How do i know when calipers need replacing

Take the brakes apart & clean up all rust,check everything out
& lube things when putting back together
Have to do that at least once a year

Don't need machining every year or new pads, but have to knock
down the edge on the rotors & get rid of rust & lube (anti-seize on
everything but inside the caliper slide bolts, there you use the synthetic caliper lube

The clunk could be worn drive axle joints or drive shaft joints
or shocks
When your on the brakes or hit bumps your loading things differently & the clunk goes away

The noise you are hearing are bad struts.

at times the pins wear and you need to replace them and the bracket they ride in a rebuilt caliper might be cheaper to replace

The first thing that pops into my head is a bad ball joint or a broken sway bar link, bad sway bar bushing, or a missing bushing in the link itself.

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_d728a59f986299fa

i think you should look at your tie rodds or more then likly its you rcv joint know to test if it;s that walk to the wheel (make sure the is straight) and give it a good kick if you hear that noise then you need cv joints hope this helps

Front hub bearing. If you were the one who replaced the pads you should have turned the hub while the caliper was off and checked for roughness or wobble. Imagine the rotor wandering from side to side and rubbing the pads; thats what a worn hub will do.

Check the front struts ( shock absorber ) If original or very old, they are doing no good. Also check the front TORSION BAR rubber bushings. In low temps will groan and creak, on up and down motions.

The noise is caused by the axle button being worn out, this lets the axle move back and forth and clunk, this is a unique problem with C clip retained axles, it is a noise issue but will not fail and cause any more damage, in order to fix it you must have the axles pulled and the diff carrier checked for excess wear where the axle retainning C clip rides, if the carrier is ok then replace the axles.

I had the same problem with my 2002 Town and Country Limited. I took it to the mechanic and had the sway bar links and ball joints replaced and still had the same clunking noise when going over bumps at low speeds. The van sounded great on the highway, but country roads were horrible. I was about to replace the struts and pay another 700 dollars when i read somewhere that the sway bar bushings could wear and cause the noise. I took it to the mechanic and he said absolutely not it would be a waste of money. Being the stubborn guy I am, I went to NAPA and bought the two bushings for 12 dollars and replaced them myself in an hour. I took the van for a test ride and the noise is completely gone. Please ignore your mechanic and replace the bushings ASAP! Pretty cheap try even if it doesn't work.

This noise is caused by the bushings in the brake calipers being worn out