When i turn hard backing out of a spot my front left makes a loud metallic popping noise. Any suggestions?

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1997 F150 Reg. cab.,2wd, 4.2 V6, Stepside.

Mods so far: 265/75/16 Wrangler ATS, Toolbox, CB Radio, Tint, K&N filter, Kenwood CD player, 2 Fosgate 10s.

 

The body mount in the front of the cab on the driver's side has been known to break or come loose.

 

brew1891 says:
When i turn hard backing out of a spot my front left makes a loud metallic popping noise. Any suggestions?
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Yeah, don't do that! Serious, this is an often discussed topic. At least two things:
One is the wheel stop popping at maximum turn. Some say greasing it up real good helps. Many of us also have a pop making mostly right hand turns into a ramped driveway or parking lot, or backing out the same way. This pop seems to come from somewhere under the bed. Never found a cure for that one.
Do a search for "thunk" "pop" and "clunk."
Sounds like a commerical for Rice Krispies.

 

I have the same problem and it was found to be a ball joint with slight slack in it. My rig has about 40k on it and it really just started to happen. You can't feel it in the wheel but you can hear it. Check the front linkage. I was told running bigger tires or a large lift wears some of them prematurely. I had a dealer look at it at several locations and most said the same. Tie-rod, ahhh maybe not. Just check the front by jacking up your rig and grab the tire and move back and fourth. This may help but at least thats what I have found. I think Fords have had this problem before with the IFS.

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99 F-150 S/C 4x4 Lariat, 5.4L, 3.55, Pro Comp Safari bar, 2 Hella 500's, 16" Atlas wheels with Goodyear 33".
01 Explorer Sport Trac, 4.0L, 4.10's (no mods yet)

 

TeamTrent: They may be right about the affects of the mods, BUT I am having the second set of ball joints ordered for my 2001 S/Crew 2wd. And the mileage is at a whopping 19K (no farm roads either). They don't know what to do at the dealer except keep replacing them. I would like to try the "add a zert" route this time, as Ford's lubless system seems to fail every 9500K on my truck. Symptoms: popping in front when hot and stopped then turn the wheels left or right. Happens just as you make the initial effort to turn. Has anyone purchased aftermarket parts with the zerts? What was the cost?

 

Sound like the same problem that we had with f250's a couple years ago--the cross members under the truck arn't tight and when there is tork applied(hard turn w/ incline) the treads make a poping sound as the crossmember flexs.

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98 f150 4.6 auto 4x4 supercab-short box/bright red & black/6 disk cd changer/ dynomax cat back/k&n fipk/super chip/lund taillight covers/factory fog lamps/Ford mud flaps/pace edwards box cover/ultra wheels/LT265-75-16 BFG/ westin nerf bars/steel horse billit grill & bumper insert/reflex shocks/bosch plat. plus 4/accel wires/auto start/left hand grab handle/2001 lighting headlamp and corner lights/2002 Ski-Doo Summit 800 High Mark X

 

I have had that same problem with the poping or clunking when turning off camber or sometime when just turning. I thought it may be attributed to the 5" Rancho lift I had installed. It sounded like it was coming from the radius arms and I removed and replaced them many times lubing them and all with no evail. I finally asked a dealership to look at it when I was in the shop. The told me it was the transmission bracket poping. I guess this bracket has dimples in it to align it during install and lifts kits and larger tires puts more stress on the frame and caused this bracket to move a little and pop. The fix was to place washers between the frame and the bracket. Pretty simple.

Worked for me, hope this helps you.


Thomas