension components. I was chasing the same problem after dropping the front subframe and replacing all of the bushings. It ended up being one of my endlinks was tight but not torqued to spec. You’ve missed one somewhere. Check every single nut / fastener / bolt.

 

Sway bar end links, ball joints, or rear control arm bushings may cause a clunk.

Strut bushings as well. Make sure the upper strut nuts are properly tightened.

 

Agree with the above...keep looking you will find it eventually!

While you had the struts out it would have been a good time to move the knuckle/wheel assembly up and down. I have a lift and I've done that while laying on my back and using one leg to move it. If you use jack stands, maybe you could still do that.

One of the problems with these mystery noises is when you lift the car up all the linkages go to positions they are *not* at when driving. So you have to be creative to try and re-create the movement so you might find the noise. I am currently battling the same on an SUV. I'm not that bothered by it because it's not a safety hazard (in this case) just an annoyance and been-there-done-that several times already on that vehicle.

 

I took it to get an alignment this morning and they said that nothing was out of place and that I had torqued everything down. When I got home I grabbed a hold of my roof racks and shock like hell out of frustration. It was then that I could slightly recreate the sound. It’s as if something is rocking back and forth around the rear of the engine. Unfortunately my lovely assistant is out for the day, so I couldn’t get her to shake the care while I crawled around to better isolate the sound. That being said, I really have to rock the car side to side to get the noise. I really hope it’s not the sway bar bushings, dropping the sub frame and getting another alignment doesn’t sound like fun, but damn I want that noise fixed.

 

Get some of this super-lube if you don't have any. $10 for three small packs. If you have to get in there again it will be good to have on hand.

 

I chased a clunk for a while.........long story, short it was my lug socket in the glove box. Silly, I know......not that loud, I know......but annoying as heck! Good luck

 

Today I was driving in the neighborhood with my window down (still a few gas fumes in there from the fuel filter job) and I heard a "ka-ching." The idea popped in my mind that I must have left a wrench somewhere in the engine bay or suspension and it just fell out. I turned around and made another pass looking for it, but didn't see anything. I have a history of not cleaning up well enough!

 

I assume you've checked the RF motor mount?

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The upper mount has no visible leaking.

 

Unfortunately, alignments only touch a few of the suspension components. Good luck and let us know what you find!

 

When I replaced the struts on my car, I had the same issue but it was coming from the rear. Turns out there's a little circlip that goes on the center shaft of the strut and this piece was missing which allowed the strut to travel too far and cause a clunk sound. Once that piece was installed, no more clunk. Don't remember if the fronts have this circlip but since you've checked everything else it's worth a look. Good luck

 

So I had a friend come over, and we put it up on ramps. He shook it back and forth while I looked for the source. And sadly it’s coming from the front sway bar. If I held onto it it would stop making the noise. Really don’t want to drop the sub frame, not because it’s hard but because I just had it aligned last weekend and don’t want to pay for it again.

 

Better the devil you know though...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I really wish that I could just drive something in there to tighten it up. Lol

 

Firestone sells lifetime alignments and they can be had for around $200.

 

Better to do the repair properly than to hack it.

 

Yeah, after watching Modmini’s video a ton of times I’ve decided to go for the drop and get it over with. I’ll gather up some Powerflex sway bar bushings and the inner ball joints as well. Might as well get them both out of the way if I’ll have access. I have a Alta 15% pulley on the way, so it will be a weekend of wrenching, but well worth it. If that clunk is still there after I might have a fit lol.

 

yes sir, while ur in there...good time to do steering stuff, tie rods, steering lines if needed...

 

I believe there is an issue with the fitment of the power flex front sway bar bushings... something about being too tight for fitment and grease. Several experts recommend a different brand, but now I cannot remember which... I’ll hunt for the link.

 

I’m so excited, my Alta 15% pulley and pulley remover are in. Along with the upgraded plugs and belt. Now I’m just waiting on my new powerflex sway bar bushings from Way Motor Works, and my weekend adventure will be set. Hopefully this will end my “clunk” saga. The pulley has nothing to do with the clunk, but I figured that I might as well have some fun!

 

I had powerflex bushings from bumper-to-bumper back in 2010 in an '03 MCS, and had zero issues with fitment at any location.

OP: Make sure your endlinks are good too. Those have a high fail rate on pretty much every vehicle ever.

 

Well, good news. Yes you can replace the front sway bar bushings without dropping the entire sub frame. Would I recommend doing it? Not really, in fact you could even take off the lower control arm mounts as well. I had the front bolts out, and damn near removed the rear ones as well. It works, but eh I wouldn’t recommend it lol. How ever sadly my pulley remover tool stripped immediately when I went to do the 15% pulley, so I have to wait and get another tomorrow before I put it back together and find out wether or not the clunk is resolved. Sadly, the saga continues.

 

There is no more clunk!!!! I was actually scared when I put the wheels back on and lowered it to the ground. If I drove it and still had the clunk, I may have cried. However it drove like the little monster it is, with no clunk on the bumps. The extra hp from the pulley and the sound of the supercharger had me smiling and laughing all around my neighborhood loop. I got back and did the ubiquitous happy dance in the garage!!! I might burn a tank of gas on the blue ridge parkway tomorrow, just to celebrate.

 

And THAT is why we put up with all the idiosyncracies of our hated/loved Mini's.