All,
I have a 2011 F-350 CCSB 4x4 w/ 20" Wheels and the electronic locker. I have had for some time a noise when I go over small bumps (pulling into garage up a 1" lip) at slow speeds. It sounds/feels like side to side movement. I have traced this down to what sounds like looseness inside the rear differential.
To recreate, I lay down and shove hard on the spare tire. This pushes the truck side to side. I can hear a clank/clunk at both wheels around the brake area.
Anybody else seen anything like this? I'll be discussing with the dealer tomorrow.

 

Interesting. If you can make the sound and demonstrate the problem, you should have no issue at the dealer.

Please keep us informed.

 

Hmmm, for the last month or so I thought I heard something that might have been like cab bolts did back in the older 80's Chevyies had. Sorry I had no choice because it was the tow trucks I had to drive back then.

I've been carrying so much stuff in my bed I wasn't sure, so this weekend I finally got all my "projects" done and truck cleaned out. Today at lunch I though I heard the same clunk again pulling into the cafe parking lot.

I'm interested and curious now too.

 

I went by the dealer today and drove with the tech. I actually have two noises but I suppose they could be related? I was able to demonstrate both to the tech. I will be dropping it off tomorow afternoon for him to start on. I do have Bilstein shocks which he did ask about. He said they had another similiar issue on another truck and it turned out to be a bad shock. We'll see where it goes. I will report back later this week.

 

Update:
-There are two noises that I asked the dealer to look at. The first is the side to side clank/clunk. This is most noticeable when going over small bumps, such as pulling into my garage and slowly going up the 2" or so step up into the garage. I can hear and feel this. The dealer was able to duplicate this issue by shoving hard on the top side of a rear tire. The clanking noise can be heard from either rear wheel hub/brake area. However, they can find nothing wrong and said it happens on the other 2011 trucks they had there in for service. They could not get it to happen on the 2012 new trucks on the lot... They are supposed to get a area field rep to come and look/drive the truck.
-The second noise is a clunk when driving 40+ and crossing some sort of bump in the road which causes the rear suspension to compress down significantly. The tech believes this issue is my Bilstein 5100 shocks bottoming out on the rear of the truck. He pulled a new Ford/Rancho shock and my left rear shock off and the factory shock has an additional 4" of compression travel. I'm not sure what to think about this as I had these exact same shocks on my 2008 F-250 and I have verified the part numbers are the same between them.
-They did flash the computer with the new NOX recall.

 

As a truck gets miles, the rear brgs seat in,giving it just a slight play which will make a clunk side to side. the new 12s havent been driven yet. imo.

 

I understand this, though I only have 25k on it. The 08 250 I had had 60k on it when I sold it and didn't have any of this.

I have the 20" wheels, thus no rear stabilizer bar. Any thoughts on whether adding a rear sway bar would correct some of this? I will also be adding airbags shortly.

 

I noticed a similar noise after I installed the rear factory stabilizer set up. I've checked all the hardware and nothing seems to be loose. The only think I think it could be is the bolt to the frame on the drivers side. It's between the frame and def tank and difficult to get at with any leverage, that might be my issue.

 

note that the rear springs on the 11- up 250s are a lot softer than the prior years and would lead to more axle travel over the same bumps..

Sam

 

I’m still fighting this noise. I know it is not major, but it is driving me nuts and I should not be dealing with this kind of stuff on a one year old truck…<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
I’m curious if others are experiencing this issue. Have someone get in the bed of the truck and shake it side to side, heavily. You will likely hear some clunking coming from the rear wheel hub area. This is to some extent normal, but not cool. However, the clunking/clank I am hearing and feeling seems to be coming from the springs. Specifically, between the two layers at the front/rear hanger areas. Stick your head above the wheel and listen and watch.<o></o>
To duplicate this while driving, go over small changes in the road, at an angle. I experience this while pulling into my garage and going over the garage floor “step-up”, if I pull in at an angle. I also experience this while turning into my alley or some parking lots.<o></o>
Take a look at the video…<o></o>
20120517_184701.mp4 - YouTube

 

that sounds awful! I just went out and shook the crap out of my truck. It doesn't sound like that at all!

 

Wow !!! That needs to be fixed! I have had a '11 250 and have a '11 350. The trucks never made that noise or any other in the rear. Just a thought but did they make sure all the bolts were tight?

 

Yea, I have the same problem. When I travel on a dirt (bumpy) road at 5 MPH I hear this cluncking noise. It sounds like a loose pipe under the bed of the truck. It seems to be on the left side. (drivers side).
The dealer "looked" under there but "everything was okay". I never that the feeling it was a side to side movement. I have 17K miles.

I haven't made an issue of it yet as I am waiting for this NOX problem to be complete. Ford says that I need three solenoids, and they have none in stock. It seems one of the solenoids will be hard to get. They told me to wait for 2 weeks.

ken

 

Update:

There are two noises that I am hearing from the rear end of the truck. The first is kind of a clunk from the left rear when going over bumps in the road where the suspension compresses significantly. The mechanic believes this is caused from my Bilstein shocks. He removed my shock and also removed a shock from a new truck. He explained that the Bilstein shock bottoms out about 4” sooner than the factory shock.

The second noise was caused by the leaf springs. They two main leaf springs would turn side to side against each other. They would clunk/clank when they hit “holder” brackets which keep them aligned. The dealer ordered new inserts to go between the springs. (Part # 2C3Z*5586*AA) They also applied lube between the springs. The mechanic said it looked like these parts had been redesigned and the invoice refers to SSM 22281.

I still have the other clunk from the first noise. I installed Firestone Ride-Rite airbags and the Airlift wireless compressor yesterday. If the noise persist, I’ll attempt to locate some factory shocks to install and retest.

 

4"? If that were true, you would really get a jolt besides just a noise, and I would have to believe that the shock would grenade from the force. I find that explanation hard to believe, unless you have put a lift on your truck, and ordered the wrong shocks.