Front suspension noise 2016 yukon xl

[2016yukxL]

About last summer i replaced the common sway bar links. In doinf so i decided to replace the sway bar bushings. Well, doing the driver side i snapped a bolt and had to drill and tap and it was a pain in the ass. So i didnt do the passenger side. Idk if its even bad.

Now, recently we moved and i live down a dirt road and the potholes are horrid. Over time i developed like a clunk noise going over potholes on both sides and i get a "service air suspension" at start up. It sounds like its coming from both front wheels area. It feels like the suspension is just looose and braking doesnt help it. I dont think its the sway bar bushing because its on both sides. Ive also jacked the drivers side up and tryed to move the wheel up and down, pressing the top and bottom back and forth, nothing seems loose. Any ideas?

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Did you use a lever like a crowbar or a 2x4 when you had the truck jacked up to check wheel play?

How many miles on the truck?

Any clunks when you just put the truck in gear?

 

[2016yukxL]

About last summer i replaced the common sway bar links. In doinf so i decided to replace the sway bar bushings. Well, doing the driver side i snapped a bolt and had to drill and tap and it was a pain in the ass. So i didnt do the passenger side. Idk if its even bad.

Now, recently we moved and i live down a dirt road and the potholes are horrid. Over time i developed like a clunk noise going over potholes on both sides. It sounds like its coming from both front wheels area. It feels like the suspension is just looose and braking doesnt help it. I dont think its the sway bar bushing because its on both sides. Any ideas?

Did you use a lever like a crowbar or a 2x4 when you had the truck jacked up to check wheel play?

How many miles on the truck?

Any clunks when you just put the truck in gear?

I have not tryed a crowbar. I will next time i get the motivation to go back out in this michigan cold.

Truck has 65k miles.

No clunks when switching gears. Its definitely something in the front and not trans related.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I have not tryed a crowbar. I will next time i get the motivation to go back out in this michigan cold.

Truck has 65k miles.

No clunks when switching gears. Its definitely something in the front and not trans related.

Good on the no clunk when switching from Park to Drive, as that rules out the front differential connecting arms and bushings.

 

[2016yukxL]

Good on the no clunk when switching from Park to Drive, as that rules out the front differential connecting arms and bushings.

Yeah im gonna have to take the load off the front and grab me a crow bar and start investigating.

 

[2016yukxL]

So i took about a hour today to chexk my front suspension. Everything seems solid with a crow bar on bushing points. Soni went to the rear and checked where my compressor sits, and upon my findings, there was a pressure line cut. Tore off the rear tire and inner rear fender well cover, and notice also, the 3 wire plug that goes to it was cut as well. ! Holy crap. Almost seemed like someone did it to me, but im thinking critters (because we just moved out of the city to some acres).

So fixed the wire issue, and waiting on a dorman part from amazon with the compressor lines.
The pressure line that was cut tho was the one that seems to run from the pump and back to the pump (not the rear shocks)...its like 5-6 inches long. Not sure if any of this is gonna help but it did turn off my "service leveling system" light.

 

[EddieC]

After chasing a front end clunk in my 2008 Z71 for quite a while what I finally found was upper control arm bushings shot.
The symptoms were, at first, clunk when first backing with wheels turned to right stop. More prevalent in the cold.ook it to the shop
The clunk the progressed to show itself when driving over bumps going down the road in the cold. That was very apparent.
Finally when I wound it was when backing slowly and braking.....clunk on every brake application.
I took it to to the shop where the control arms were previously replaced with MOOG about 20,000 miles ago and my mechanic watched while I backed and braked and he actually saw the mounting bolts moving. So it would appear that newish parts can fail.

It seems like you've zeroed in on yours but the control arm bushings might be worth a look.

 

[2016yukxL]

Yeah thanks for the info...i took it for a spin just now and the rear compressor is fixed now and the rear feels better.

The loose feeling front suspension still exists. I jacked the drivers side up and put another jack under the tire to take tension off the suspension. Tryed moveing the wheel/tire @ 9 and 3 o clock positions. I can hear a very slight clunk and a tiny bit of little movement, but it sounds like its coming from the steering shaft? I dont see any bushing points moving what so ever. I had my son move it and i looked under the hood and yeah, you can see the steerimg shaft move a tad. I think tgat might be normal tho? Idk....

 

[EddieC]

Yeah thanks for the info...i took it for a spin just now and the rear compressor is fixed now and the rear feels better.

The loose feeling front suspension still exists. I jacked the drivers side up and put another jack under the tire to take tension off the suspension. Tryed moveing the wheel/tire @ 9 and 3 o clock positions. I can hear a very slight clunk and a tiny bit of little movement, but it sounds like its coming from the steering shaft? I dont see any bushing points moving what so ever. I had my son move it and i looked under the hood and yeah, you can see the steerimg shaft move a tad. I think tgat might be normal tho? Idk....

I didn't see movement in mine when jacked up to unweight the suspension. Perhaps the spring action interferes.
It was very obvious using the braking force on the ground though. The movement was very noticeable.