I never did figure out what was causing it. It hasn't progressed any worse, so I'm just not going to worry about it. It mostly happens when it's wet outside or when the weight of the truck shifts through an uneven surface .

 

Cool thanks. I've got a dealer oil change next week so ill see what they have to say and post if i learn anything.

 

Yeah, if they say anything useful please share.

 

During a google search for my problem I found this thread and I signed up to this website for the sole purpose and trying to relay what I found out on friday was wrong with my truck to you. I have a 2013 f250 SD 6.2 3.73 Lariat. Everything is factory with 1460 miles on the clock. After a few weeks of driving it I noticed a slight sound while at low speeds in parking lots. The more I drove the truck the more pronoticed the sound has become. Now the sound has leveled off on loudness, and you can clearly hear a pop and feel a pop in the steering wheel. I checked all U Joints in the steering column everything check good. Drove the truck some more than I finally found a good way to check it. While on dry concret at a stop idling, shake the wheel back and forth. I had my wife do this while I went under the front of the truck and sure enough there it was. It was the drag link Ball Joint that connects the drag link to the PITMAN ARM. This drag link I am talking about has the Steering Shock Stabilizer on it "shimmy shock" The ball joint has excessive wear on it and you can visualy see movement and seperation as the steering is worked back and forth, you can also hear and feel the pop sound through the drag link bar when you place your hand on it. So one day when you have a friend around check this out. My dealer told me friday that it was a "common" issue and they have also seen steering jacks make and exhibit this same sound. EDIT forgot to mention I am going in on Monday to get the drag link replaced. I will post back an update

 

Yeah, my popping has come back and fairly consistent on my truck now. I don't really give a crap about it anymore, since my truck hasn't broken yet. Actually, when I drive the truck over very rough terrain, it makes 1 big pop, and then doesn't do it for the rest of the day. If you find a personably fix, let me know.

 

Well, just got back from the dealership today, replaced lower drag link and ball joint it was all one peice from factory. It made my truck steering wheel tighter in relation to steering wheel play before the wheels start turning. The poping sound is still there ONLY when sitting and idling. It doesn't do it any longer while driving or slow speeds. Time for Grease?

 

Update, took the truck back to the dealer again today. They recommended that the steering shaft that contains the u joints and slip joint to be replaced. I am not convinced that this is the issue but I will keep posting up untill the problem is fixed. Parts should be here some time next week. Stay tuned

 

Ok, so I finally got around to taking the truck back to the dealer and getting the upper and lower steering shaft replaced. The truck is still doing the exact same thing it was doing before with no improvements. So we jump into a brand new pickup like mine 2.6 miles on the clock, and it does the same exact thing as mine started out doing when it was new. Must be nature of them pickups to have a pop in them when steering has alot of pressure on it. I.E. Sitting still not moving and turning the steering wheel left to right, or in parking lots slow moving running over speed bumps or in extreme hard fast left/right turns

 

My truck actually stopped popping for no reason when steering. The only time my truck pops is if I hit a curb or harsh bump, but doesn't continue after that. I don't know what made it stop but it seems like it stopped ever since I went mud riding in a rough crawfish pond. Guess the truck likes being drove hard.

 

So the moral of the story is???????
Mine makes the popping noise also but not very often and not very loud. I don't quite have 5K on it yet and it has been doing it for at last a couple thousand miles. Do I bother taking it in or just chalk it up to a Super Duty quirk.

 

I am just taking it as a quirk for now. I'll probably bring it in for the issue sometime before the 3yr bumper-to-bumper expires, to have the issue on file...so they either fix it or have it down as an issue, so it's still gets covered even after expired.

 

Well I brought my truck in to another dealership for some regular maintenance and for them to look into a couple other small things. I didn't go to the same old dealership bc i'm tired of their half *ss service.

btw, my truck hasn't really made the popping noise the past couple months.

One of the items I wanted them to look into was when steering my truck, I noticed that when turning to the left and then straightening up, my steering wheel is at 10:30-11 o'clock (same direction as when the pop would occur). When I steer to the right and then straighten, the wheel is perfectly at 12 o'clock. This bugged me bc I'm **** about my truck and thought something in the linkage could be loose.

The tech called me and said he was hearing a popping when test driving my truck (must have come back for him) and said he investigated. He found that my Steering Box was defective and the linkage was bad at the pitman arm. He said it was so bad, he didn't think my truck was even safe to drive, while waiting on the replacement part to arrive. They gave me a rental instead. I asked if something could have caused this problem, and he said it was likely just a defective part from the factory.

I can only assume that this is directly related to the popping noise I use to hear. When I use to hear the popping, my steering wheel never had slop and drove straight always aligned at 12 o'clock. I hadn't really heard the popping noise for the past couple months, and I don't really know when the 'slop' showed up in my steering wheel. I know its been there for over a month.

I think that the popping was from the steering box and stopped once the problem got worse....leading to the slop in the steering wheel.....which could have lead to catastrophic failure if left alone. Good thing I'm **** about my truck, might have saved me and my family's lives.

 

Hi RAPR,

Let me know how the repair goes. It sounds like this dealership is working hard to get this addressed, but send me a PM if you need any assistance resolving your concern. Be sure to include your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name.

Crystal

 

Hello, I have a Carli 2.5 pintop lift on my truck and I'm having the same problems. Would this be covered under warranty since I installed a lift kit. Truck has 6000 miles..

 

It looks like my popping noise has come back, after driving my truck a couple thousand miles. I wish I knew what was causing this. I have noticed something different underneath my truck. A bracket that use to be on the track bar isn't there anymore. I'm not sure when it disappeared. I don't know if the shop removed it, or if it broke off. I don't drive my truck that hard, as it is 99% on asphalt.


Below is a picture of when I had a picture of the track bar with the bracket in place, before any popping ever started


Below is a current picture of my track bar, with the missing bracket. I also noticed the remaining bracket is rotated 180 degrees


This is a picture of someone else's truck, which matches the configuration of truck in my first picture.