So I have this strange noise while driving and it's only when I hit a bump or those annoying lines across he highway. It almost sounds like the front end is bottoming out. Within the past 3 years I have installed new ball joints, wheel bearings and sway bar bushings. All of which are still good. I have ad-a-leafs in the front the shocks are not original but are old. Not sure if it's a suspension issue or not. It's annoying to listen to. It does it whether I'm pulling a load or not. I need some ideas.

 

have you done any self diagnostics yet?bounced each corner?checked for broken springs?mounts?bushing bolts are still in there?leaking shocks?have someone turn the wheels from stop to stop while you watch articulation of suspension and steering components?anything look not right under there?

 

It's worth the time to pull and check the shocks. Had the same situation, turned out to be a bad shock.

 

I haven't checked all of that jgilrfr but I will. Its been difficult these last couple of weeks with the weather out here in SD negative temps are no fun when trying to investigate on your truck. Thanks for the info fellas.

 

believe me i know the feeling,not as bad here now but last year at this time i was pullin the heads and it was below zero for the highand no garage.Literally a friend and i were taking turns to disassemble it hands so cold in a few minutes you couldnt feel them.Keep us posted with what you find

 

I have a similar noise that I've been trying to isolate for a couple of years now. The rattle sounds like a loose bolt or shackle but everything is tight. Mine is on the right side and I think that it's the front axle but I can't definitively prove it. It's always there on the roads but when I'm in 4wd and under power on the trails the noise subsides and is gone except for some of the harder jolts on the trail but when I back off the pedal the rattle comes back. I've done a lot of the same things you have (ball joints, hubs, knuckle seals, shocks, sway bar end links, tie rods) and the noise still persists. My thoughts are that the passenger side front axle is so much longer (and only supported by the knuckle seal pressed on the stub shaft) that it has worn down the tolerances and is rattling around in the hub/locking hub. Again, I can't prove it and it's only my opinion.

With 265K on a 12 year old truck almost anything is possible at the age and use that it's seen I will keep troubleshooting until something breaks or I (hopefully) get a Dynatrac free-spin kit (I'm on my third set of OEM hubs and there WILL NOT be a fourth!!!)

 

I had front end clunk and pocket change jingle cured with new sway bar links. I also updated my e99 to the newer style when I did it.

 

I have that too, almost like a jingle on the right side. One shop thought it was coming from the bumper and driving lights. They R&R-ed both and replaced any rubber and re-torqued everything, cost me $300 and didn't fix a thing. Finally I ordered a Chassis Ear kit from Amazon and within 45 min I had it narrowed down to the pass side spring pack. Can't duplicate the noise with a hammer but it's there when driving. I read about a spring isolator kit you can get, but I am going to have my local spring shop look at it since I am wanting a couple inches of lift anyway.

 

Interesting. I kept coming back to my spring pack but couldn't reproduce the sound on the ground or in the air with a mallet or hammer. I replaced the spring pack a few years ago (turns out some of the Jeep trails are a little more than Ford tough) and thought one of the bolts was loose. Checked them an they were fine (front, shackle and u-joints). I know it's in the right side and my stub shaft has some wear on it where I had my hub's inner needle bearing disintegrate on me so best I can figure the shaft is rattling around with the play through the new needle bearing.


I will have to look into the chassis ear kit on Amazon. Thanks!

 

TheDon, have you figured anything out yet? I happened to notice your in Box Elder, I will be headed out that way later this week, probably Sunday, to start the spring semester of school at Tech. If you are still dealing with the problem and want some help, PM me, I would be happy to help, especially with stuff in the front end, as I think I may need to spend time in that area in the future, also, it would be nice to meet another FTE guy out where I reside 9 months out of the year.

Sorry I don't have any ideas for ya right now though...

Baatzy

 

Now you have me thinking about the axle, the noise is loudest on the spring pack near the axle tube. What would allow the axle to rattle around? When I did my ESOF vacuum seals I replaced the Torrington bearings.


When I get time I'll monkey with the Chassis ear some more.

 

Nope sorry fellas, I have not been able to check everything out on it yet. It's been so damn cold here, the negative temps have not let up yet and I don't have a shop or garage big enough to get the truck inside. Plus being Military my schedule is crazy at times. I'm hoping it's something simple like the shocks and not something in the axle. Baatzy I will PM you, thanks.

 

I had a slight grinding/rubbing sound and my auto lock hub (passenger side) would not come off for some time. When I finally tore into it my hub needle bearing had come apart spitting needles everywhere. This ground down the machined surface that the stub shaft rides on with the needle bearing (there was plenty more damage but this is the only pertinent part to this discussion). I bought just about everything but another shaft so I had to put it back in. I know there's plenty of room in there now for it to rattle around on the needle bearing and there's a "good amount" on play when I yank on the axle at the u-joint (noticeably more than the driver's side). It's always had more play (the axle is considerably longer with the pumpkin on the driver's side making it lots heavier), but now it's more pronounced.


As much as I love Dana Spicer, I wish they would have put a support bearing somewhere. Having most of the weight supported by the knuckle seal (made of rubber and metal) does not seem be the most durable idea in my driveway mechanic engineering thoughts...


I've still got to replace my hub and stub shaft (and all the seals and O-rings AGAIN) to get back up to 100%. I'm not in the mood for a 3rd set of OEM hubs in 7 years so I'm contemplating a Dynatrac free-spin conversion since it's going to cost half of that for OEM replacements anyway.


Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now...

 

Well just an update for you guys. I was finally able to get out and do some investigating on the front end. I have nothing significant to report. I have shook, twisted and pushed on everything I could think of on the front end. Nothing is missing, loose or out of place. The only thing I found was my bumper bolts were a little loose and so was my brush guard. I had it on jacks and checked ball joints, wheel bearings, the hubs, sway bar bushings, leaf springs, shocks, tie rods, steering linkage etc. I'm totally tapped out with ideas of what could be causing this noise. I can't duplicate it when it's motionless. I was hoping it would be the shocks since they are about 7 years old, it could still be but I can't find anything wrong with them. You guys have any other ideas?

 

So just another update for you all. I installed new 4600 series Bilsteins. The front end noise is gone. There was a drastic difference in ride quality as soon as I got on the road. The only thing that has me scratching my head still, is the back end is making the same noise the front was making, even with new shocks installed. Now I do have a load in the back because I'm getting ready to move at the end of the week, but I only have about 1,000lbs back there. Not sure if the springs are hitting the stops when I go over dips and bumps in the road. But that is the only time you hear the noise is when you go over bumps and dips.