I finally got rid of that loud a$$ popping / cracking noise that I was having when I would back out of my driveway or when I was turning into a parking space. I had checked all of my front end suspension components and was thinking about changing my axle pivot bushings when I stumbled across this info while doing a search on another forum. Somehow over time your transmission crossmember puts stress on your frame, causing a loud popping / cracking noise. All I basically had to to was loosen the crossmember bolts and jack the transmission up an inch or two. I started the truck in neutral and turned the steering wheel lock to lock a few times. Then I lowered the trans and tightened the crossmember bolts and no more popping noise! I cut and pasted the the write up below in case anyone is interested.


(D) Transmission Crossmember

NOTE: USE WARRANTY DEALER CODING: 5060, AS BASIC PART NO.



This procedure should be done on flat ground or on a drive-on lift, with the wheels pointed straight and full weight resting on the wheels.

NOTE: A SIMILAR NOISE CAN OCCUR AT THE TRANSFER CASE SKID PLATE ATTACHMENTS AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS REPAIR PROCEDURE.



Remove transmission weight:
Remove bolts attaching transmission mount to the crossmember.
Lift the transmission to remove any load to the crossmember. The crossmember should now be completely loose.
NOTE: YOU MAY NOTICE THE FRAME RAILS TWIST SLIGHTLY AND "RELAX" AFTER THIS NEXT STEP.



Loosen crossmember:
Loosen all bolts attaching the crossmember to the frame siderails.
Loosen all bolts attaching the crossmember gusset(s) to the crossmember and to the frame siderails. The crossmember should now be completely loose.
Turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock and then straighten the wheels. This helps to remove any stress in the frame.
Install new crossmember fastening hardware one at a time and replace each nut and bolt with a new Nut (N800937-S427) and Bolt (N802114-S2) and leave them loosely assembled until all crossmember and gusset fasteners have been replaced.
NOTE: IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE FOLLOWING TIGHTENING SEQUENCE BE FOLLOWED.



Secure the crossmember attaching hardware. Determine which style of crossmember the vehicle is equipped with, and follow Step 6 or 7.
If the vehicle has a wraparound-style crossmember (Figure 7), torque each grouping of fasteners in the order listed in the following Substeps to 70 ±10.5 N-m (52 ±8 lb-ft).


Figure 7 - Article 97-3-10


Torque all three (3) bolts/nuts at the crossmember-to-frame siderail at the wraparound side (Figure 7, Number 1).
Torque the gusset-to-frame bolts (Figure 7, Number 2).
Torque the crossmember-to-frame bolts (Figure 7, Number 3).
Torque the gusset-to-crossmember bolts (Figure 7, Number 4).
If the vehicle has a double-gusseted crossmember (Figure 8), torque each grouping of fasteners in the order listed in the following Substeps to 70 ±10.5 N-m (52 ±8 lb-ft) and repeat for the other side.

 

I see I spelled "cracking" wrong in my title, my bad..

 

I dont get it.... how does the frame get stressed ?

 

I'm not sure how it happens. After I turned the wheels lock to lock and got ready to lower the trans, I could actually hear the frame "relaxing" like it says in the write up. I've been trying to isolate and get rid of that noise for a long time, I'm gald it's gone. Here's some info from another write up:


"There are a lot of Ford trucks on the road, both old and new. Today we are going to focus on the older ones, late eighties to mid nineties. These trucks for a variety of reasons have suffered from frame and suspension noises. Because of the length of the frames noises tend to radiate and can be hard to isolate. What I focused on was transmission crossmember noises and how to stop them, but I will touch on other parts of the frame and suspension that can cause various noises. With this particular truck the complaint was of a snapping, cracking, popping noise especially when entering parking spaces or any slow, maneuvering type of turn that places stress on the frame. The noise was very audible both inside and outside the vehicle. I identified the noise by simply placing my hand on the transmission crossmember and having the owner turn the steering wheel. Inside the truck it sounds like the frame is breaking. This is a common problem with the gusset type transmission crossmember. For whatever reason over time the frame and crossmember seem to get in a bind and these noises occur. No bolts were loose nor was there any frame damage. "

 

will do- thanks