My wife’s car (Mercury Villager has 170,000 miles) is making a clunking noise that I can feel through the steering column when driving, seems to be coming from the passenger side. It does it when driving straight and when coasting. I’ve recently replaced both outer tie rods, both drive axles about a year ago. The passenger side drive axle is showing some signs of grease leaking from the CV boot (outer). Can this be causing the clunk? Bad or worn drive axles make clicking or cluning noise only when turning right? I’m kind of suspecting that it’s a worn ball joint. Can this be the cause. How do I check the ball joints for defect or outer CV joint for defect? Can someone provide me with information on this? Thanks

 

repack the boot with grease... retighten anything... look for any signs of wear on those parts... doesn't sound like too much of a problem...