Rear wheel play in and out - source of clunk?

[treehan77]

Been chasing a clunk/knock that happens when turning from rear. Jacked truck up to go look for loose suspension/bushing/etc and have the wheel a tug in and out. Seems like there shouldn’t be play like I found. Could this be the source of my clunk? is this normal?

what is the cause and solution? Thanks TYF!
Rear wheel:

 

[Chris2144]

Is this the front wheel or rear wheel. If it's the front then there is definitely a problem there. If it's the rear then there probably is still something wrong but it's hard to tell exactly how much play is there sounds like a lot though. Have a friend rock it while you take a look. Make sure its supported good. I would imagine it's either ball joints or a hub bearing

 

[treehan77]

Sorry this is the right rear wheel - what causes would that lead to?

 

[Chris2144]

I'd be looking at c clips in the diff. Take the cover off and check it out. There should be a little bit of play but that sounds like a lot.

 

[treehan77]

Ok thanks. It’s on the lift getting checked out now

 

[SnowDrifter]

Small amount of play is both normal and expected due to how the rear axles in these are secured. Axle out is limited by C clip, axle is is limited by king pin in diff (not sure if that's the right nomenclature but you get it)

Mine have about a 16th of an inch of play in them

 

[treehan77]

Dealer inspected the whole truck suspension everything etc. no “safety issues”, all ball joints etc are tight. Mechanic went for a ride with me and definitely heard the knock. He thinks it’s just a sway bar bushing worn. I’ve inspected those, dont LOOK bad. But I’ll replace them and see what happens.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Dealer inspected the whole truck suspension everything etc. no “safety issues”, all ball joints etc are tight. Mechanic went for a ride with me and definitely heard the knock. He thinks it’s just a sway bar bushing worn. I’ve inspected those, dont LOOK bad. But I’ll replace them and see what happens.

Personally I'd dig into it more rather than guessing. There are very few suspension related clunks you can't replicate or at least examine with the vehicle stopped

 

[SnowDrifter]

Give us a detailed rundown how how you replicate the noise, general apparent location, and both what you've checked and HOW you checked it

 

[swathdiver]

Don't forget to tighten the lug nuts and torque them to spec. IDK about yours but mine are torqued to 140 foot pounds.

 

[Erickk120]

you'd expect play when the brakes are off the rotor though, I would imagine with the brakes still attached there shouldn't be any excessive play to form a clunk, hard to measure end play in the video, I will jack mine up tomorrow just to make sure am not going insane, I'll update.

 

[treehan77]

Give us a detailed rundown how how you replicate the noise, general apparent location, and both what you've checked and HOW you checked it

Noise can be replicated by making a sweeping turn after turning the opposite way. Lug nuts are tight. DEaler mechanic heard it on test drive. He put it on lift and used pry at etc to check ball joints, related suspension parts etc. he basically said do t worry about, it’s probably just a stabilizer bushing starting to go. Drive it till it is really bad lol. I did this myself as well, couldn’t really say bushings or stabilizer links are visibly shot, but those are cheap so...

 

[Chris2144]

Just about every 1500 nbs is 140. Think the only one that's not is the 1500 HD.

OP I still think you have a problem in your diff. Sway bar mounts don't make noise when you pull and push on the tire in and out. Pull the cover off and have a look. Also have someone pull and push while you see what it is. You don't want to loose an axle going down the road trust me it's not a fun time.

 

[treehan77]

I asked the mechanic if he thought it could be the diff before he inspected it. I can only assume he knows what he’s doing. Hopefully the stabilizer bushings and links I’m going to replace will cure the noise I hear when driving, and this amount of play is normal. Fingers crossed

 

[treehan77]

I figure the bushings and links are cheap and a good chance they will fix the clunk. If not, I’m sure replacing them at 187k will tighten things up a bit anyway- they’ve gone through a lot. Dont know what else I can do, I went to the dealer for diagnostic. I guess I’ll try them again if it doesnt fix it. I will install the bushings and links myself. Pretty cheap whack at it.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Sure it's not a body mount?

 

[treehan77]

Sure it's not a body mount?

Very well could be. How would I test that theory? I can’t seem to duplicate the noise by jumping on the bumper or rocking it side to side

 

[Chris2144]

Well you said that the noise you hear in the video is the same noise you hear while driving. I would think that you have Isolated it just need to figure out why it's making the noise

 

[treehan77]

No I didn’t. I asked if it COULD be

 

[Chris2144]

Oh my bad thought that was the way I read the first post.