Clicking Noise From Left Front Tire Area
 

I have a problem that I know is going to be a pain to track down. I have a clicking type noise comming from the left front tire. It does not matter if the brakes are being applied or not. The truck only has to be moving. It does not matter if the steering wheel is turned. I can really hear it when I'm driving beside a sound wall or the side of a building. It seems to drive fine. The only problem is it's driving me crazy. I'm nearing the end of my factory warranty but I have a 50.00 deductible extended warranty. Ford has already told me they couldn't reproduce the sound. (Yeah right!)
I have over 50% on my front pads so thats not it!

Please help!

Almost forgot: 1999 Ford F150 XLT Supercab 5.4 4X4.

Thanks,

Joe

Check the tread... Look for rocks, forein material, etc stuck in the tread... This was what was causing the noise for me except I didn't figure it out until I bought new tires....

Like celsius said, check for rocks in the tires. Also, when i had this problem, it was the lug nuts against the aluminum wheels that made the noise. I have no idea how or why, but i put a little oil on the end of the lug nut(the part that touches the wheel, not on the threads) and it took care of the problem. It took me forever to figure out what the noise was. Hope this solves it

Someone mentioned a long time ago that the spindle nut retainer could make a ticking sound from the front wheels. My '99 never had this problem but my '01 started making this sound at 4,000 miles. I bent the cotter pin tight so that the retainer couldn't wiggle and sure enough the noise stopped. They should have put some kind of tape on the stupid things to keep them from rattling.

Additional Info
 

Thanks for the ideas (celsius&FOX-150). I have already checked the tires for rocks. Also I guess I should have mentioned I have aftermarket Rims and tires. I don't know what kind of rims they are as I purchased my truck used from a dealer with them already installed. If anyone has any ideas about these rims please let me know. My signature should be attached to this message.

Dave XP,

I'll check the spindle nut tomorrow.

Thanks,

Joe

My 2000 4X4 had a ting ting noise coming from the left front wheel. It turns out that there was a washer on the front axle that was loose and making the noise.

Thanks for the Info.
 

Thanks Saint,

I'm going to take the entire assembly apart and look for loose parts!

Joe

Mine wound up being the spindle nut retainer. Drove me absolutely crazy until I chased it down. I put a little form a gasket inside and let it dry before replacing them and tightening down the pins. Now I have a little silicon cushion in there, now way they are going to squeek any more. Mine looked like they had a little dob of window sealant or something in there in about 3 spots from the factory for the same purpose but after time and the heat there was hardly any left.

You may want to check your brake pads out. This happen to me awhile back. It turned out to be a loose brake pad rubbing the rotor all the time. I put new sticky brake glue on the pad . No more noise!!!!!! You may just check it out. I hope this helps!!!
Lariat#1
:D :D :D

I had the same problem, exactly, on the right front wheel...

I did what t_daughrity did, except I used clear silicone sealer. And I had the same tiny dabs of whatever they thought would stick the retainer to the spindle nut. What a lame attempt...

I just ran a bead of silicone sealer around the inside edge of the retainer and put it back on. It fixed the noise for good and you can still easily pry the retainer off the spindle nut with a small screwdriver if you need to. When you put it back, the silicone still keeps it from rattling on the spindle nut... Very cool... The form-a-gasket should do essentially the same thing. Now I just need to do the left side. It's not rattling yet but you all know it will. Murphy's Law in action...

Also, when you do this you should use a new cotter pin...

Yeah, these Ford factory designers... Why they just didn't do that to begin with is a mystery. It would prevent all kinds of service calls, which seems to me would save a bunch of money.

Must be a common problem. Just this week I had my daughter help me look at the tire treads on the right for a rock or screw in the tires. Funny how it seems like all of them are on the right side.

Will go check the retainer and hope this gets rid of it, if not will check the other areas too.
I knew if I looked here I would find the answer for it somewhere.

This is a long shot---both of my steering toe adjust locknuts were pretty lose...

The idler arm likes grease and will knock when the steering is turned a little tiny bit...

Thanks for all of the Info!!!
 

Thanks to everyone for the great information. I'm trying to find some time to work on the truck. Maybe this weekend! It's been driving me nuts when I drive it!

Joe

WHERE?!
 

I tried to find your post a few weeks back to no avail.. I think I have the same problem you were describing... where exactly was that washer they found loose? I've got to give my dealer some ideas when I take it in.

-Joe-

It's a lucknut retainer that covers the locknut that locks the front hub to the spindle. It's a cupped-shpe thing made out of stamped metal that fits over the locknut. It has a serrated outside edge that fits over the flats on the nut, preventing it from backing off the spindle. The retainer is held on the nut/spindle by a cotter pin. It's under the little 'hub cap' that covers the lugnuts.

Ford puts a couple of small dabs of some crap on the retainer to keep it from moving around. That stuff gives up the ghost after a while and the retainer starts banging around on the locknut/spindle, making a noice like change banging around in your pocket when walking or running. Taking the cotter pin out and using some heavy grease or silicone on the back of the retaiiner and then replacing the retainer with a new cotter pin will fix the problem. Might as well 'fix' both sides while you're at it.

It's something you can very easily do yourself in 10 minutes and costs a buck or two at the most.

Hope this helps.