I recently bought the truck. It has a bad intermittent right front wheel hop. It does it between 45 and 25 while slowing down. It doesn't matter if I hit a bump or pothole. Some times it will, some times it won't. It has a 6 inch suspension lift and a 3 inch body lift. It has dual front shocks. The right front shock is slightly bent. I thought it might be locked up but it seems to move freely. I don't want to throw parts at it. If it's something serious, I'll just sell it. I have a feeling it might be the shocks but the way it's intermittent, I'm not sure if it is. I don't want to spend $55 a shock if it's not the problem. Please help me fix this headache. It's to the point that when it does it, I slam on the brakes and rage! This truck is not on my good list of (vehicles I've had)... Oh, I have never used the 4WD but the hubs are free. Also, the frame has been patched on the passenger side where the fender meets the door. I don't know if maybe the frame is flexing but what could cause it to start hopping. It's so intermittent that I can't pinpoint what is causing it to start hopping. Thanks in advance!!!

 

If you want to eliminate the shock as the problem for free just switch it to the other side. If the problem moves with the shock then there you go. Also if you have never used the 4wd system then you should get in the habit of using it at least every other month for a few miles. If you leave it disengaged for long periods of time the linkages can seize up. Mine was siezed when I bough it. Since I identified the issue immediately the seller agreed to fix it and told me he wasn't even aware it didn't work because HE never used it.

 

also check to make sure you don't have a broken/worn/defective/detached front brake pad that is grabbing.

 

I didn't even think about the brakes. I have noticed that when I hit the brakes, I can feel the right front grabbing more than the left. It's not enough to pull the wheel though. I didn't know the brakes could cause a wheel hop. Do you think it could be a combination of the brakes and the shocks? I know the shocks need to be replaced but I didn't know wheel hop could be from a loose shock. I thought it was from a rigid shock. some of the shocks do have oil on them. I guess I will just do the brakes and replace the shocks. Thanks for the advice! I am glad they have websites like this so we can help each other. This is the first time I have ever used a forum sight and I love it!

 

Check the brakes, if a pad is locking up for some reason it might cause the wheel to stop and the vehicle's inertia would force the anti lock to kick in causing a grab and release pulsing. what effect that would have on a vehicle as lifted as yours I do not know. It could be a combination of both or neither, but checking the things that are easily and cheaply replaced is always a good place to start. Also if you just bought the truck recently check with the previous owner. Good luck.

 

also, when you say "hop" do you mean that the front tire is actually lifting off of the ground, I mean visibly the hood rises and the truck bounces?

 

Then replace them! What size tires are you running? With the lift I am assuming something large and heavy, with worn shocks it doesnt take much imbalance to get an axle hopping. It will happen at different speed ranges due to the frequency of the vibration changing with the speed.

Scott

 

Ok, the brakes checked out ok. I got to looking at the undercarriage and the cross member has a crack above and below where the drivers side axle bolts to it. I don't know if it could contribute to that much wheel hop but I'm no expert. It doesn't make sense that the pass front would hop when the crack is on the driver's side axle. The reason I haven't replaced the shocks is because I don't have the money yet. I spent all I had on the truck under the impression that it was a reliable truck. I found some Rancho shocks at Chux Trux for $50 so I will have to save a little to get them. I have two boys so money is pretty thin. I did find out from the previous owner that it had been wrecked on the passenger side. He wasn't aware of the wheel hop. When I say wheel hop, I mean the front right tire bounces at an incredibly fast rate causing the whole truck to shake uncontrollably. I have to slow it down to 20 to get it to stop shaking. It doesn't seem to get the wheel off the ground but when it does it, everyone behind me slows to a stop so it must look pretty gnarly from behind. I will try to swap shocks on my next day off. Thanks for all the help! I do appreciate it. More than you know.

 

Have you checked tire balance and if the tire is out of round? All 4 of mine have flat spots and they shake at intermittent speeds. I have a set of lightning wheels with good tires to fl on, just need to find the time

 

I totally agree with Scott.
If your shocks are bad then that's deffinatly your problem. My truck did the exact same thing when the upper shock bushings blew out meaning that there was no bushing left at all.
I realize money is an issue but if you don't replace the shocks soon then it will cup the tire all the way across the tread if it hasn't already (which snowballs the "hopping" condition).

 

I doubt the cracks in the frame would have an effect on the hopping issue you are experiencing. If the cracks are severe enough it may have some effect, at any rate you should try to get that fixed as well. What I have done in the past is to drill a small hole at both ends of the crack, then open it up with a cut off wheel; lay a weld bead in there to close it back up. To lessen the chances of more cracks forming I like to lay a piece of 1/8" or thicker plate steel over the top of the areas where the drop brackets bolt in. This is a fairly common occurance on lifted 1980-96 F150s and Broncos, typically due to harsh off road use. When lifted the drop brackets put a lot of stress on the front crossmember. This is one of the reasons many owners choose to swap out the factory Twin Traction Beam (TTB) front end for the 79 and older F150/ Bronco straight axle. This swap can be expensive if you don't have mechanical or fabrication skills.
Anyway I would start out by repairing the cracks in the crossmember, then do a thorough nut and bolt check on all fasteners in the front end and all the lift kit components. Inspect the TTB pivot bushings and radius arm bushings, make sure they're not smashed, cracked, or missing. Jack the truck up check the ball joints, tie rods, and wheel bearings for wear and looseness. It sounds like you bought a truck that was beat up on a bit, I wouldn't let that scare you away from it. These trucks are fairly inexpensive to repair and easy to work on, don't give up just yet. Hope this helps, and good luck!
John

 

No one has mentioned it yet, but, now would be a good time to check out the ball joints and tie rod ends..

 

When I got it the right lower ball joint nut was loose from when the previous owner replaced the radius arm...from a wreck... It has dual front shocks. I took the right front shock off and it is slightly bent and locked up. I thought surely it was the problem. I took it for a test drive and it still does it. It is so difficult to explain what is happening.
When I accelerate, I don't have a problem. When I push the brakes between 45 and 30, the right front bounces violently. It won't do it every time. It's not a matter of how hard I hit the brakes either. It's to the point that the truck feels like it's flexing in the middle. I have to slow it down to 20 to get it to stop bouncing. It doesn't feel like it's bouncing the tire off the ground. It just bounces the whole right front corner extremely fast. It's bad enough that people around me almost come to a complete stop when it does it. I am getting discouraged because it seems like I bought a lemon. I have hopes that it's something simple but I am starting to doubt that.
It is a 1988 F150 4X4 with a 6 inch suspension lift, and a 3 inch body lift. It has 35 12.50 15's on 15X12.50 American Racing wheels. It has a 302 and it does still have the TTB front axle.
I checked the front end components and tightened all nuts and bolts. I don't think the steering damper could be a contributing factor but the bracket on the frame was loose. The tires are balanced to "00" "00". They are beginning to cup a little but I am not driving it any more until this problem is fixed or sold.

 

If it happens every time you hit the brakes i would look harder at the calipers and all other braking components. I am sure your shocks are making it worse but I would be surprised if they are the cause unless its happening when you hit bumps.

My guess is the front brake is locking up or engaging really hard on the one side causing the front to get unsettled and because your shocks are toast its bouncing and not stopping till the springs settle or you slow down

 

wheel hop like that wheel come from a loose hub or from fault brakes being this only happens when you hit the brakes and is intermintant i would bet the brakes check to make sure nothing has worked it way loose ie the calipers or anything else if everything is tight and nothing is loose it sounds to me like you have a caliper that is starting to seiz on you if it is a dual piston then only one side of the caliper is seizing the reason it is not constistant is maybe due to temp of the caliper or something of that effect another cause would be the rubber flex brake line the break down inside and it could be to the point were its a small fllap getting stuck blocking it either way it sounds like one of those two things and the crack on the other side could have come frome a million things. Like it a lifted 4x4 truck iam sure someone took off across a field in it