Frame side sway bar mounts on mine looked the same as yours. For the axle side bracket I would straight it then weld a triangle guesset back to the axle.

I wish you were closer to NC. I got a 3 or 4 inch drop shackle lift with adjustable track bar. Track bar bracket and pitman arm I'd make you a deal on all of it. Shipping that stuff would be killer though. The drop brackets are some thick steel.

 

Not sure if it's contributing to your clunk or not but that sway bar needs repaired or removed. It's not anti-swaying anything like that.

Now for the clunk, how about brake pads the can get noisy if they spit out a clip. The axle pilot bearing or stub shaft will definitely make some noise if not greased. Could it be coming from the gearbox or track bar bracket.

 

Also on the radiator fitting leaking sometimes you can tighten thsmat fitting up some. It threads into the trans cooler inside the radiator and has o ring seal. That one looks kind of crusty so it may or may not fix it. Worth a shot though. I replaced radiator in my work truck and new one leaked in thay spot. Just tightened it up some and it quit and been find since.

 

You sure this isn’t your clunk?

 

Good eye Jason.

 

Okay well, shipping might be a tad expensive but I'm about to pay $400 before shipping for just the kit without the track bar. An adjustable track bars around $160 so that's already $560, and I'm sure the drop pitman arm is probably $60 plus, so all of that is stuff I will have to buy. Shoot me a message and maybe we can work something out. thanks!

 

Good eye! It could be! Although the sound definitely sounds a little more like a metal on metal sound and it sounds like it's coming from the driver side wheel well area when I have my window down. I will have to try to figure out which bushings to get. It's hard to imagine that bushing going out so fast unless that bracket being bent could cause it to prematurely wear out? I was sure it wouldn't have gone out that quick. I used energy suspension and it has been thoroughly greased. Surely these bushings are not supposed to be changed once a year? And if I recall correctly I had issues getting the right bushings because of the e99/l99 stuff. I think the first set that I bought was too short? Might have been too long but I don't remember.

 

WOW!

There is a lot to unpack here.

First of all, get a grip...


















For a camera
and use the good gripping method to mount the camera under your truck and drive around to see what exactly is clunking.

A "GoPro" isn't needed. I've used a simple inexpensive used point and shoot camera that I bought on Craigslist for $15 with a 1/4" x 20 TPI tripod mounting screw receiver, and mounted it to whereever needed under the frame to see, and hear, what is going on.

Keep in mind, I have a set of Ford "Chassis Ears", which is a kit containing resonance detectors, radio transmitters, and a portable receiver for the technician to use in cab after mounting all of the NVH detectors on the chassis in suspected areas, and I can tell you from experience... a cheap point and shoot camera, with a microphone and video... beats the Ford Rotunda Chassis Ears hands down.

No one wants those old cameras, because the cameras in their new cell phones are more convenient. I probably have five or six point and shoot cameras lying around. I always buy the same brand, so that the batteries all interchange.

OK, after you've determined, with a point and shoot camera capable of audio and video, exactly what is clunking, you still have a bunch of other issues to resolve, of which I will only address a couple of here.

First, your front leaf springs.

That little insulator that is peeking out of your spring pack at the forward eyelet mount in Photo #1 of Post #1?

Well, that is only 25% of the insulators that are supposed to be in that style leaf spring, Three other parts are missing.

Your concern that "it appears the outer leaf spring is no longer pinned to the inner leaf spring or the "upper" leaf spring" isn't really something to be concerned about.

Your lower leaf spring is a "Military Wrap" design. At some point in 2000, for the 2001 model year, Ford changed the front spring design to where the upper and lower leaves are in full contact with each other, but the gap between upper and lower leaves of your older vintage of front spring is normal and nothing to be concern about.

The same cannot be said for your early 1999 sway bar set up. Ford received so many complaints about bent back axle brackets, AND bent frame brackets for the sway bar end links (which you suspected was mounted incorrectly, and your suspicions are indeed correct) that Ford not only redesigned the front sway bar for the very next model year (2000), Ford also released a TSB to advise dealers how to retrofit the 2000 design on 1999 trucks.

Your truck is a hybrid... you've converted a 2WD truck with a 4WD front axle from a donor that was already modified before you got it. But your donor truck appears to have began life in 1999.

If you decide to fix your bent axle mounted bracket and loose sway bar bushing at that bracket, you might as well update all the parts with the 2000 and up level design.

I recommend you take your video first, so that you will know how to justify and allocate your truck funds for solving what is bugging you. If the clunk you are hearing turns out to be something else besides the 3 missing insulators in your spring pack, or any aspect of you antiquated anti-sway bar set up, then you will likely want to address what your video reveals first.

Then, with that solved, or if the problem turns out to actually be the anti-sway bar or the missing insulators, you can aim your wallet towards updated design parts that address the issues made plain in your photos.

 

I just put new pads and clips in. new hubs and good stub shafts. Everything was just apart not long ago and greased with all new seals and parts.

Speaking of new hubs I actually have all the stuff I need to convert to the L99 hubs. I've got new L99 calipers, mounting brackets, rotors, all I need is a new hubs but I've got good hubs right now so I figured I'd run them for a while and eventually I will get a new set of L99 hubs and do the L99 conversion. Some of you may wonder why I care to switch to L99 hubs, I don't think there's as much of a performance increase or change in reliability but, my truck is a 2000 model, so I just don't want to have to order parts for a 2000 and an early model 99 and get the two mixed up when I'm getting parts at the parts store. I'd like all of it to be from the original year of my truck. I may have OCD....

Are you saying the sway bar is not doing anything because of the sway bar Mount being bent? I didn't think the mount was very critical and it's been bent since I put the front axle on... Woops that project slipped away from me. I wanted to fix it when I first found it bent but I never got around to it and then I forgot

I did suspect the track bar bracket. I looked at all the different brackets on the frame etc looking to see if it looks like anything had been moving and the track bar bracket looked suspicious but, I couldn't get any movement out of anything. But probably without taking the track bar off I wouldn't be able to tell just how tight or loose the bracket is. I worry that if I take the track bar off it'll be a pain to get back on. I don't remember when I originally did all this so I'm not sure how annoying some of it was. The other thing is I should probably have a drop track bar bracket with the lift kit but I've never had one. Still using the stock one.

Hopefully the gearbox is making any racket

Speaking of gearboxes it's about time for me to do the first transmission fluid change on my new 4X4 transmission and put some red line high temp ATF in. Curious to see if there's any metal shavings or anything in the fluid. Thanks for your help!

 

I do happen to have two magnetic cameras with a 7-in screen I have mounted in my truck. Unfortunately I'm not positive that they record audio, but, maybe I could visually see some movement from say the sway bar bushing on the way to work in the morning. Or of the track bar bracket moving. I have both cameras going at the same time with live feed in the cab so I might throw the cameras on there in the morning just to see. I guess I could also stick it on the bumper looking at the leaf spring. I can duplicate the clunk no problem I'm definitely not crazy because my dad can hear it in the passenger seat too

Sweet! I didn't know you could buy the new style sway bar setup. Good thing I can weld half decent now!

I will try to find something to put in between the leaf springs in the morning before I go to work just to see if it takes away a little bit of the clunk or if it makes no difference at all. Although I will order the insulator kid anyway as it is inexpensive. I've got to get the leaf spring mounts replaced though due to that driver side front being bent. One question though. You said that three other parts are missing, and by that do you mean three other parts for just that one mount? Or three others between the two front amounts? Is it for insulator parts per front mount? So eight total or is it four total between the two?

Thanks for your help!

 

Just take the track bar off and see if the clunk goes with it. They can help in some instances, hurt in others, but they aren't necessary to safely drive the truck. While it's off you can at least take a hammer and likely a welder to that bracket. Get it squared up and at least looking like it could support the bar. Oh and most likely the reason the bushing looks smoked already is poly no likey petroleum. Any natural petroleum products will turn it to jelly. Which is why you can only use synthetic grease to lube them. It looks like either a leak or some spills from filling engine oil have run down on the bushing.

 

Ford's first fix for the front stability bracket breaking off of the front axle on the passenger side did call for welding... but relying on the welding ability of dealership service techs, or the presence of welding equipment, much less experience and knowledge of good procedure, is a very big ask.

Ford soon developed a fix that doesn't require any welding, using a clever new axle mounted bracket that sits like a sideways V.

So you can sheath your rod. But no worries... you'll still get to drill and grind, which you can also do half way decent now, based on your recent reports.

Ford's clever retrofit bracket part number is: F81Z-5486-DB

You'll grind off some of the bottom part of the original bent bracket, and drill a couple of holes on the aft side of the "cup" weldment that the axle tube is cradled by, through which the U bolts pass through, the bottom of which provides the bearing surface for the U bolt nuts.

The clever bracket itself will serve as a template for the location of where to drill the new holes in the aft side of the "cup" weldment, but Ford provides guidance in an instruction sheet that should come with the bracket. Hopefully.

You'll need a couple of 12mm mounting bolts for the clever bracket: N605921-S426

Those bolts will be retained by a couple of prevailing torque flange lock nuts: N620482-S427

Keep in mind, the clever bracket won't hold the new sway bar. The clever bracket is what holds (and raises higher by 1") the new Stability Bar Retainer (the strap that wraps around the bushing that holds the stability bar) gets bolted to.

But before getting that far into the repair, we need to back it up a bit.

Was the donor vehicle from which your front axle came from built prior to March 21, 1999?

Early 1999 models (all built between January 1998 to the summer of 1998) and regular 1999 models (built from late summer of 1998 to the early spring of 1999) require a new spring cap in order for the updated kit to work as designed.

However, 1999.5 models built after March 21, 1999 do not need the new spring cap.

So, if you suspect your donor was an Early 1999 or regular 1999, but not a 1999.5, then you'll need to get this spring cap: YC3Z-5A316-AA

And that spring cap requires new U bolts: F81Z-5705-BA

And those new U bolts need new flange nuts: N805480-S426


Now, back to the regularly scheduled stability bar replacement..

New Stability Bar Retainer: F81Z-5486-AA

Attaches with these bolts: N605921-S426

Retained by these nuts: N620482-S427


But before tightening those nuts, you're going to want to put a stabilizer bar in there, and because you moved the bracket up 1 inch so that it no longer hangs so low below the axle that it gets bashed... you'll need a new stabilizer bar with the correct bend profile to find its way into the higher location of the retainer on the passenger side, while still maintaining the same mounting location on the driver's side, which never got bashed, while not being catawampus, so as to also line up with the sway bar end links.

And this juncture leads to another fact finding mission... which new design stabilizer bar is appropriate for your application.

There are several different front stabilizer bars for our genre of trucks, but eliminating the Excursion bar from consideration, and eliminating the original design bar that you have now, we are left with only two bars to choose from:

F81Z-5482-AA

or

F81Z-5482-FA


The appropriate bar will depend on the details of your donor vehicle.

The axle mounted D shaped Insulators that wrap around the circumference of the bar likewise depend on which bar.

F81Z-5484-EC

or

F81Z-5484-JA


To complete the stability bar update, there are the new style sway bar endlinks... as well as updated, better design frame mounted cast iron (or cast steel) pillow blocks that replaces the questionably mounted stamped steel brackets that you presently have.

Since this post is already long in the tooth, I will refer you to one of my posts from about a decade ago, which has fully annotated photos as well as part numbers updated sway bar end links, linked below:


Sway Bar End Links For 1999-2004 Ford Super Duty 4x4



Eight (8) total pieces of white nylon, four (4) per leaf spring back, in two (2) totally different shapes.

 

is it just me or is there something seriously wrong in this picture? left side towards the bumper. the bracket looks broke. Something also looks off on the right side of the bracket but could just be an illusion and angle.

 

That was the purpose of that picture. To show off the bent leaf spring hanger lift kit. When I converted my truck to a 4x4 all the parts came off of a totaled truck that had a bent frame and the truck took a hit to the driver side frame. I didn't think about this when I put the whole front axle on. The reason it looks broke is because that is a add-on lift kit that bolts into the Old spring mounting location with the large bolt. It's really a crappy lift kit but it was on the front axle when I put it on.

I was going to buy a pmf kit but, now I'm interested in what Tpayne posted pics of. I'm hoping to be able to buy all that stuff from him.

 

Donor truck was made in April of 98.

That's a very interesting procedure. Thanks for the write-up! Seems simple enough.

I'm confused on the sway bar end Link mounting bracket on the frame. You had mentioned that I was correct in thinking they were on wrong, however you didn't say if I was right on how they were supposed to be mounted meaning I was thinking they were supposed to be flipped and put outside the frame instead of inside the frame on the opposite sides. Do you have a picture on how it's supposed to be? I tried to find one online but came up short. Thanks!