I’m dealing with a 3 day saga that started with a poping sound from the front axle of my 2000 F250 4x4. Manual hubs. I would like a few options to see if im on the right track before I put it back together. The loud "pop" sounded like a hammer blow to the floor pan and was coming from the left side. I checked all ball joints and there was no play in either wheel bearing. When I pulled the left hub off there was a huge amount of play in the front axle/needle bearing. The hub was deff way too hot to the touch and sounds to me that the play was causing the hub to bind and make the pop sound. I decided that the needle bearing was shot and I needed to replace the hub. OMG!!! What a job. 6 hours, a broke hammer, pissed neighbors from the noise, a mangled brake rotor and a sore back the hub finally gave up and came off. THE BRAKE DRUM NEVER CAME LOOSE from the hub! What confuses me is the needle bearings don’t look all that bad and still have some grease in them. Another thing that bothers me is that the axle is very loose in the rear axle housing. There was no spline damage or wear on the axle where needle bearing rides. U joint is fine. The seals were trashed so I have to get new ones in the morning before it can go back together. Sitting on the work bench the axle does fit much better in the new hub than the old one. I tried to "mic" the needle bearings to compare them but its next to impossible to get a reading on moving needle bearings using an inside mic. Am I missing something or is there anything else I should check? Any suggestions? I took some pics but don't know how to post them. Chuck

 

I need to know was the pop heard when going straight or when turning the wheel left and right?
I kept hearing some cracking sound every time I made a turn on my 2000 4x4.
Turns out the leaf spring bushing had gone bad on one side.

 

The first time I heard the pop I just driving a staight flat road at 40mph and hit a small dip in the road. Heard one pop. then the next day 3 or4 in a row. The next few days it sounded worse when I was stopping. First thought it was a stuck caliper but it started doing it at any speed. Then it did it turning out of a parking lot at low speed. After that that it poped constantly every few mins weather going straight, turning, braking or cruising .

 

Did you check the ball joints? or tie rods? Axel u-joints/

 

sounds like bad leaf spring bushings to me

 

Brake drum?

 

I was wondering if you ever figured out the problem?