Frontend poping noise

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 8, 2013

thanks for the tips guys! i will have my dad turn the wheel and i will watch the front end. the front bump stops are about 3-4 inches away from the beams. i think there would be a TON of suspension flex to hit the bumps hard enough to be an issue so i think i can rule that out.

i assume that if my coils are binding then it would be time for new coils?

i need to strap my friends Go Pro to the front end of my truck and go for a drive lol.

lincolnlocker · Feb 9, 2013

this might sound ***ed up but i just googled 94 f250 front end popping noise and some old threads came up that quite a few guys have had this problem and it said to check the two fender bolts by the hood hinges to see if they are tight..

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 9, 2013

okay, seems like the fender bolts are a VERY common diag point in this issue. i will check them tomorrow. i measured the bump stop to beam distance......pass side 1.5" from bottom of bump stop to top of beam.......d-side 2". i had a guy at work turn the wheel while i watched the coils and they didn't seem to bind up or anything odd. they did expand and compress with the movement of the wheels left and right, that would seem normal to me though.

i am sure these are the original coil springs. they have almost 217K miles on them so i know there will be a little bit of sag. i could care less about the 1/2" of sag as long as it is not causing issues.

96stacked&smoken · Feb 9, 2013

Hmm il have to check my fender bolts tomorrow. Never would have thought of that.

lincolnlocker · Feb 9, 2013

96stacked&smoken said:
Hmm il have to check my fender bolts tomorrow. Never would have thought of that.

you do realize the second post in this thread has the TSB that says to do that, right?

live life full throttle

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 10, 2013

i checked the fender bolts and found some to be a little loose.

these were a touch loose on both sides.

these were also loose on both sides.

96stacked&smoken · Feb 10, 2013

No i didnt see it.lol My bad

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 10, 2013

how easily would a clunk noise/feel that is really coming from the rear transfer to the cab floor and make it sound like it is coming from the front?

96stacked&smoken · Feb 10, 2013

Rear transfer?

Monster Stroke · Feb 10, 2013

My 08 is doing this. Used to just be on the pas. side now it's on the driver side as well. Hit an incline at an angle or uneven terrain or put some torque down with it in 4wd and it makes a loud pop sound. Sounds like if something was binding and then popping loose. It has a 4" rancho lift on it

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 10, 2013

96stacked&smoken said:
Rear transfer?

sorry. lack of punctuation lol. i meant a noise coming from the rear of the truck, and you can feel it in the cab, and it sounds like it is coming from the front.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 10, 2013

Monster Stroke said:
My 08 is doing this. Used to just be on the pas. side now it's on the driver side as well. Hit an incline at an angle or uneven terrain or put some torque down with it in 4wd and it makes a loud pop sound. Sounds like if something was binding and then popping loose. It has a 4" rancho lift on it

and you have coil springs and radius arms. i'm starting to see a pattern here.... lol

my dad just had a thought......what about worn out u-joints or a worn out mid-ship bearing(the one halfway down the rear d-shaft)? i'm not getting any typical bad u-joint noises, but his idea kinda makes sense as when the truck flexes the popping noise shows up. on flat ground there is zero issues. how much play is acceptable at that bearing?

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 10, 2013

my midship bearing is loose. don't know if that is the issue or not but it has seen better days. i pushed on the front fenders again, only harder this time, and it seems like i got a little clunk from somewhere in the rear of the truck. all the sway bars are tight, shocks are tight, leaf spring u-bolts are tight. i did go back and recheck the radius arm nuts and the axle pivot bolts and they are tight.

96stacked&smoken · Feb 10, 2013

Might be the carrier bearing then.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 10, 2013

is there a way to tell for sure which size my truck takes? rock auto shows two different options.

doesn't appear to be all that hard of a job to do. any thing special to make it go easier.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 11, 2013

i think i might have solved the issue by tightening up the bolts that i have pictured. i didn't notice any popping today when i went to school. tomorrow at work will be the real test though since the terrain i drive over there had the truck really popping the past couple weeks.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · Feb 20, 2013

well i have been driving the truck everyday and haven't had that clunking/popping noise! i think all it was, was the fender bolts!

PSD715 · May 24, 2013

Check your radiator support for cracks. Both my obs trucks have done this. And I've seen 4 or 5 friends trucks do it, gas & diesels, and all were the radiator support. Its hard to fix without replacing.

oldfarmtruck · Dec 15, 2013

Check 2 bolts on drivers side where the hood bolts up. They get loose and fender pops.

1CLNFRD · May 14, 2015

My 97 ccsb had more of a rattle than a popping noise. At first I thought it was in the blower housing. But the right hand fender was loose. This tread really helped thanks guys