This is going to sound extremely stupid, and it is. But I was tightening my left strut bar and I accidentally dropped the nut off the ratchet under the engine, directly underneath the supercharger side. It didn't hit the ground so I spent hours trying to find the damn thing but I couldn't. Now everytime I put the car in gear, hit a speed bump, brake, turn sharply I hear this loud clunk front the driver front corner, so I'm thinking it got stuck or wedged somewhere. Springs? I have no clue, I can't seem to locate it. It has to be the nut because the sound happening immediety after is much too coencedencial for something else to be causing it. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

A nut from a strut is not going to cause a loud clunk, maybe a little rattle, but not a loud noise. And there are limited areas it could get "wedged" to cause an issue (such as damage or dis-lodging a part).

My impression of you comments is that you have something else going on in the front end. My first guess, inspect the sway bar and see if it's damaged. Also inspect the sway linkages to see if they are damaged.

 

It wasn't the nut from the swaybar it was the bolt off the head of the ratchet, much larger. I mean this noise literally started happening as soon as I did that and I haven't heard it fall out. My swaybar and links are fine but I do know that my control arms need to be replaced.

 

Unless that bolt weighs in the pounds, it too would make more of a rattle, not a clunk. You mentioned this happened when tightening a strut bar? Do you mean a diagonal brace? If so then this is a bolt from the diagonal brace. If it fell anywhere from under the hood, it would not get on a coil spring or strut. Most likely possibly places it might be:
- Resting on the transmission
- the aluminum Sub-frame
- lower control arm
- Under/around the air box or battery (depending on which side you were doing).

I honestly don't know where a bolt could get lodged to prompt an issue of creating a loud clunk. I've never driven the Monte missing a bolt to a diagonal brace. Perhaps that clunk is flex from the body??

I think the best thing to do is get a magnetic wand from the parts store and begin looking for the missing bolt. But if you have more then a rattle and it's truly a full out clunk noise, I think you have something else going on. If the sway and end links are intact, check for a damaged coil spring, perhaps the vertical bushing in a lower control arm is developing problems, or damage to the subframe. Just drawing at possible ideas.

 

Perhaps you have a strut going out........

 

Well I tightened the left diagonal bar and it's the right side that's makin the sound. I'm replacing my control arms and bushings in a couple weeks so we'll see.

 

When I put my K&N in the Duece I did tighten up the Diaginal fender brace tight enough and I got a "clunk" noise too. Them suckers got to be tight