ford had us move all the stuff out of the way and chisel the retainer off the rivet then pound it out then drill it out larger 1/2 inch i think and replace with a bolt they supplied. it was extremely important to move all the stuff out of the way to drill stright or the noise would reappear.

 

i cured this on my 1990 4x4 by tightining the 2 bolts that hold the skid plate to the frame in the front

the noise is gone

 

Just greased the splines in the transfercase and no more "clonk"in the rear.

 

I have a 97 f-150 with this annoying clunk also, everyone tells me it the bushings in the front end so thats what I have chocked it up to. Replaced all my tierods and lower balljoints and it still clunks. Next I'll try replacing the bushings and see what happens.

 

hey, good idea.

 

Sorry it took me so long to answer, I changed the pads and now it does it occassionally, sorry, I couldnt cure it completely