Suspension noise

[rsherlock]

I have 99 Sienna with 200K miles.
When I go over a speed bump at 5 mph, I hear a “clunk” sound coming from the front of the car.
I am trying to figure out if it is the struts, the sway bar links or sway bar bushings.
Can anyone provide any advice as to how to diagnose this problem?

One side note.
With the car on jack stands and while laying on my back, I am able to grab the sway bar from the center of the bar and move it left and right a little.
My question is should I be able to move it at all?

[SiennaDriver]

From the passenger side? It's the upper strut mount, that's all.

The top of it can be seen as three nuts under the cowl.

Might be the sway bar link bushings, but the strut mount is a hidden issue that's hard to diagnose and easy to fix. Recommend OEM part.

[wiswind]

What I would do is have a "safety inspection" done.
Shops usually charge around $100 for this as they go over the whole vehicle....pull the wheels and check the brakes, etc.
Some states have a manditory yearly inspection that includes a shakedown of the front suspension.
Others only require a emissions inspection, which does not get any of the mechanicals checked.
This "Safety inspection" is better than driving in and asking them to look at it.
First, they get no money unless they find something wrong.
2nd, they don't do as thorough of a checking over.
I look at this as a good thing to do every year to 3 years, depending upon driving conditions.
I prefer to find things BEFORE they become a problem that can leave me sitting at the side of the road.....or worse.
This is how I can get into a vehicle that is over 10 years old with over 200K miles on it and feel confident in taking a long trip.....and that was with my old FORD Windstar.

[SiennaDriver]

Originally Posted by wiswind

p.....and that was with my old FORD Windstar.

How's your rear axle?

Have the upper mount looked at, along with whatever else you choose, and report back. What I'm telling of is a common defect for 99/00 models.

[wiswind]

"rear axle", I'm guessing that you are asking about that on my Windstar (which I don't have anymore.....upgraded to the 2003 Sienna).
I had a '96 Windstar, and the rear axle issue was for the newer years.
The FORD Windstar never had a reputation for reliablilty that is anything close to the one that the Sienna has.
My point was that with a vehicle not known for being nearly as reliable as the Sienna......keeping on top of things prevented me from having anyplace near the problems that many other folks did.
In my case, I don't really know what I am looking for like an experienced mechanic does, and on a older vehicle.....a good checking over would be money well spent.
How to check for movement, what is excessive movement are all things that call for experienced hands, ears and eyes.

[SiennaDriver]

We might as well be answering to a black hole when there no followups.

[rsherlock]

I wanted to report back with problem resolution.
I replaced the sway bar links and sway bar bushings.
After replacing the hardware, the noise has disappeared.
I am also unable to move the sway bar left to right while grabbing it from the center.

One thing I would point out is that you should install all nuts and bolts before talking everything down.
This will help line things up