Suspension (chassis?) popping noises........ball joints?

[whiteboyslo]

I'm getting a lot of popping/creaking noises from the front end of the truck lately. They seem to correlate mostly with accel/decel rather than actual suspension travel. I mostly hear it when coming to a stop, but it probably makes it other times, too, but I can't hear it because of road noise.

I greased everything with a fitting (all steering components), but it didn't go away. My guess is ball joints (no fittings), but maybe it's the radius arm bushings?

Mike

 

[laserjock]

I'd guess radius arm bushings letting it slop back and forth.

 

[HammerDown]

When I had that noise it was ball-joints...being DRY and wore out.
Jack the front wheel off the ground a few inches then take a loooog bar and put it under the tire...lift the other end of bar to see if the whole wheel has up/down movement. Mine was real bad

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

i would say radius arm bushings and or axle pivot bushings. would be worth it to do both at the same time.

 

[Houndsman]

I would have to tell you too look at your shock mounts make sure your bushing are still good? Let me know what you find there please

 

[whiteboyslo]

Shocks are less than a year old, so I would assume they're OK.

I'll check the ball joints using the method described.

Mike

 

[79jasper]

Besides what everyone else mentioned.

I know you said front end, but Do you possibly have a spare tire mounted under the bed?

What about your fender mount bolts?

 

[whiteboyslo]

Just to tie a bow on this......

Turns out it was the transmission crossmember. I let this go for a while since I'm not driving the truck all that often, but it was getting progressively worse, to the point that folks riding with me were getting concerned the whole frame was coming apart.

I did some research and came across TSB 97-3-10, which runs down this exact issue and all the things that could be wrong. I decided to give the transmission crossmember fix a shot since it was the quickest/easiest/cheapest, and it worked! Basically, all it entails is supporting the transmission, loosening all the crossmember hardware, cycling the steering a few times, and cinching everything back up using a specific torque sequence.

It's so nice to be back to driving something that doesn't sound like it's gonna fall apart at any moment!

Mike

 

[79jasper]

Now that you pinpointed it, my truck does it also. Probably exact same thing.
One side of mine was loose. Weirdly once I replaced my balljoints and tracbar bushings, it quit for awhile, then came back.
I tightened the bolts, and it barely does it now. Guessing the bolts are worn or I didn't get them tight enough.
Do you have the tsb #?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[whiteboyslo]

The TSB:https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...iQc9UnWYS0KOb8tyQ&sig2=fHBsy_YvBduxcNOqhmo6dw


Technically, it says to replace the hardware. I didn't go that far, but I did follow the torque sequence to the letter.

Mike

 

[rattleonby]

My truck makes a popping noise on sharp off camber turns. All of my joints have no play. I know ive heard of the transmission crossmember and the front crossmember by the engine causing this noise. My buddies uncle told me years ago Ford has a tsb on this and the fix was to weld the engine crossmember to the frame rails. Suddenly that noise i have isnt that loud anymore . Dont overlook your body mounts either, especially in a crew cab truck like mine these trucks like to flex lot when things get off camber.