Clunking noise when braking sharply

[MartyIn3D]

Hey,

I've just picked up my first Delica and I'm absolutely loving it!
One thing I've noticed is that if I brake sharply there is a bit of a clonking noise coming from what sounds like the front wheels. Could it be as simple as worn brake pads?

I'm a complete noob when it comes to mechanical stuff so any help is much appreciated!

Martin

[Yokohama]

It could be a loose caliper mounting bracket or the caliper guide pins could be loose or even missing.

Have you done brake work before? Do you have tools and a torque wrench (click or bar)?

Any shop you trust can do this as the L300 is a very generic breaking system (except for the way they mount the booster/master cylinder).

[bionic]

..can even be badly worn ball joints. If it is, it would likely "cluck" upon hitting harsh bumps as well. Easy to check either way.

[MartyIn3D]

Thanks for the advice :)

It's not making any noises over bumps so I'm guessing that means it's less likely to be the ball joints?
I've not done any brake work before but I'm trying to learn some more about basic maintenance / repair so i guess now is as good a time as any to get started!

I've checked out a few videos on youtube and I'm pretty confident in knowing what to look for on the pads and discs but I'm a lot less sure about the caliper bracket and guide pins. Any advice on what to look out for?

I think I'm going to give this a go tomorrow, if I find anything that would be great! If there's nothing obvious I'll probably drop it off with a mechanic :)

[Yokohama]

You will be able to easily see the caliper guide pins and guide pin bolts; the pins screw into the caliper and have small rubber boots on the sliding portion.

There are larger bolts that attach the caliper mounting bracket to the hub. They are fixed and do not have a sliding area.

You will want to make sure they are first there, and second torqued to spec. The L300 Factory Service Manual (FSM) that you can find on the web (I think there is a link somewhere around here) will have the bolt torque specs.

Also, if you take the guide pins loose, be sure to inspect them and also that they are greased. If they are not greased, then you and get specified grease and regrease them. When you remove calipers from any vehicle, be sure to not let them dangle on the brake hose. Attach a wire though the guide pin hole (on the caliper) and hang it from the suspension arm, etc.

[MartyIn3D]

Thanks a lot, that's really helpful! I'll have a go at it sometime over the weekend and let you know how I get on :D

[TardisDeli]

Hi Mi3d, What is yr location, we are having a deli meet tomorrow, Friday at Coquitlam Ikea. The front clunk is typical on L300's.

If you stop by our tiny house in Burnaby before hand, or stay over in our backyard, I can walk you through jacking up, removing tire (hope the bolts are not seized), and inspecting the calipers etc. If tire bolts are seized, go first to somewhere that will check brakes for free, ensure they tighten after only to 90 to 100 foot pounds. Front clunk is rarely brakes, except if one of the 2 bolts holding the caliper in place was not tightened up after you worked on it, so now the bolt fell out, and now the caliper is jammed against the wheel -- yup I know). Usually not brakes for the clunk.

My bet for your clunk is the typical L300 bushing at the very front (that little one that crosses over near the gopher grill intake). Easy to replace.

Or loose inner or outer tie rod ends, easy for me to show you. Just jack up on stands, put hands at 3 and 9 on tire, try to jiggle, if no play then ok. now put hands at noon and 6, jiggle, if no play then Ok.

Or front shocks, park beside another L300 with good shocks. push hard on bambi bar on each, see how far each L300 goes up and down, and how many ups and downs before it stops. I love cheap Monroe heavy duty shocks for L300.

Check all the rubber boots under the front, if any have a little slit or crack, that lets in dirt, bingo, that wears out the metal component inside, bingo, now you replace the component (sometimes easy and cheap, sometimes best to let pro with tools do it).

My wierdest front clunk was my big ham radio antenna mount worked itself loose, it was mounted on the mirror arm on pasenger side, when it jiggled with road bumps the noise transferred through the metal mirror housing and all through the front body, took ages to discover source, Butch at CVI so patiently kept putting it on the hoist but of course it never clunked on the hoist. Thanks again Butch and Edwin for all your time!

Christine.

[MartyIn3D]

Thanks so much for the kind offer, but unfortunately I'm a bit far away here in the UK :p

I'll be sure to look up how to check the tie rods, bushings and shocks though.

[TardisDeli]

Ahhh, maybe add to your profile "On the Road in UK". You are lucky, lots more L300s there than here.

I still say clunk not usually associated with brakes, except if bolt fallen off. If you need me to detail further the other troubleshooting stuff I certainly will.

If you ever do get to Burnaby, the invitation remains, although we would let you sleep inside the house rather than in a delica in the backyard.

Cheers Christine

[MartyIn3D]

Is the bushing you mentioned the same as the anti roll bar bushings? I know they were changed just before I bought it (perhaps the previous owner was trying to find the clunk too!)

If you mean a different bushing, ill try to find it today... Thanks again!

[Yokohama]

Thanks a lot, that's really helpful! I'll have a go at it sometime over the weekend and let you know how I get on :D

No problem. Also, be sure to be aware of where to jack up and support the L300. You can jack it up on the center of the front crossmember (there will stamped area toward the middle where you put the jack). If you don't have one, get a good large floor jack (don't get the small ones that people keep in the boot).
The rear is jacked up on the rear differential.

The small bottle jack that comes with the L300 can also be used, but only where the manual tell you to use it, and you can't get it high enough to really work on the L300 with it anyway.

As for jack stand points; the FSM tells you where to put the jack stands, but basically you put the front ones on the edges of the tube that forms the engine cradle. and the rear axle ends are used for the rear jack stand points.

Also, remember that you can NOT use ANY jack on the rocker panels because you will damage them.

[yojimbo]

Also, remember that you can NOT use ANY jack on the rocker panels because you will damage them.

Allow me to translate, by this he means outer cills/sills.

[bionic]

Also, remember that you can NOT use ANY jack on the rocker panels because you will damage them.

Allow me to translate, by this he means outer cills/sills.

..must be a UK thing, here in NA they are called rocker panels.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Also, remember that you can NOT use ANY jack on the rocker panels because you will damage them.

Allow me to translate, by this he means outer cills/sills.

..must be a UK thing, here in NA they are called rocker panels.

Bloody English, speaking the language as if they wrote it! Sheesh!

[Lapprentis]

Hi all:

1-Had a Big Clunk noise when Reverse from Stop position last year. Did no hear it this year: cannot say it is related but I reindexed my front torsion bars to level the Van

2-Now, since reindexing, a new smaller clunk appears when braking (not even sharply) on the front end. To me it appear to be in the passager (left) side, close to the wheel area tough I am not sure...The noise is somewhat similar to the 2 clics when we start our Van, just a little louder, more so when windows down. I just replaced the low-most forward brushing behind the wheels (both sides) but changes nothing to the clunk. Do not seem to be dangerous driving like this...Will keep posting once I found the source.

Lapprentis