Hey yall ,i have a 92 f350 dually standard cab 7.3l idi.my problem is ,when i turn hard left or right going up a small hill like a driveway there is a clunking/popping noise.could this be ball joints ,tre's bad bushings?sorry for the dumb question but ive never owned a 2wd truck or any ford truck without a solid front axle.

 

First step would be to jack up the front end and check the ball joints and tre's. You can also look for bad bushings while you're under there.

 

Probably does not apply to you but you did mention going "up hill" from a slow speed which means 'more torque' at transmission and this might apply to someone else so I will mention this:

In my 83 full size Cherokee straight 6, automatic, when I shifted into Low Range I got a loud clunk upon acceleration, (sometimes in high 4WD). It was bad transmission mounts. Under torque the transmission would move too much and hit the floorboard somewhere as I recall. I think that's possible in these trucks if the transmission mounts are worn out, it might move enough to bump something and make a clunking noise.

 

Actually thats an interesting thought. I suppose the if body mounts were shot it could cause the body and frame to move in ways they weren't supposed to. That can certainly cause a clunk.

 

I should clarify my comment from my previous post. It was the rubber in the mounts that had deteriorated and broken into pieces and that was caused by some years of being covered with fluids that had leaked, probably engine oil due to a bad PCV valve forcing oil out of the short dipstick tube at the back of the engine - possibly some transmission fluid. It didn't take very long for that to happen - about 10 years or less from when the vehicle was brand new and at about 130k miles they were completely shot.

The same could happen to a rear engine mount. I don't know how well the rear engine mounts hold up in these trucks but being covered with oil grime is not going to help them.

I've experienced similar situations with rubber parts before. The rubber in mounts and bushings doesn't seem to hold up well when coated with transmission fluid, power steering fluid, oil, etc. Rubber dust boots on tie- rod/steering joints for a simple example, deteriorate prematurely and eventually fall apart if they've been coated with power steering fluid that has leaked (or sometimes oil).


I had a 64 Pontiac Catalina Convertible, only 7 years old at the time. I think maybe only 65k miles.

I made a right turn on a small street and the upper A-Frame (Driver's side) collapsed.
Diagnosis:
The rubber inside of the upper A-Frame bushing (Drivers side) was gone, broken to bits due to being coated with power steering fluid from a previous power steering hose leak - the rubber had deteriorated and the bushing just broke - bottom of wheels tilted out about 15-20 deg. 10-15 minutes earlier I had been out on a highway driving 50 miles at 129-130 mph according to the speedometer and 90 mph in curves testing out some new performance tires and mag wheels I had just put on it. Had the A-Frame collapsed during that course then I would have lost more than a nice car.

So, if there is a purpose for that story it could be: Fix leaks, clean off and inspect the parts that may have been affected and deteriorated from leaking fluids, replace worn out parts for safety and it's probably economical to do that before they affect wear on other parts or break.

Back to the original poster:
If your truck needs a front end alignment anyway (probably does) you could take it in for an alignment check. They will tell you what needs to be replaced before it can be properly aligned (ball joints, tie rod ends, whatever). You can chose to have them do the work with parts from their sources or you can chose to buy your own parts and do the work yourself, then take it back in for alignment.

If you buy your own parts they will (most likely) not install those for you. You will have to install them yourself and take it back in for alignment. Part of the reason is due to their liabilities - they use parts that they know are right, have a clear record of what they installed and for warranty purposes. That is why there are pre-alignment inspections which may be the way for you. They make some money from installing those parts which is why front end alignments tend to be inexpensive. They make the money from doing the work to replace worn parts more than from the alignment itself.

I chose to do the work myself and one reason is that I wanted the best parts and I bought in the the 'best' parts category choosing : Moog/(Nascar) parts.

IN RETROSPECT, I think I should have just paid them to do the work in the first place using their parts and doing the front end alignment probably all finished on the same day. BECAUSE, here it is 6 months later and those parts are still in their boxes on my floor here, have not been installed. The front end of my truck still needs those parts and an alignment so I can drive it more often and longer distances without ruining the tires. That's the main reason I rarely drive it, otherwise I could be doing important things with it.

Excuse: It's been rainy, muddy, miserable weather during this time and I have not wanted to do the work out in the cold, wet and mud. I have chronic pain issues that make it more difficult for me anyway so that's another reason I have avoided getting it done. Trying to save money by doing it myself has not worked to my benefit. It's time for me to pay someone else to do it and then THAT will be DONE and out of the way so I can focus on other work that I can do on the truck. It's not worth saving money if I can't use my truck.