Hey guys,
I have a 2004 F-350 Crew 6.0 with the leaf sprung front end. Truck has just over 100K and I've really made an effort to make improvements to ride and handling as I plan to keep the truck for another 3-4 years(new trucks are so damn expensive)
I've replaced a lot of front end parts:
ball joints, steering box, drag link, and swaybar bushings and end links. truck also has 4 new shocks and a Zone leveling kit. Truck steering is finally tight but one problem still remains:
Every small pot hole or bump I hit I get a dull "clunk clunk" from the front end. A small trip to the store isn't to annoying, but on a 2-3 hour drive on back roads and It drives me insane!! For the sake of troubleshooting I removed the front sway bar completely, noise still present. In 4x4...noise still present. I jacked up the front end in my garage, checked torque on numerous bolts including U-bolts and shock bolts. I've looked over cab mounts and didn't see anything noteworthy.

I'm looking for advice as to where others may have had similar issue. My next thought was maybe replacing the leaf springs or leaf spring shackles altogether.

 

track bar?

 

I installed an adjustable track bar when I installed the leveling kit. I rechecked the torque on it and it was not loose

 

I am facing an identical problem. I eliminated ball joints, i have no sway bar in the front, my front leaf springs and bushings are new, i drove without my front shocks on, i drove without my track bar in, tie rods are all tight, u bolts and everything are tight, brand new steering box

Is your clunk like really light kinda? Mine isnt a huge thud...just a light repetitive clunk, the smallest thing in the road will make it clunk. My next stop is the spring shackle upper bushings, the energy suspension kit just showed up today for $29. not sure when i will install but if you find anything before then, ill be interested

 

Yeah it's a pretty light clunk. Nothing metal on metal or destructive sounding. Just enough to say "I'm hear and I'm gonna annoy you". I even brought it to my cousins shop he threw it on the lift and took it for a test drive and said "ehhh it's probably something minor"
Well again it's quite annoying after a lengthy drive and I want to find the route. I got a buddy with a lift and I'm going to do some more experimental stuff soon

Keep me informed if you find any smoking guns...I'll do the same

 

yeah thats how mine is, just present enough to be annoying but not overly concerned. hopefully ill get some time soon to get these bushings in, really hope this is it

 

I have no direct help for you, but I will suggest not to limit your search to just the suspension.
I have tracked down suspension noises and found most are suspension related, but not always. You said you checked your cab mounts, but check other mounts too. Check motor mounts, tranny mounts, and any other points where components join.
The last one I worked on a few years ago ended up being the bushings on top of the shock absorbers. They did not center in the mounting point well, and the shock would click back and forth.

 

After doing some more investigating, I found out that my lower shock bolt had deteriorated from the metal on metal contact from the shock bushing sleeve. I got a new bolt from the hardwear store and coated it to high heaven in never seize and threw it back together. That took away about 75% of the noise. Wow what a pleasure the truck is to drive now. I'm still going to do some more hunting at some point because there still is a little something in the front end somewhere, but at least the truck isn't driving me crazy like it was.

 

could the hole the shock bolt goes through also be worn, so the bolt can go up and down in the hole?

 

Oddly enough once I got the new bolt in I had no play, it seemed like the bolt was the softer material.

 

I was actually thinking of the holes in the mount on the frame, not the shock.

 

My thought was going to be shock bolts. but one poster mentioned he took his shocks off.

I have seen the spring bushing get tight and bind that could possible make that noise also. would definitely be heard more at lower speeds also. If you have original springs it might be time to do the urethane spring bushing upgrade.

 

Leaf spring bushings. Mine does the same thing. I used a can of white lithium grease with a tube from a can of WD40 and sprayed the bushings as far in as I could get, noise went away for a couple weeks. When it started again I duplicated the procedure to make sure it wasn't a coincidence, same result. I'll be replacing the bushings in the spring.

 

this sounds like it could be related to my issue. when i put my new front leaf springs in, i had to ratchet strap the shackles forward to get them to line up with the rear eyes in the springs. wonder if thats now turned into an issue causing the clunk...

really need to get these energy suspension bushings in lol