When the temperature drops below about 20, my front end clunks when I change direction. It's hard to expand beyond that without hearing it. I took it to the dealership and $750 later, and a new pair of tie rod ends (at 40,000 miles) and it still returns when the temperature drops. It is a 2 wheel drive model, so the CV joint issue can be ruled out also. Anyone else with a similar experience? Any thoughts on solutions? I don't want to keep throwing money at things that clearly aren't the issue.

 

Front sway bar may clunk due to a worn bushing. A friend of mine had an Escape that clunked when turning. It was the sway bar.

 

Often when the temp drops many of the rubber bushings on the front end are stiff and formed in whatever position you left it. As you turn it forces the parts to bump past the flat spot and make noise. At 44K miles you shouldn't have needed tie rod ends. My F-250 has the factory ones on it from 1970 and 239K miles.