Questions and Answers

Explorer Front End Noise Q. Hello, I have a 1996 Ford Explorer XLT 4 door with 4.0, A/C, 80,000 miles and ABS. Truck has 235.75R.15 Goodyear RT/S tires (new). Here's the problem, about six months ago I had noticed that the original tires were starting to wear funny in the front even the truck rode excellent and the steering wheel tracked straight down the road.

The front driver side sagged a good bit but the mechanic said that the shocks were okay and so was the spring. He said that he needed to put a cam kit on the drivers side of the front end for the alignment to be correct and then he would adjust the radius arms on both sides to get the level of front level. Of course he had to adjust the drivers side up more (to the top) to get it level.

The first few miles it seemed a little stiff of a ride but over time I got used to it. A few months later I've noticed when the road dips to the front drivers side a get a loud crack/clunk noise from under the front drivers side. This has gone on for a while until lately I noticed it now coming from the front passenger side when I'm turning left on a sharp downgrade. Could this be from the Radius arm adjustment? Do the bushings from these need replaced is it something else? The truck still tracks straight down the road but the ride is a little jumpy in the front.

Thanks,
Rick

A. The noise could be from anywhere. I would check the Sway Bar Links and see if they have broken. They were a problem for Ford who replaced them in Recall 00V402000: Stabilizer Bar Link Fractures. If they are broken, take it to a Ford Dealer and they will replace them for free.