I have a knock I hear from the front driver side going over bumps. I can't for the life of me figure out where it's coming from. Ball joints, shocks, outer tie rod ends, all replaced within last 8 months. Just replaced the idler arm today and it wasnt the problem. Other than the inner tie rods (going to go ahead and do that tomorrow, originals have 197K miles, as well as check the shock) is there anything I'm forgetting. Yes, I've resorted to throwing parts at a problem. Damn you death wobble.....

Thanks ahead for any suggestions.

 

stabalizer bar bushings and anchor bolts/ bushings ?

 

When a sway bar end link breaks in half it makes a noise going over bumps but there aren't many noticeable drivability issues.

 

I'll take a closer look at the sway bar links today. Thanks.

 

Anyone think this could be the torsion bar? I was shaking things around down there and it had a bit of movement and may be the knock/rattle.

 

Check the radius arm bushings where they connect to the frame they could be worn out which would make noise wwhen you hit a bump. That could also cause the death wobble.

 

tonight I think I may just crank it up a hair to see if it makes a difference.

 

check the 2 bolts that hold the caliper cradle to the spindle. i developed a knock over bumps after doing ball joints in my truck. those two bolts were loose and the caliper was moving causing the knock. (i know i tightened them)

 

Actually it sounds like the pitman arm. It's easy to miss this when the truck is jacked up, and all the linkage is hanging on that joint. Try a pc. of wood under the linkage, next to the arm, and pry it up a bit. Any movement at all, change the pitman arm.

I did mine 3 years ago, same exact problem.

Dave

 

Mine made a knocking noise for quite some time. It was the roters needing to be changed. The break assembly was making an extremely loud clanking noise, but that was the break assembly trying to grab on to a severely small roter cylinder. Hope this makes sense. Hope it's easy to fix.

 

My '99 F-150, 4.6 has had ALL of the above suspension ills at one time or another. Without being able to hear the knocking, it's hard to tell in an online type situation. However, ball joints & the pitman arm tend to have deep and fairly loud knocks, tie rod ends & idler arms fairly loud but higher pitched knocking ( as well as tire wearing), stabilizer links sound similar to the tie rods, but almost a rattling knock.

If you are checking around again, look at the shock bushings around the top mount. I have replaced several sets for myself and others that seemed to have rubber bushings that were too thin ? The top retaining nuts ran out of thread on the shaft before the bushings were compressed ( knocks every time.) This one is easier to find because the knock is higher pitched and comes from higher up in the front end than the rest.

Dave

 

The pitman arm sounds like a possibility. Replaced the rotors 6 months ago so thats not the issue, and the shock is good. In a bit of a war with the alignment shop.....I'll touch on that when I have more time..