2 problems with me 2003 Dodge GC Sport

2003 Dodge GC Sport 3.3L 90K miles

1) There is a noise from the front right when driving slowly on a bumpy road. Noise only happens when the tire travels up and down. Noise is magnified slightly when cold. It reminds me of a worn out strut mount. I recently had a front alignment and they checked the front end pretty good before the adjustment and did not mention any problems. I had the noise prior to the alignment.

2) 20-40 mph the steering wheel moves from side to side. You can feel this and see it. This started after the alignment. No obvious wear on front tires.

Any help with either problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I had the same problem with my 01, had the alignment checked a couple times, and they found nothing. Then I went to the dealer, it was the front sway bar bushings. It was fine for about a month and it started to do it again. I checked it this time and I found a bad front sway bar end link. Then a couple weeks later the same noise but the other side, this time it was a loose sway bar end link, I tightened it up and all is fine. All times it made the steering wheel move - shake side to side.

Check your end links, I checked mine by jacking the van up on one side, took the wheel off, and taking the jack under the control arm and slowly jacking it up watching the end link movement. This is how I found the loose one, and the bad one. I'm on alot of dirt roads to and none are smooth so I go slow as well, this is how I heard the noise on mine. It seems that where the end links attach to the strut, the hole they fit in is alittle bigger so that bolt has to be tight, and surely use RED thread lock, I haven't had a problem since using it, before I had to tighten it up twice where it attaches to the strut. I hope this helps and if you have more questions please ask away!

I can put up with the noise and steering wheel shimmy but do you think it is ok to drive for a while without any damage to the vehicle or tires? I plan on waiting for warmer weather to take a look.

my mothers '00 GC 3.3 has been doing the same stuff since she bought it....over 65K later, still not fixed, so you can drive until its a better time for you

shes just to damn cheap, hell, oil changes are around 10K

You should be fine as long as you take it easy. They will wear more, the van will probably feel like its getting pushed around alittle more in the wind, it may feel like your going to tip on a hard turn, IF the end links are the problem as in the ball joints being worn, in time they could pop/break from the socket, unlikely though, BUT its still possible. If this does happen it can damage your tire causing loss of control, or unstable control of van. I still have my old right end link, the top has a small crack about a 1/4" long, think that was from it being so loose and hitting a big pothole. The dealer here told me about the safety issue on them when I asked about the crack, and something about premature wear on other steering parts, not sure, and tires. I have 2 boys/passengers so I did not put it off after hearing that. Anyways, the length, height, width, and curb weight are all greater on the 2001-2007 4th generation vans than on the 1996-2000 3rd generations so there is more weight on those end links. If you do wait you can find them online cheap, ebay had them for 40 a set, I paid over that for one. Ok hope this helps, and Happy Holidays!

Well, I replace the end link yesterday and there is still a rattling noise when going slowly over bumps but have not had it out on the HW yet to see if there is a steering wheel shimmy. I guess I will replace the sway bar bushings next.

Steering wheel movement as you describe can be a tire starting to separate. Rotate tires front to rear and see if shimmy is gone.

Have you had any luck yet?

The shimmy was present before the new end links and after a rotation and balance. Installed the new end links and the shimmy is gone but the the clunking noise remains. I will change the sway bar bushings and see what happens.

Okay, it's been nearly a year, I assume you've replaced the bushings by now. What was the result? We just put new end links on my mom's 2003 GC and the noise remains. Dad thinks the noise is from upper struts. Obviously the bushings would be the less expensive route to go....

-Rod

Definitly replace the sway bar bushings first. I have changed hundreds of these on these vans. They are easily mistaken for tie rod, strut type noise because of the clunk, knock type noise they make. They are most noticeable hitting bumps or pot holes. Mopar has a new design now for the newer vans 05-07 and (possibly going back further) that have plastic inserts in them. This is a VERY common problem on these vans.

You are oh so right dirtracefan. I own an 05' Caravan SXT purchased new, and not long after I bought it, during a service at my favorite garage, they pointed out the weak sway bar links. Sure enough, this year during an ice storm I had to run over a small tree branch in the road. Now my sway bar links are making the same noise. I had the garage look at it, and they told me it was the links. They also told me they are a dealer only part, and quoted $470 to replace them, but that they don't replace them until they break. I found Moog makes better links with metal gusher bearings with grease fittings, so I ordered a pair. Waiting for some warmer weather to change them out.

DrS

I have an '05 T&C and the Sway Bars and Links were replaced at 25,000 miles.

The labor was $162 and parts were $96 for a total of $266 including tax. Fortunately, mine was covered under warranty.

C.B.

Okay, it's been nearly a year, I assume you've replaced the bushings by now. What was the result? We just put new end links on my mom's 2003 GC and the noise remains. Dad thinks the noise is from upper struts. Obviously the bushings would be the less expensive route to go....

-Rod


I have not yet replaced the bushing but will be doing that soon. The noise is much louder when it is cold outside and when I am driving slowly. I do not need struts yet but will change the mounts when I do.

We changed the end links first since Dad had already bought them and he didn't have the bushings. It made a little difference (according to Mom, the main driver of the van) but Dad said a noise is certainly still present. So, one of these weekends he's going to spend the $7 for a pair of bushings from O'Reilly Auto Parts and we'll throw them on. From searching this forum, it certainly sounds like we should have spend the $7 first rather than the $70 for the end links. :(

Thanks for the tips!

-Rod

We changed the sway bar bushing this afternoon. After 45 minutes, we had both bushing changed out and the noise is gone! Too bad we did not start with the bushings per just about what everyone here recommends.

-Rod

We changed the sway bar bushing this afternoon. After 45 minutes, we had both bushing changed out and the noise is gone! Too bad we did not start with the bushings per just about what everyone here recommends.

-Rod

Can you please post a brief procedure on changing the sway bar bushings. It may be easier than I imagine but would like to know what to expect. Thanks

We started on the passenger side. Put a 15mm socket on the head for the bolt, then use a 15mm deep impact socket, 1/2" wobble extension, and about 15 inches of impact extensions. I used a cordless Makita 1/2" impact (one of the best tools I own) to loosen the nut. Remove the bolt and pivot the stamped steel mount out of the way. Then gently move the anti-sway bar down enough to remove the mount.

Insert a flat screwdriver into the bushing to break it free from the sway bar. I found it easiest to slide the bushing down the bar to where I could get a good grip on it and spread it enough to remove from the anti-sway bar. Clean the the loose debris from the bar, then install the new bushing (we used Moog bushings with lifetime warranty for $13 from O'Reilly Auto Parts) on the bar and slide it in to position. Move the bar down enough to insert the pivot into the subframe, insert the long bolt, start the nut straight, and use the impact and extensions to snug it all back together.

The driver's side is basically the same, but we did loose the two 10mm bolts holding what I'm guessing is the EVAP purge solenoid and positioned it out of the way so I could use the same arrangement of impact socket, wobble, and extensions. The rest is the same as above, but remember to re-install the 10mm bolts for what I'm calling the purge solenoid. Since it sounds like this is something we might need to plan on doing every 30k miles, I installed the purge solenoid bolts with anti-seize compound.

The most difficult part was getting the old bushings separated enough to remove them from the bar and the new ones over the bar. Even that wasn't too bad them them slid to where I could get a grip on them.

-Rod