Hi guys, quick question for ya: Why does my truck's front right wheel make a loud popping noise when I take it on any uneven terrain? My dad's mechanic seems to think that maybe the hub has a broken spring. Does that seem likely. I was thinking maybe a worn ball joint or something. I hope it is a hub because that is a cheap and easy fix.

BTW, the truck is a '90 F250 4X4 with manual hubs...the popping happens in 4X4 and 4X2. Popping is usually accompanied by some grinding sounds too.

Thanks for the help guys,
Hunter

 

Check your ball joints, they're cheap and easy too.

 

Thanks F151, I'll check those tonight. How do I know if they are bad?

 

Do you have oversize tires/lift? I chased a loud popping noise for months, and it turned out to be 2 cracks in the frame, due to stress at the location where the steering box mounts, and stress at the point where the radius arm bracket mounted.

 

When was the last time you serviced the hubs? Are the hub locks auto or manual? Inspect your front suspension bushings (8 pieces) & the U-bolts.

 

Thanks again for the replies guys. The truck is pretty new to me, so I haven't had a chance to go through much of it yet. To answer some questions, no it's not lifted and does not have oversized tires. And the hubs are manual hubs. Another thing I noticed today, when I jacked up the front end I could put one hand on top of the tire and the other on the bottom, and rock the tire back and forth a small amount. This leads me to belive that it could be ball joints. It only had about 1/16" of movement though, and it did it on both front tires, maybe thats normal. But, I am still kinda leaning towards it being the hub. The driver's side hub has been replaced, but the passenger side hub is still original. With it being 17 years old and having 100,000 miles, I'd say it lived a long happy life but finally died. I don't know why the previous owner replaced one but not the other...cheapskate

Thanks again for the help,
Hunter

 

With one tire in the air about an inch, have a buddy use a prybar to rock the tire and watch the ball joints yerself.

But I bet a doughnut that's yer problem. When ya get new ones, I prefer them to have grease fittings to service. Little bit more but worth it.

Adrianspeeder

 

I prefer sealed ball joints, u-joints, tie rod ends, etc. They're less likely to allow contamination to get in, and they hold their grease better. They're also usually physically stronger than one with a hole drilled into it.

 

Thanks for all the great help guys. I did as adrianspeeder said and it is the ball joints. I am going to pick up some Moog ball joints (upper and lower) with the zerks tomorrow and put them on this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks,
Hunter

 

hope you have a ball joint press tool, or rent one, it will make life soo easy, and an impact of course

 

Yeah, I have an impact, and I will be renting the tool.

Thanks,
Hunter

 

Lol try doin the originals in a 93 that hasn't ever left michigan. Living up here makes most repairs take twice as long on account of the rust