tacoma front end rattle

I have a 2001 Tacoma 4x4. When I hit bumps in the road the front end rattles like crazy. It sounds similar to a loose screw banging on a washer. I've narrowed it down to the area of the front passenger tire. Could it be a bad or loose shock? I've climbed under the truck searching for anything loose. Can't find a thing. Any help would be great! Thanks.

Check for play in the sway bar end connections. The bushings on the end or in the middle of the sway bar can loosen and cause the sway bar to rattle. Could also be a loose shock. Try getting someone to bounce the truck up and down while you are under the truck near the wheel listening, looking, and feeling for a loose bolt or connection.

Thank you for your help. I checked the sway bar, it's not loose at all. A friend bounced the front while I was underneath, and it's definately from the shock. I felt it with my hand and it moves around inside the coil and the one on the other side doesn't move at all. So, I'm pretty sure it's a loose shock. Is there any way to fix this myself or should I take it to a shop? I'm definately NO mechanic! Thanks again for any help.

Get a Haynes manual for your truck at the local parts store. Find out the location and torque for the upper and lower shock mounting bolts and tighten them up to torque. You can guess a little on the torque if you can't find a torque wrench. Just don't break the damn things off.