Did you grease the driveshaft? You probably have to do it by smearing grease on the splines because I don't think they have zerk fittings on the slip joint.

 

Same here. 96 150 super cab 4x4. Was told it is the rear leaf springs i.e. weak springs allowing the axle to twist a bit prior to and after acceleration/braking. I have yet to replace due to time restrictions. I too checked all parts up front including replacement of engine mounts and checked tranny mount. Nothing. Still does it. Here is why I think that fellow is right about the rear springs............my truck sounds fine under load i.e. like with a scoop of mulch or 20 bags of quickcrete.

Just my two cents. Hopefully I will order the leafs and find out soon.

Take care.

 

when you're loaded down your driveshaft is compressed. That could still be the prob.

 

Thanks for the reply. In terms of my noise, it is not like a u joint clunk it is more like a shifting of steel noise or rubbing of steel on steel i.e. like you moved a very large all steel building one inch across a concrete floor.

As well, I just replaced the u joints two months ago, and my splines were cleaned and greased. This noise has been consistent for 6 months.

Wish it were that simple though ( :

JL

 

I don't and haven't had this problem with my truck I have just heard of a chronic problem with a clunking sound when starting and stopping with the Superduties, which is what I have, and the fix was to grease the rear slip joint and figured Ford probably has the same basic driveline design on all their trucks so it could be the prob with these as well. I don't know if the f-150's have grease fittings or not but the SD's don't so they get dry and clunk from what I hear. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful but your theory does seem sound.

 

I have the same pain in the a$$ noise on my '87 F250. It happens during a start or stop, and also when I flex the chassis when I'm off-roading. Driveshafts, leaf spring bushings, all ball joints, U-bolts are OK.

I believe the popping may be due to a loose frame crossmember. I actually found a loose crossmember rivet on my previous truck ('80 F150), and the popping noise went away when I replaced the rivet with a bolt.

This weekend I plan on tack-welding my engine crossmember to the frame just to see if the noise goes away. The noise is driving me nuts.

Scott

 

my clunk sounded like it was near the front ended up being spider gears.400$ and half a day later its fixed.

 

What are the spider gears?

 

What are the spider gears?

 

Part of the rear differential. They are part of the system that lets one tire spin faster than the other to go around corners.

 

Or the front differential if it's 4x4

 

"Same here. 96 150 super cab 4x4. Was told it is the rear leaf springs i.e. weak springs allowing the axle to twist a bit prior to and after acceleration/braking. "

I have this problem also. I would love to know what's causing it. It feels just like the wheels are loose. I checked the rear end for bearing play and that turned out fine. Spider gears? Well I guess that is not an easy swap so I hope it's something else.

 

A quick though for everyone, I know ford caliper design has changed a little so it might not apply for everyone. the front calipers ride on either a slide in spring steel piece,(my 81 f100 anyway) or on my 87 it has those little metal pieces with rubber inbetween. Either of those could be bad and allow the caliper to jolt back and forth. Another thing is that ford a a technical service bullet about mid late 90's f250 and 350 where the crossmember did move causing a popping noise so is might be that also, and the fix was to replace the rivit with a bolt. Well that should ad up to more than my 2 cents worth.

 

I had a clunking noise when I backed out of my driveway and stopped, then when I stopped at the first stop sign. It seemed to be after the first stop in foward or reverse. It ended up that my pads were moving in the caliper.

 

So how did you fix that one 98 Ford?

I'm thinking this is the clunk I hear in my truck.