Front End Clunking in Steering Wheel

Hello all,

Just purchased a 2002 Ram 2500 5.9 4x4 Regular Cab. When the steering wheel is turned to passenger side and I hit a bump I feel a clunk in the steering wheel. No noise, just the feeling in the steering wheel. I popped off the tire and checked for play from side to side and up and down. No play what so ever. All solid. I would think my ball joints ans bearings are ok then...but where is this clunking coming from? Next I thought of the track bar? But the truck is steady on the road no wondering or wobbling.. Possibly the shock? The truck has 52,800 miles on it, so right about time to change the shocks anyhow. Just wanted to see if anyone else experienced this..and if it possibly is a characteristic of the truck...being a normal issue. Thanks..:runaround:

With the engine off the whole time, jack up the front end, set your jack stands then have someone turn the steering wheel for you while you observe the steering components.
My track bar was bad.

Thanks for the reply,

Just got the truck back from the dealer that I purchased it from. Turns out it was the front brake calipers binding and clunking when retracting. They replaced the two front calipers for free and looked everything else over as well. lets hope this is the only issue I have with the truck...

Good news, thanks for the update!

Ok well had the truck 3 days and the sound started to appear again...LOL. So i took it back to the dealer and the took a ride with the service tech. He felt what I was talking about and described it as a loose feeling in the steering wheel. He is also thinking it may be an issue with the steering shaft from the knuckle to the steering box...we will see, I will keep you guys updated

ok heres the deal,

The dealer identified the problem as normal slack/wear in the steering shaft from the column to the steering gear. Apparently there is a core inside the stearing shaft that will develope slack over time. They said this is not a safety issue. Anyone ever heard of this cause I think it smells really bad....

I don't see a "core", just a shaft that starts at the steering wheel and ends up at the steering box with a coupler in between.

Here's a downloadable 2001 service manual.
The download is kinda slow but worth the wait.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/42304/2001DodgeRam.pdf

Steering troubleshooting starts on page 1595

Dude you rock, Thanks!