Hey guys, I seem to have two problems, and I am hoping you can help me identify what they are so I can have some input if I have to bring my truck in.

First off I drive an 01 extended cab 4.6. It has just about 85,000 miles on it.

Lately when I have been driving I have been noticing a sort of creaking from somewhere in the front end when I am turning the wheel. I usually only notice it then because that is when I am going the slowest and able to pick up on it. Does anyone know what this could be and if I bring it into a dealer what should I tell them to look for?

My second problem has to do when I am braking. When I brake I notice that from the front drivers side I can hear some sort of noise that I can only explain as "sssshhhhh ssshhhhh ssshhhhhh" (if that makes any sense). Does anyone know what could be causing this?

I am not the most mechanically inclined of people, so most of this I hope will be covered under what is remaining on my warrenty. Although my brother in law knows more than I do. So if either of these problems are relatively easy to solve I think we can handle them, if not I will bring it in.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

I had a similiar noise in my 2000 F-150 4WD. It was the outer most edge of the brake rotor. At that time, the rotors didn't need turning, so I pulled them, and used a coarse flat file, and removed that tiny rim on the outside of the rotor. As the rotors wear, the part of the rotor (outside edge) that doesn't wear, will rub the top of the brade pad. With the truck moving at an idle speed, lightly touch the brake pedal to see if the noise stops.

 

I think I understand what you are saying, but the noise I hear only occurs when I do brake. So maybe I need a little more clarification on the brake noise.

Also, does anyone know what the creaking front end could be?

 

Ball joints,tie rods.brake caliper sliders need grease,warped rotors,check the rivets in the pads i pulled my wheels off and found the the inside of one rotor one rotor was seriously grooved.A serious inspection of the ball joints and tie rod for sure.Dealer check for $20 have them do it.popping at low speed turnning with or with out bearks is the tie rods and creaking is usually ball joints
cheers

 

dont forgot to have them check the pitman arm and idler arm too. Had a simliar problem in my 97 . I took about 12 cans of lubricant and 4 auto repair shops, till i finally figured out the problem. It was a dried up pitman arm, drove me nuts.lol

 

Hey code red, i have a 97 f-150. you were talking about the creaking. My truck sounds like a '67' . It creaks just driving through the parking lot. Front and rear end creak. I would never call this noise a "squeak", i would gladly have a squeak than a creak. Did your 97' squeak when you turned the wheel? i greased every bushing i could and that seemed to make no difference.
i am getting desperate, do you have any suggestions on what i could do?

 

I have heard many folks ask or help others regarding the notorious "squeak" in the front end while turning. When I bought my 97 f150 I just figured it was a power steering pump going out and I would have to replace. After further investigation through this awesome site I heard it may be the Pitman arm bushing. I also saw a post telling someone to purchase a needle for a grease gun and shoot it into the boot around the Pitman bushing. Well, I have to say that the poster for this fix was 100% correct.

The squeak I had was extremely loud and would wake up the neighbors in the morning.

The fix is $2.50 and the results are 100% effective... my squeak is gone.
<O
Thanks to the original poster who posted the fix and thanks to this site!!
<O

 

Yes it did. Check out your pitman arm and idler arm. Hit them with silicone and you will determine if thats the fault. Mine started out with a light creak and progress over time to an obnoxious one.

 

could the 'creak' be coming from the torsion bars when my truck experiences articulation?

i may have a much better question, how much would a set of bushings for the front suspension of my truck cost?

 

My f250ld had been making a lot of popping and creaking. Check the lower ball joints. I just replaced mine. The driver side was frozen up. It was bad for a long time! Not now! I would check them first!

 

only real way to find out syracuse is to just start hitting parts with a oil(lubricant) , till ya pointpoint the noise. Im not sure how much bushings are for the front, However i do know that as a master rebuild polyurethane kit from energy suspensions is around 350.00. I was kinda leaning towards that as a next project, considering all the issues i have had with the front end on my truck now. I just wished it wasnt a tough job putting the kit on the truck, considering all the knuckle breaking work, but going with the polyurethane will be well worth it.


Patatoe1 Did you ever find out what the creaking noise was?????

 

Well, my neighbor is a mechanic, so I asked him to take a look for me. He jacked the front end up and started putting some lubricant on different parts. Then he had me wiggle/shake the wheels while he listened and looked from underneath. He said that the passenger side upper ball joint looks to be going bad, and that there was a bearing on the driver's side that he thought was going bad too.

The good news is this is covered under my warrenty. The bad news is that I will have to schedule a time to bring the truck in which is my only vehicle. So losing it for a day or two will be tough because I need it for work and to commute to school.

 

i have this exact same creak on my 02 f250 sd with 28,000 miles. kind of disappointing that it makes this noise at this "young" age. of course it's just outside of warranty.
i will try the needle grease fix.

 

I had the same creaking and it turned out to be the ball joints in the frontend. I know what you mean about your brakes making the shshing noise, too. Mine do it. I have to get them looked at. I just had the brake pads changed 4 months ago and wished I had put on the ceramic pads. These have so much carbon all over my rims. Could it be the cheap brake pads?

 

well, i greased all the zerks in the steerinlg linkage and even injected grease under the seals on the pitman arm and the ball joints and no improvement.

i think i might have the same issue as kyfireopal. kyfireopal, can i ask you how much it cost to have the ball joints replaced?

thanks