I have a 2002 Extended Cab F150 2WD 5.4L 3.55 Open. I have recently begun to notice a clunking or "sounds like something mechanical shifting" when I come to a stop or take my foot off the brake before accelerating (as in, when the light turns green.) The shocks are shot, so, some of the noise when I stop is likely due to bounce back, but the noise when I take my foot off the brake is clearly not related to suspension relaxation.

I jacked up the front, passenger corner and checked the wheel play. I immediately noticed wheel play in both 12/6 and 9/3 hand positions. First thought was obviously ball joints, but when I looked more closely I found that the steering knuckle itself was not moving at all. (I only had one corner jacked up, so, the torsion bar might have been stabilizing the steering knuckle to some degree, but...nonetheless, the wheel play is still there.)

So, the wheel play is between the wheel/rotor, and the steering knuckle. To me this suggests wheel bearings. But, I'm not sure how much play is allowable between the wheel and the spindle. Should the rotor/wheel move at all with respect to the spindle/steering knuckle? How much is okay? Does movement suggest I need to replace the wheel bearings? (I installed the rotor and wheel bearings myself last year.)

-Kokomodo

 

There should be NO play in the bearing. From your description, catastrophic failure is imminent. Do not drive it until you change that hub assembly.

 

Does movement suggest I need to replace the wheel bearings? (I installed the rotor and wheel bearings myself last year.)...........

there should no no clearance........ how did you "adjust" the bearings last year.

 

When I installed the rotor, I tightened the nut down to seat the bearing, then backed off and tightened to - I think - 2 ft-lb. If you are suggesting that the castle nut may not be tight, I've got that on my list to check this morning. If the nuts are tight (ahem) and there is still play in the bearings, I will likely bail and have a shop check the bearings and rotors to ensure all parts are in spec and not worn prematurely. I don't remember the parts, but I do recall they were reputable and got great reviews.

 

This morning I checked the torque on the spindle nuts. Indeed the spindle nuts were too loose and were allowing the outer bearing and the washer to shift a bit as I pulled on the wheel. I do not have an ft-oz torque wrench, and so estimated the torque. I'm sure I did the same thing last time and obviously under estimated. I may have over estimated this time, but at least the play in the hub assembly is gone. I will invest in a new torque wrench as soon as possible.... I assume if the torque on the nut is too high gas mileage will go down and wheel bearing wear will go up. My ten year old asked an interesting question: if the torque on the right and left nuts are different, will the car pull to one side? I suppose in principle. But maybe I should just get an appropriate torque wrench.

Thank you for your help. If simply tightening up the nut is a bad idea, or is likely covering up some other problem, please feel free to keep responding.

-Kokomodo