Clunking noise over rough pavement

[NYC-SE]

I swapped out the LCA bolts last week. The drivers side bolt looked OK with only a slight amount of surface rust. The passengers side, aka the side that was making the clunking noise, was in considerably worse shape. I suspected there may be a problem when I loosened the bolt and a stream of rusty water came pouring out. Not drops, a solid STREAM. I should mention that it had not rained for a week prior and that the preceding two days had a temperature of 80F. As you can see from the photo there was a significant amount of corrosion around the shaft close to the bolt head. The result of exposure to three relatively mild winters. I'm glad I caught it when I did, I would hate to see what a few more years would have brought.

Prior to installing the new LCA bolts I covered them with a thick coating of a high quality calcium sulfonate marine grade grease. Hopefully that will help to ward off future damage. Nevertheless I plan to remove and inspect them on an annual basis.

It has been 10 days since I did this and I have not had any clunking noise in that time so I think I can confidently say this was the cause. I specifically waited before posting because I wanted to be certain. Previously I would have typically had several episodes of clunking within that time frame.

So it goes without saying that this is still an issue with 3rd gen cars, regardless of what Toyota will tell you. The TSB needs to be updated and the warranty needs to be extended for 3rd gen cars as it was for the 2nd gen.

FYI for those who suspect this may be an issue with their car: The only symptom I had was the clunking noise. The car rode, handled, steered, braked fine. Everything that you could see of the front suspension looked fine too. That's the problem, the LCA bolts are hidden. If you are in a heavy salt area and you are clunking you need to check the LCA bolts.