front end clunk in 00 protege.
 

Ok, my friends have a base model '00 protege. THey have 115000km's on it. Recently the car developed a clunk in the rear end. THey took it in and were told all the stabilizer bars on the car were shot and should be replaced. ( I am guessing my friend meant the bushings as bars rarely wear out) But they shelled out 400 to fix it. The clunk in the rear went away but now there is one in the front. Every time they hit a bump or come to a complete stop you can hear it. I figure it is the front lower ball joints. Any other opinions?

What I can't figure is, how did ball joints in a 00 wear out in just 115000km's (70000miles) Is this possible? Likely? To be expected?
Any comments?

Thanks
Stocker.

What I don't get is how your friend could get 115000 kms (70000 miles) in two years........ that takes full-time pizza delivering, and then some more.........

I bet you the problem is the steering box, it's a known problem on the protege's. Mine is getting changed next week.

She is a coffee shop manager. The store is probably 60-70 klicks one way. Sometimes she has to drive in twice a day. Works 6 days a week. Serious milage.

What exactly is the problem with the steering box? I don't think it would be that as the problem is dependant on road conditions, not steering.

The steering box "problem" (they wont say recall), is that many steerboxes have a large amount of play in them. Whenever you do a sharp turn on the wheel, there is a clunk coming from the box. When you go over any bump that puts a strain on the steering, you can get a clunking noise. That is why the dealer fixed mine, and he says that they have had quite a few with this problem. They call it a "quality control" problem.