Upper Control Arms-question about play

[Denali n DOO]

So today to hopefully cure the clunking over bumps, I had the left stab link and left outer tie rod replaced and an alignment done. For the most part the noise is gone....but I still hear a little clunking going on now an then. When I had looked at the upper control arms I noticed both bolts have some play and the control arm has play along the bolt/bushing. Both sides are the same. I didn't notice any up n down play. It looks like the bolts should be tighter so to have less play. Maybe I can just tighten those? Is there a specific torque amount for those bolts? I wonder if this causes some of the clunking?

I'm not sure the pic's show much but here's a few of drivers side.

 

[03envoy]

I am not much help. But my UCA's look very similar in gap size to yours. Between bolt, bushings, and so on. Sorry I am not much help.

 

[BRomanJr]

If the bolts are loose, then see if tightening them quiets it down. The bolts tighten onto sleeves, so no adjustment.

If the bolts are tight and you still have play near the bushings that produces noise, then they are bad.

You can replace the bushings in your existing arms or buy new arms with bushings included. (I did the latter)

In my case the front bushing on both upper arms were clunking when I bought my truck.

 

[The_Roadie]

The UCA mounting bolt torque spec is 111 ft-lbs. The only similar bolts with a higher spec are the three LCA bracket bolts at 177 ft-lbs.

The alignment shop should have wiggled the tire and noticed any looseness in the bushings or the bolts before performing the alignment. The bushings could have deteriorated, and make noise, even with tight bolts. But new entire UCAs are only around $50 each in the aftermarket. I always carry a spare or two.

 

[Denali n DOO]

All the UCA bolts were torqued properly so that wasn't the problem, however I put some grease into the right front stabilizer link (that was replaced last July) and I haven't noticed the clunking since. Could lack of grease really be the culprit?

 

[Old Coot]

Proper lubrication can fix many problems and prevent many others in mechanical devices.