Help Needed Mysterious clunking noise

[sk8er32283]

So this random clunking/grinding noise seems to be coming from the front passenger side of my truck. The sound seems to be totally random. It will mostly start when I hit a bump and stop randomly also. It has also started and stopped just driving straight down a smooth road???? I have checked the wheel bearing by lifting the wheel and checking for movement both up and down / left to right. I thought the hubs were the cause but 230 dollars later the new warn hubs only seems to dampen the sound. The reason why I thought the hubs were the cause is due to the the front drive shaft moving when I spun the front passenger wheel. It seemed that the passenger hub was not disengaging properly. The truck has a lift(4-6"??? previous owner had it installed) and 35" tires. There is a slight rubbing sound coming from the same side as I slow down with or without brake pedal depressed. This sound is way more consistant(Can hear it 90% of the time). I did notice the dust shields both inboard and out board of the u-joints are no longer shielding anything. Could this cause the sounds? Can I just cut them off? Let me know if I need to add more info for a possible diagnosis.


Rodney

 

[melmount]

i had the body mount under the pass side passenger foot clunk. I removed the female bottom rubber end and made a metal spacer then put the originalpiece back in with no rubber. Tightened it down this way. My excursion and my 99 clunked from the body mount. Just a thought. I have pics of what i did. nothing fancy but it worked.
sway bar links can do it too.

 

[commanderjjones]

Ditto on the swaybar links.....or trackbar bushings.

 

[twt]

I am looking for track bar & sway bar bushings for my truck, 177,000 miles. Anyone know of a good kit with all the parts in it?

 

[JLDickmon]

I am looking for track bar & sway bar bushings for my truck, 177,000 miles. Anyone know of a good kit with all the parts in it?

"Hello, O'Reilly's?"

 

[bigrigr]

Better check those axle u-joints, could be that the axle joint is shot and it's turning while your driving somehow? Are you sure the hubs aren't locked in somewhere? Could be that the vacumn system is screwed up and staying engaged,and the axle joints are shot cause their always turning? Axle joints are the only thing i can think of that would cause all the symptoms you describe. Good luckl!

 

[roger2003]

Ditto on the swaybar links.....or trackbar bushings.

swaybar links are the problem I'm having right now with the cluncking noise.

 

[sk8er32283]

I think I found out what is wrong. When I lift up on the "universal joint" between the axle and the knuckle. The passenger side moves a good inch or so and the driver side moves very little. Is there any articles out there on how to fix this? . I would say that I am capable to do the work if I have good instructions on how to do it.

Thanks for all the suggestions about suspension and stuff. I don't think they were the cause but deffinitely brought to light some other issues that I have to look into. Fix one problem and find 3 more.

 

[ghoff]

the stub axle is probably badly worn and there is also a good chance the wheel bearing is shot. There is a needle bearing inside the unit bearing that supports the stub axle that probably got wasted.

If you end up replacing the bearing with a stock type replacement, stay with a ford or motorcraft bearing. I tried saving $$ with a bsa or dorman bearing and had to replace both sides twice in a year.

Since you have a lift with bigger tires (like myself) you might think about the dynatrack free spin kit. It's a chunk of change, but will be much stronger and give you a serviceable bearing assembly.

 

[sk8er32283]

Well I've got er all fixed. The needle bearing on the passenger side was shot and did ruin the stub axle. thanks to Partsguyed I got a axle to my house in 2 days in time for the weekend. Thanks Ed. And also a big thanks to all the guys who took the time to do all these write ups. You literally saved me about 1500 dollars and labor fees at the Ford Stealership. I checked the driver side and it was in good condition. Thank god. I also replaced the ujoint, ball joints and greased everything in sight. How often do you guys recommend checking on the needle bearing 30,000/60,000/etc.. Well thanks for all the replies on the issue. By the way I would like to point out that I didn't seem to have the normal signs of the needle bearing going bad. Mine were the axle having excessive movement up and down when you push and pull behind the knuckle, my warn hub pretty much decentegrated and as I said in the begining the god awful clunking sound. So if in dought you better take a look. You might just save yourself an axle or two.View attachment 10927