I have a 2009 Ford Taurus, 3.5 V-6. 56,480 miles bought as a CPO used car from a Ford dealer. my problem is that it has a clunking coming from the front end. every time you drive it across a bumpy road or a dip, speed bump or the nose of the car goes up and down there is a clunk sounding like it is coming from the left front suspension. happens at low speeds and high, does not change when brakes are applied. I have jacked the car up and crawled around under looking for anything loose, I have not found anything or seen anything that looks worn or rubbing. Does anyone have an idea or suggestion before I break down and take it to a dealer for diagnostic?
Thank you for your time in advance
Take it to a reputable chassis shop. It’s more than likely either a strut mount or a bushing, but there are plenty to choose from. The only way to guess which one it is is under the car.
This is slightly off topic, but…
"I have jacked the car up and crawled around under looking for anything loose"
I hope you supported the car on jackstands before getting under the car. If not, please understand that relying on a standard car jack is not safe. A pair of jackstands will cost less than a ride in an ambulance, the hospital stay, surgery, rehab, lost income, etc…
I will ad to Western’s excellent comments by saying that finding clunking usually requires vigorously shaking some parts, like sway bars, struts, steering links and whatever. You do NOT want to do this lying under the vehicle doing this, especially on jackstands.
I have had a jack break on me as I was raising my car, so I agree with the advice not to get under the car if a jack is all that is supporting it. Thankfully, I wasn’t under the car, I hadn’t raised it that high, and I hadn’t taken the wheel off yet for the brake job.
My favorite accessory for non-wheel related repairs is my set of ramps.
If it’s still under a warranty, then take it back to where you bought it. If not, find a local independent shop which specializes in alignment and “front end” repair (same thing as the chassis shop that Mountainbike suggested). In the absence of a specialist, then look for a general shop - locally owned rather than a national chain - to troubleshoot.
Front sway bar links can make a clunking noise when they’re worn.
Used to have the same generation Taurus. With the same noise, kinda a rattling clunk? Upper strut mount. Easy fix.
for those who were worried about the safety of my person, Thank you! but I do not have a death wish. So yes It was jacked stands, blocked tires and shook roughly before I ventured beneath the vehicle, Learned that lesson the hard way in high school shop class, lost a good friend that way!!! besides now I am a nurse and do not wish to be a patient of stupidity. shock strut sound about what I came up with!! just like to diagnose my probs with my car before I take it to a mechanic, that way I have an idea of cost before I start! Again thank you for the caution and the suggestions.
Thanks to every ones comments, I took my Taurus to the dealer by my house – not where I bought it. They said I had wreaked the car, because it needed a complete new left strut assembly, hub assembly, CV axel, steering and has a cracked K-member!!! I had to bring in all the paperwork I had when I bought the car, showed that I have only put 6000 miles on it, showed that I bought it as a CPO “certified pre-owned” vehicle. Got the report from vehicle purchase from ford on rental sales, it showed that the car was in a minor fender bender??? so now the dealer that I bought it from is having to give the dealer by where I live a new car to replace my vehicle that I purchased at the same price that I originally purchased my vehicle for. so out of all this headache I now finally get a new 2013 Taurus fully loaded at my original monthly payments.
Thank you for the follow up post…and congratulations! This is the first time I’ve heard of this level of reconciliation from a problem with a used car. Your success is highly unusual.
Happy motoring.
Thanks for the followup report. I’m very glad you are no longer driving a car with such serious problems with the critically important suspension and steering components.
But I’m confused - if I understand your post, you have ended up with a brand new vehicle, though you had paid for a 2009 model? Why such a sweet deal?
@lincolnlvn I’m glad to hear that somebody decided to do the right thing. It is unfortunate that we don’t hear such stories too often.
The lingering question in regards to that monthly payment is exactly how many payments are we talking about when comparing old the the new?
Dealers know that monthly payment amounts are what most car buyers live and die by so numbers are crunched (some might say skewed) to keep the monthly payment the same with the final total being shoved to the rear out of sight… 
There was some Yahoo story the other day about a lady in FL financing a 2013 Camry (almost 1 model year old new or not) for 97 months or something like that; and at 450 a month. Ouch, ouch, and ouch.