Has anybody ever encountered a "popping" noise when turning the steering wheel at "parking lot" speeds?

When I back out of the driveway, I get a popping noise when turning the steering wheel around. It always happens at the same point (ex :4 o clock on the steering wheel) and after a full turn. The noise does not come from inside the truck. It does not do it when the truck is sitting still and the wheel is turned. I have also jacked up the front end and turned from lock-to-lock and can not reproduce the noise. It is not the pitman arm squeal... I've already dealt with it. The truck is a 98 4X2 w/ 68k on it. I did upgrade the tires from P2557016 to LT2657516, but I wouldn't think that would make any difference. They are not hitting anywhere...

My extended warr expires next month and I really want this fixed beforehand. I've already had it at the dealer once before, but they could not duplicate the noise.

Thanks,
Jim

 

i was wondering if you found out your problem yet . i may have the same problem. mine also pops when i hit bumps.

 

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...threadid=94133

Looks like both of you have the same problem I did. Does the popping noise only seem to happen on the drivers side? Can you sometimes feel it in the floor board. If you want to reproduce it, try this:

1) Get the wheel turned all the way to one side and the truck at a complete stop.
2) Slowly start moving and crank the wheel to the other side as your moving.

That's how I did it when I was showing my dealer. Also look at the drivers side lower control arm bolts and see if they look like they've been moving back and forth. You should be able to see when the washer has been scraping up against the arm frame mount.

Hope this helps you both. If you need anything else feel free to let me know.

 

i did this and gus what . i found the bushing on the (i beleive its called the control arm) was completely worn out and the bolt had come down out of it. went to the parts store and the kit to fix both sides is 18.00

 

Thanks for the information. I can not reproduce it if I am not moving, nor with the front end in the air. I am not sure what exactly to look for. From what you are saying, it sounds like a bushing is warn out and hitting something? Is this something that I can replace with normal tools? Does it require an alignment? Could it be bad ball joints? Thanks!

Jim

 

the shaft from the gear box to the drivers wheel is moving i can feel it in the wheel, and also move it buy hand

 

ok..

I just jacked up the truck from the frame points and both left and right wheels have a little play when I attempt to move them. I assume this means my ball joints are bad? I have 68k on the truck.

Next, with both wheels removed the engine off, but the ignition on, I manually moved the wheels all the way left/right. I can pinpoint the noise I was describing to the steering box. There doesn't seem to be anything rubbing anywhere. I don't think this problem is the same as mentioned above.

Now the hard part. I have the Ford Extracare Warranty for the next month or so. I also replaced my factory GA Wrangler P2557016 tires with Michelin LTX AT LT 2657516 tires. I also corrected the speedo by replacing the speed sensor gear. Am I going to have the dealer attempt to void my warranty on the front end because of the different tire size? The tire size I put on is 31.8" vs 30.2" stock.

 

The dealer identified the problem as a broken/cracked ball joint shield. They want $180 to replace this on both sides. The parts are $4, but they are charging $83 per hour for each side.

From my CD based service manual, it looks like the lower ball joint must be disconnected from the spindle. The ball joint shield is sandwhiched between the ball joint and spindle. It looks like I can rent a tool from AutoZone to seperate the ball joints. Is this a hard job to do? Do I need an alignment afterwards? Do I need to do both sides?

My Ford ExtraCare ESP does cover ball joints, but the dealer said it did not cover this part. I wonder if it would make any sense to argue this is part of the ball joint?

 

Finally picked the truck back up and was able to have a talk with the mechanic. First off, it is so much easier/useful to talk to the mechanic, rather than the service writer.

The mechanic identified the problem as the ball joing shield. True, this shield had a small imperfection in it, but it didn't need to be replaced. I drove the mechanic around the parking lot to duplicate the noise. He heard it and knew right away it was a plastic sleeve "bearing" that goes around the steering shaft. We drove back into the shop and he took it apart and lubericated it. Problem solved.

 

Hi:

I have a 2000 F 150 4x4 Lariat and sometime after the ball joints and upper arms were replaced it started to make a cracking noise when steering and when coming to a complete stop. If the truck is in motion and steering the wheels to either left or right it makes one loud cracking sound. I just inspected it and apparently the pitman arms need to be replaced. Do I have to replace the ball jonts as well?

 

Since the old thread is up again...If they replaced the control arms you may have a dry spot where the steering stop is. Put some grease on the steering stop or pocket in the control arm to see if the cracking goes away. Last year I picked up a '13 with 15K on it and the stops were dry. Cracking every time I turned into an uneven spot. It took me a while to remember having the same problem on a '97.
Good luck.