Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: Clunk In Front End
Apr 16, 2015
All right, I went ahead and rebuilt my suspension considering everything was worn out. I used upper and lower control arms and all the tie rod ends from O'Reilly's (MasterPro). While I was under there I noticed that the sway bar end links and bushings were deformed and worn, so I changed those out.
The clunky front end is confusing as hell to me. All of the front end bushings and ball joints are new, and if I hit bumps with a little vigor it rattles. Under hard braking to a stop there is a loud clunk from the front left. I have shocks on the way (Monroe Reflexes for the front, Sensatrac load adjusters for the rear), which are the only things left that have been removed and not replaced with new ones.
The truck was perfectly clunk and rattle free with the old worn out bushings and ball joints. I can't imagine why it would start clunking now with a new front end. I felt the new ball joints and they were tight and didn't have any play. The bushings were tight. I'm at the end of my rope with this crap. I've double checked that the ball joint and chassis nuts and bolts are all very tight.
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I have a 1998 F150 with a 4.6 engine and is a 4x4 now the other day when I was backing out of the garage I heard a clunk noise and it seems like it is coming from the right front, so I tried it going forward it made the same noise but not as bad. There is no road noise and all the u joints are good and tight, the noise was when I gave it a little gas. My question is the front cv u joint would this make the noise? And what about the hub? What is the proper why to check the CV joint and the hub? The noise was when I was in 2 wheel drive.
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I'm getting a CLUNK when coming to a stop with my truck.
If I shut off the overdrive while coming to a stop it doesn't do it. Or if I manually shift it down a gear.
I read on here it could be a U-joint or the yoke or something and maybe something needs greased.
Anyway I crawled under the truck and it looks like I need a special socket to remove the 4 bolts holding the driveshaft to the rear end.
What type of socket it this? No grease fittings on my U-joints. What's causing this CLUNK as well?
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I have a 97' f250, 4.6L auto transmission, 4x4, 168000.
I have only owned the truck about 5 months so I dont know much about the history. When I coast to a stop, (usually 40mph or faster) to a stop I get a clunk on the down shift into second I believe. It only happens when coasting to a stop, all other shifting up and down patterns are good. This happens I would say 7 out of 10 times but seems to be increasing.
The other issues that I believe is related happens every time I put the truck into reverse, there is a similar clunk. This happens every time and does not do it into drive.
I have ran lots of searches related to this in FTE, I cant get a clear direction to begin down. It seems like it could be transmission related but also may be driveline or U-joint related.
Two other notes-I did drain and replace the transmission fluid and I noticed that the T-case and transmission are much cleaner than any other undercarriage part. Whatever that means??
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So I have an issue with my 03 f150, Basically It clunks in various scenarios such as Accelerating also occurs take off and general breaking/slowing down but not really when stopping. December when it was cold and I was decelerating (not on the break just coasting) it feels like i was driving on the shoulder.
It does it much more in cold weather. Just had the truck out getting a little rough with it for 5 or so hours today and 0 issues with it.
I was thinking it was a slip yoke issue that I hear allot of trucks have the issue but I was at the dealership today and both guys and a mechanic sitting there were like "never had that issue on an 03 f150, might be your back end." They also stated the clunking would always occur and be more prominent when breaking which its not.
I am certain its not the transmission its not occurring with any shift point. Kind of hard to do it if its hard to reproduce in the heat.
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I've spent several hours over the course of the last week trying to figure out the problem I am having with my 1999 F150. When coming to a stop, there is a heard and felt "clunk" coming from the rear end of my truck. The other day, I had to brake to a stop rapidly and it felt like something had dropped out of the back end of my truck. It's 4WD with a 5.4L V8 with 240k miles. I have a fair amount of knowledge of the truck, having performed all maintenance and most repair, so if I need to check something and report back I should be able to. Also, I've owned the truck since it was new, and this is a recent development.
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I have a 2000 Ford F150 XLT 4X2 that has a "clunking/squeaking" noise in the steering wheel, intermittent happens driving straight down the road, hitting bumps, breaking. It is very annoying! changed out lower ball joints tightened wheel bearings, greased idler/pitman arm thinking that was the problem and it became worse. Had someone look at it and stated that the steering shaft was welded?!?! Why would the steering shaft be welded what am I looking at in replacing it (cost for parts and labor time) and are there any other additional parts that will have to be replaced as well?
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I noticed a clunk a while ago but could never pin point it and today its the worse it has ever been. I did some research on this and everyone is pointing towards sway bar bushings. now if that is the case why wouldn't they just replace the sway bar link? I see some do poly bushings and others regular rubber. What is the best way to go about this? and I also see you need a shop press so I'm lucky I have one.
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My 2002 F-150 with the 5.4 has an issue with a high rev (1000 RPM for a few seconds) while at a stop sign, along with a clunking/banging sound coming from under the truck. This is when I have the brake mashed all the way, and this all happens at the same time, almost every time I come to a stop at a stop sign or light. I do have an intake manifold leak, which i have recently determined, but I do not know if the high rev at a stop sign has to do with the manifold leak or to do with the transmission sounding thump I hear. Could this be a torque converter not unlocking, and then suddenly unlocking? Because after the thump sound, the RPM's go down to around 650 from 1000 every time.
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I have an 02 f150 ext cab fx4 with just under 140,000 miles my first problem was when I shift from reverse to drive I have a loud clunk/bang I was trying to find out what was wrong so my brother in law was looking out the drive shaft he pushed it into the rear end now when I am over 65mph and take my foot off the gas I have a vibration but only when I take my foot off the gas and above 60-65mph the steering wheel or peddles don't vibrate but the floor does .
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Lariat stepside, 5.4L with 150k miles. Loud popping noise, almost a clunk, when making a slow sharp turn. Put it on jackstands and did the normal tire grab and shake and found no issues there. Tie rods, ball joints and sway bar links all seem tight. Looked for signs of unusual rubber to metal and metal to metal wear and found nothing. The only thing I did see was the rubber boots on the upper control arm ball joints were split. What I have checked or if I am missing something?
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I got a 97 f150 single cab short bed. My 4x4 shifter is on the floor and moves. I put in 4x4 and the relay clicks and the light comes on. Same as 4low. Front driveshaft spins but front wheels don't. Could there be a leak in the auto locking hubs? Also I want to manual convert the auto hubs. It can be done but how?
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2003 Passat 1.8T, 53,000 miles. There's a clunk coming from the front passenger side so I jacked the car up today and checked it out. Not much play at all when I moved the wheel. Tie rod ends look good, CV boots are intact, control arm bushings look good........except for one. The outer bushing on the passenger side lower rear arm is cracked. I assume this means I should replace that arm?
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2.2l '03 Olds Alero, 89k miles
My car has an unsettling noise. It is a loud clunk in the front end that can be felt. It only happens when turning right (just past where the wheels are aligned) when going forward. I believe it also happens when backing out of a spot to the left. It is only one solid clunk. This clunk isn't always loud, and can be subtle. If I do a figure eight, the clunk will be the loudest with the first wheel turn to the right, then will either get quieter or disappear all together. Let the car sit for a while, and the first turn will be the loudest.
Things that have been tried:Full Strut/shock assembly replacement on both sides of the front suspension.Sway bar link replacement on both sides.Both front control arms, complete with ball joints and bushings have been replaced.
Possibilities I haven't changed or on the list to examine/replace:
-Sway bar bushings
-Wheel bearings
-CV Joints
-Engine mounts
-Tie rod ends
What should I be looking at first? Is there something I am missing? It's been to the mechanics a few times. For a week after the control arms and sway bar links were replaced it was ok, or dull enough not to hear. Now it's back as loud as before.
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2003 Elantra GT has a clunking on the right front when I hit bumps in the road. It is loudest when I first start to drive. After about 10 minutes it quiets somewhat and sometimes is gone completely. I looked at the CV joint and the strut but they appear ok. Also checked sway bar and tightened all bolts.
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On my 1997 F150 4x4, at 15 or so MPH up front it starts to hum & vibrate (not shaking type vibration but tight vibration) and hum gets louder and vibe becomes more predominant as speed increases. 1 person who is pretty credible (but nobody is perfect especially me) told me its not uncommon for bearings in front diff to go bad. He also mentioned to me they can be a pain to change and may be much simpler to get a replacement gear set from a yard. I will be changing brake pads, rotors, calipers and hubs this week.
I didnt feel any overwhelming heat coming from that may occur from bad hub bearings, when I spin wheels do not hear any unhealthy sounds nor is there any play on hubs but I am replacing them also anyway. Is he correct about the possibility of bad bearings in front diff and not uncommon for them to fail? Also, Side note I am also installing torsion bar keys to lift front about 2.5". Should I get extended sway bar links to replace originals or would stock be fine?
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Its only on the right side. When i push down on the right side, its really loud but when i push on the left side it doesn't squeak. It sounds its really loud. When i turn the wheel it sounds like an old door in a scary movie being closed. Is it my ball joints?
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2002 F150 4X4 7700
I'm trying to install front brake rotors and pads. I got the caliper off and the rotor bracket off. But i can't get the rotor off. The rotor is rusted in place.
I have sprayed liquid wrench and hammered the life out of the rotor from the front the back and in between. It will not budge. How the am i supposed to get this thing off???
I'm about to break out the torch but i don't want to fry the wheel bearings.
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My truck is a 1998 F-150 4X4 set up for towing etc. The left front started smoking and the front end just started bouncing around very badly. Of course I pulled off and let it cool down. My question is this; I've pulled the hub and the bearings seem smooth although maybe a bit tight. I've checked the caliper and it seems to be working properly.
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2002 F150 XLT Supercrew 4x4 5.4L V-8, non-7700 payload
Was feeling a little grinding in the front end a couple weeks ago. Turned out to be simple, brake pads were low, and the wear indicator was causing the mild vibration (though no noise). Replaced the pads, all was good.
Then in the middle of a 50 mile drive around the area, the ABS light comes on. Found the front right sensor was bad. Replacement. Put it on, ABS light went off, all is good. Drove probably 30 miles over the course of the next day, then light came back on. Tested the same sensor, and get no resistance. So the new one is bad.
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I know it will wear out the tires but will it hurt the front end? Also the drive shafts to the front end is not turning.
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