Hey everyone!! Love this site, been very helpful so far, just reading other posts on some of my issues. Now I have one more thing that I can't find anything on. I just bought this truck recently, and being a rather picky and particular guy, there is a few little minor issues that I'm trying to resolve. This one has me stumped. There is a fairly pronounced clunk/bang in the front end when going over bumps. Pretty sure its coming from the driver's side, you can't feel anything in the wheel, but you can in the floor/pedals. I've tried jacking the front end off the ground and wiggling everything and I can't find anything loose!! I checked the shocks, ball joints, etc, but nothing is loose. (and I checked both sides just to be sure) I'm wondering if anyone had anything similar or has any other ideas as to how I could go about diagnosing this noise!!
Also, I'm getting a fairly strong exhaust odor in the cab (not all the time though!?) Any ideas?
Thanks in advance everyone.

 

What motor do you have? What year?

For the clunk look at your cab bolts to make sure they are tight.

Look at your suspension components as well.

Exhaust smell maybe a misaligned exhaust pipe or something.

More details on engine type/model/year will help.

 

Holy smokes, I didn't expect a reply that quick!! lol, I was just updating my garage when you answered.
Anyways, should be updated but in case not, here's my info:
2003 Ford F250 Superduty XLT
Short box
Club cab (at least I think that's what they call it, rear suicide door on both sides. lol)
6.0 L powerstroke
Hypertech tuner
4" straight pipe exhaust (like that when I bought it 2 weeks ago)

Thanks for answering so quickly!!

 

Welcome

There's a forum just for 6.0L the engine that you should check out:
6.0L Power Stroke Diesel - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

And you should really work though this thread, even though you've already bought it you would be doing yourself a favor to look at everything:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...used-6-0l.html

And while you're here... do you have any kind of gauge set up? If not, that should become a priority.

The exhaust odor could be a leaking flange or a cracked flex joint in the up pipes, that's pretty common, but it might be a leak between the manifolds and the block. There's a few thread about this down in the 6.0L forum that you can search up to help you narrow it down.

 

Thanks for the links and advice. And yes, priority number one is to get full guages in the truck. Just a note: I'm running the truck as stock right now, because I want to get to know it, and see where it might be weak, but also because there is no guages and I don't like not knowing the amps, boost pressure, etc.

 

Exhaust leaking at the flex joints can be a common problem. Look for soot.

 

Also check the sway bar end links. Those can cause some clunking at times, but Scott's assessment seems more likely, cab bolts/body mounts.

Also, the extended cabs on the Fords more often than not referred to as the supercab. Club cab is more of a Dodge term I believe. Haa haa....

Post up some pics of the truck if you have any. Welcome to the site!

 

great looking superduty I really like a red truck probly stabalizer bar bushings or end links makeing that rattel good luck

 

Quote from OP "This one has me stumped. There is a fairly pronounced clunk/bang in the front end when going over bumps. Pretty sure its coming from the driver's side, you can't feel anything in the wheel, but you can in the floor/pedals."

Sway bar links for this problem, guaranteed, I have an '04 been there done that.

Here's the link I used from the forum https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/0/391/article

 

Well I just come in from my shop, (its been a long day!! lol) and figured I would give you guys an update.... the clunking sound turned out to be none other than a stabilizer bar bushing. Found one here in the city, problem solved. Thanks for all the great advice on that one everyone!! while laying under the truck for a while, I discovered the cause of the diesel smell in the cab, there is an exhaust manifold bolt missing! Again, thanks everyone for your input!

As usual when crawling around under over and all around a new-to-you truck, a couple more mysteries have unraveled.
I'm hoping that you're all not too tired of the new guy yet to give me a couple more pearls. lol

Mystery #1: The trailer wiring harness and the licence plate lights were ripped off somehow by the previous owner. While installing one that I found at an autowrecker, I came across 2 blue wires, one just a little bit darker than the other one. All the schematics that I could find show one blue (DB) for the trailer brake control. When the brake pedal is applied in the cab, I'm getting power on both wires. Am I missing something? Note, there is a brake control unit installed in the truck, but both of these blue wires are coming out of the factory harness.

Mystery #2: My radar detector has a smart power feature wherein it turns itself off if the power supply drops below 12V. The stupid thing kept turning off when stopped at a light, parking lot, etc., so I did a little investigating, and discovered that the truck (at the power outlet anyways) was dropping down to 11.2 at an idle, 12.8 at 40 km/hr, and 13.2 at 110 km/hr. Am I safe to assume that I better start shopping for a new genny? Do you recommend buying the bigger alternator like some say?

Any advice would be awesome and again thanks guys!!

 

Alternator maybe, but I wouldn't rule out a heavy load (like big-bass stereo) or bad batteries (assuming 2 batts because I don't know the 6.0). Have everything tested. If you are technically inclined, AutoEnginuity [LINK] with the Ford bundle has been a HUGE help to many a PSD owner.

 

My hitch used to clunk when I went over bumps. I made a spacer for it and installed it above the actual hitch to keep it from clunking when I went over bumps.