Dodge caravan question

[ndtguy]

Long post any help would be appreciated. Cliff notes: My question is at the bottom

Backstory: My wife’s 2014 with the 3.6 v6 grand caravan is making a single popping noise when pulling out of the driveway (slight angle like all new homes) or when turning at a slow speed (pulling into a parking space or a drive thru). Started on the left now both sides pop (pop not a click/clicking like a cv joint) Does this when the wheel is near or at full lock (I told her jokingly to stop turning the wheel so much).

I’ve replaced the front and rear dampeners no change (front passenger side needed replaced anyways). Went through, loosened and re- torqued all the bolts again. Still popped.

Found that the sway bar end links could cause a popping. Took them off and replaced them. Right side was bad. Still makes the popping.

Went out and did figure 8 and “S” turns on a wide deserted road. No sounds whatsoever and was normal.

The van need an oil change and tire rotation so I put it on jack stands and did that. Performed the third shake down test in a month and it’s solid.

While the oil was draining I took my pry bar and started with any ball joint I could find.

Lower control arm outer ball joint near the spindle. Solid.

Tie rod. Solid. Grabbed the tie rod half way between the end/ball joint and the steering rack. Yanked, turned, shoved the tie rod. Nothing. Solid.

QUESTION:

Used my pry bar on the front lower control arm bushing. No issues. Rear mount a arm mount (see picture where my pry bar is pointing) is the only thing that moves. More so on the left than the right. Is that supposed to move up and down? Left side is maybe 1/8” or so. Right side is about half.

Again any help is appreciated before I rebuild the entire front end of her van.

 

[DMG]

Don’t make it easy by telling us what year and drivetrain


Also, sway bar bushings can cause that.

 

[ndtguy]

Don’t make it easy by telling us what year and drivetrain


Also, sway bar bushings can cause that.

updated. Its a 2014 grand caravan with a 3.6 v6

 

[Winchested]

Having this issue with my 2011 Ford fusion. The only way I found the bad ball joint that was popping clicking and creaking when turning was to put it up on ramps and have my kid bounce the suspension up and down while I had the stethoscope under there listening to the ball joints and bushings. There is no play on this ball joint trying the normal flex with a prybar technique.

Most times to find bad bottom ball joint you need a long lever under the tire with the tire a couple inches off the ground with someone else under it watching for motion.

 

[The War Wagon]

My wife's old '08 did it, as does her purchased new '16 - since Day 1 - when you discover it, post it up.

 

[DMG]

My wife's old '08 did it, as does her purchased new '16 - since Day 1 - when you discover it, post it up.

Welcome back Bob. How are you feeling?

 

[ndtguy]

My wife's old '08 did it, as does her purchased new '16 - since Day 1 - when you discover it, post it up.

The issue with our van ended up being the ball joint in the lower control arms. They were shot. Our end links were shot and previous replaced as they have a small ball joint on each end. If you’re on bumpy, especially washed out dirt roads, look at the sway bar bushings.

Looooooooong post.

Let me give you Gents a little tip.

Don’t buy the moog control arms, RK series. I bought them just to swap so I had new bushings and new grease-able ball joints. The radius profile is different and allows contact with the sway bar. See pics and the nice shiny area on the black control arms. You will also need camber bolts to correct the alignment.

Okay so I ordered new mopar arms 400 shipped to my door. Both sides. Installed them today and cleaned up the brakes while I was there and had the caliper off. Took 5.5 hrs.

There’s a trick to put the a arms in. Get the rear mount in first. Then spin the arm so the ball joint is under the passenger cabin and hold the arm is level. Install the bolt for the rear mount and spin the nut on but keep it loose.

Swing the arm fwd so the fwd mount is above the cup area and almost installed. At this point install the ball joint. Using a mallet tap the fwd area into place and install the bolt*. Then install the nut onto the ball joint.

Jack the arm up so it’s level. Ball joint is 20#-ft and 180 turn. Fwd and aft bolts are 125#-ft.

*drivers side fwd bolt you’ll need to jack up the transmission a little bit to get the bolt out. I was able to use a ratchet for about half of the removal but then used an open end (read:adjustable) or by hand to get it the rest of the way out. Fwd and aft bolts/nut are 21mm and the ball joint is 19mm.

Just so you know what you’re in for when you do it. It’s not a bad job just time consuming.

Hope this helps.