Ever since I have owned my 01 tracker I have noticed a knock in the front end. I have jacked it up and did all the usual check for ball joint's, tierod's, and linkages. But can not find anything with play in it. I get the knock on gravel roads and any washboard type bumps. Any suggestions on what could be wrong?

i had a weird noise coming from my front end. Would happen over small bumps that would quickly "jostle" the suspension. It turned out to be my passenger side strut was completely blown, the upper strut mount was also questionable.

Agreed.  I would closely inspect the strut mount.  I had a "catastrophic" strut failure where the collar of the mount completely separated from the strut mount housing.   The rubber was actually sheared.  When I removed the strut mount I discovered the PO had replaced the large washer that is supposed to be on the top of the strut shaft against the bottom of the strut mount with a much smaller diameter washer that apparently didn't have the correct hole in it as well.  Long story short... a bad or ruined strut mount will give you plenty of noise.

On another occasion I found the large rubber bushing that should be under the washer and nut securing the strut inside the hood was missing.  Some one failed to replace the bushing when they replaced the strut on that side. This can allow the metal washer to impact on the strut mount frame when you hit bumps and transmit the jarring noise into the body of your truck.

You can visually check for a missing strut bushing.  Just compare both sides. If your strut mount is badly worn, there should be a very visible 'off-center position' to the top of the strut mount as well.

thanks I'll check the strut mounts this weekend if it get nice out. Is there any why to check struts and strut mounts other then visually. When ever i had a bad strut on any other vehicle they would leak fluid or the suspension would get real springy. thanks for the input i'm doing a lift with in the next couple of weeks so I'll get a real good look at all the mount.

You are correct.  The struts will leak oil when the seals give up the ghost.  Very visible.  Other than the points mentioned... I am not aware of any other visual factors.  Simply "bouncing on the bumper" isn't a reliable check of function.  Bouncing continues to be a habit, though.

Mine was leaking for a while, and like the smrt guy i am i ignored it for some time.

I eventually put it up on the hoist to have a closer look. I grabbed the strut just above the wheel and i could move it in and out several inches. I had constantly variable camber adjustment!  Like i said, it was totally blown and other then the noise (the clunk) i had no idea.

You could do the same check in your driveway with any floor jack.

Simply "bouncing on the bumper" isn't a reliable check of function.  Bouncing continues to be a habit, though.

Sometimes I wonder if it ever was - I've been watching the right rear shock leak on my GV for the better part of a year now - it can't have much oil left in there, but when I "bounce on the bumper" (more like open the tail-gate and stand in the back) it stops after the first rebound - sometimes I think the size of the vehicle has an impact on the results.

I do have new shocks - just haven't fitted them yet - and hoping to scratch together the coin to pickup a pair of struts for the front as well.

I had a clunk in my front end that ended up being the joint that connects the anti-roll bar to the A-arm

Sway bar link.  Moog makes quality replacement for them.

I had a clunk in my front end that ended up being the joint that connects the anti-roll bar to the A-arm

Swaybar (anti-roll bar) related noises are usually easy to diagnose - they will be more likely to occur when one wheel moves up/down without the other - for example - if you roll over a speed-bump at an angle, one wheel will move upwards before the other, but if you roll over the same bump head on, they move up & down together - in fact, I used speed bumps to pin point a front end clunk to worn D bushes (the ones that secure the swaybar to the frame) a week or so back.