This whole deal has pissed me off,, i have an 01L and have just now noticed the freaking problem of the clunk, a friend brought it up to me today and he is a freaking mechanic and i know its the clunk by how he described it as you guys do. What has ford done to remedy thins,, this is total bs,, if we have a fix here where is the freaking warrenty work to fix it,, there is no way in hell i should have to pay 150 bucks to fix somethng that shouldn't be a problem anyways,, you say ford did this to save money,,,, well,, if i wanted to save money i would have bought a ****ing escort,, this pisses me off beyond beleife,,, its not that i couldn't afford herb's washers,,, its that i am pissed cause the truck is 6 months old and now been in the shop 3 times if itake it in for this,,,, for once and for all,,,,, what is the word that ford dealerships give on this whole deal,, do they fix it for good or just replace a peice of crap with another peice of crap,,, if i wanted a truck that clunked i am sure i could get one from the ****ing junkyard,, hell,, i could buy one for probably just 1500,,,, if you ask me i think ford is too reluctant to call a recall for something non major on a limited production vehcile,, but i say **** you ,, this whole thinig pisses me off, ,,, it sounds like i'm driving a peice of **** when i just go to turn and i dont know why the hell ford would not fix this on their own,, any clunk from a new vehicle is a ****ing major problem,, i buy new vehicles because i've had bad experience with having to fix used vehicles on my own,, this is complete bull**** that there is a ****ing clunk on a truck that is 6 months old.

~Toast

 

Unfortunately, I think Fords fix is to put a couple of large star washers on the bolt, one on each end. I don't know if that works all that well. I think the Herb's washers and cambolt kit setup is a much brtter resolution to the matter!! I think for peace of mind, its one of those things you gotta bite the bullit on. Besides the alignment job will be more accurate, and stay put. There is also the minor seconddary clunk problem, which is resolved by greasing the steering stops. Go to the search using clunk or clunk fix. There has been a lot of conversation regarding both of these issues. Good Luck.........

 

Guys, does this make any sense? My '99 L developed the problem at 15k miles and the dealer installed the serrated washers. Four months and 4k miles later the clunk came back. The alignment guy retorqued the bolts with a 4 foot pipe on his torque wrench(ouch)
When I asked about Herbs washers and the cambolts he told me that the cambolts were not required, you just have to "hold it while tightening the upper bolts??????"
This sounds iffy to me but what do you think or what has been your experience? Thanks!

 

~toast,

With all due respect and no flame intended.

FORGET about Ford accurately addressing the issue.

The washers are the be-all-end all PERMANENT fix for this issue.

$50 for washers,(NLOC members get a price break)
$30 for two cam bolt kits.
~$60 for an alignment (provided you install above items). EASY to do.
$8 for your favorite festive malted beverage to bring closure.

Is is dumb of Ford not correctly address this, AB-SO-F-N-LUTELY!!!

However, money well spent. Especially the last one

Bob

 

I got a set of washers from Herb last week (thanks Herb). Took them to a large alignment shop (Harold's Frame) and they wanted $68 to install them plus $55 to align to 'Lightning Owner Preferred Specs' (and they don't have one computer driven 4-wheel rack!!!). My brother had me take it to his shop and we did the whole thing in a little over an hour.

The 'slots' only occur on the inside rear of the driver's side lower control arm.



There wasn't much movement, but it definitely made the 'CLUNK'.


Remove the nut with a 24mm deep socket and then remove the bolt (21mm)


You may need to use a drift and hammer to drive the bolt out.

Because of 3 image limit, continued on next post

 

Bolt coming out


This is what the 'slot' looks like with the bolt removed



Place one washer on the bolt (I had difficulty getting it over the threads, and the existing washer wouldn't come off)

Because of 3 image limit, continued on next post

 

Use a pry bar to align the control arm in the middle of the 'slot' then align and tap on the washer until it seats


Install 2nd washer on other side the same way


Torque it down, aligh it and you're done!


Before installing the washers, it 'clunked' on every hard, slow turn. Today it's completely quiet!

 

Just got my washers and made an appointment with my dealer to have them installed but I have a question:

The clunk occurs only on the drivers side rear control arm, so why do I have/need 2 washers?

I've looked at the attached pice which only say to put the other washer on the other side?...of what?

 

Would someone please explain why an alignmen is needed when all you are replacing is a washer?

 

If you install cam bolts at the same time you will need an alingment.
If you only do the washers you will probamly be ok. Lets face it before the washers this part is moving all the time, I have the clunk but my tire where is pretty even. Another option is to just tack welding the stock washers in place.

John

 

The bolts go on both sides, but is that both sides of the driver's arm. Or both sides as in Drivers/Passengers side?

 

Cam bolts go on both upper control arms.

 

So does that mean I really need four washers?

For example the driver's side has the ovals on both sides of the arm, so I put the two washers I received there.

Does that mean I need another 2 for the other side or do people just put one washer on each side and this prevents movement, meaning the new washer is not needed on both sides of the arm?

 

The washers that fix the clunk go on the driver's side only, on the rear of the lower control arm. One washer goes on both sides of the rear control arm contact point. See the photo above. If you are installing cam bolts at the same time, these are installed on both sides, so you will need two cam bolts. They should include nuts that have eccentrics attached to them.

David

 

Anyone know Ford’s torque recommendation on the upper and lower A arm bolts?